Is this food suitable?

[butterybean]

Baby, 10 months old in childminders from 9.30am to 2.45pm ate sausage, mash and beans.

No fruit, no veg no other snacks. I'd have thought that this meal would be too high in salt, fat and sugar and not enough nutrients (I didn't think you could give sausages to babies?)

Would you be concerned? He's a great eater and will eat anything put in front of him and is very much on solid food, just cut up into chunks.

Lazy as in not much thought gone into it & not particularly nutritious considering it could be better. An omelette would be more nutritious if the added veg to it etc.

The OP says she chose the place based on "home cooked food" that implies thought had gone into the menu, not processed & it would be more nutritious. It includes2 processed items. I'd be pretty peed off if someone was feeding that to my own DD at that age. Different horses for different courses I suppose, but I can see why the op is peed off

Vandrew, wind your neck in, your pizza sounds ver much like home cooked, non processed & depending on toppings quite healthy food. Not the same thing as sausage & beans which are processed foods 🙄

not myuch "thought" goes into it when i do omelette for dinner. i just think OP has assumed the worst when it could actually be a perfectly nutritious dinner for a small child

Sounds fine to me. I'd be more concerned about how happy and settled a child is than fussing over the CM serving a meal that most children eat regularly.
If you're not happy with the CM and prefer nursery food send your child to nursery full-time.

Agree with a PP who said nurseries also serve processed crap. My DC went to an outstanding rated nursery who boasted a home cooked menu and guess what, sausage, mash and beans appeared on their menu.

I would imagine that a CM would be more flexible in catering for what a parent wants rather than a nursery where they are maybe 40-60 children that need feeding.

I picked up a friend’s DD from nursery today as a favour... they told me upon collection that she’d had chicken nuggets, waffles and beans for ‘dinner’ (at 11am apparently!) and cheese on toast for ‘tea’ at 3pm.

As I mentioned up thread have you tried talking to cm? Going to assume no as you didn’t answer. I say to all my parents if you have an issue talk to me to see if we can resolve it.

What parents expect in a weaning baby varies so much. I have had parents who send home prepared organic food and others that send jars and pouches so until they are fully weaned parents provide food.

It's one meal in a week. It's not going to harm him. I bet he loved it as well

If I give my mindees pizza, it's out of the freezer Sometimes we have sausage rolls and baked beans for lunch too.

All that matters is that the food she provided was not OK with you.

If you want good food for your child, you are entirely within your rights to choose a setting that provides it and to reject one that doesn't.

I don't think it's ideal to have no fruit or veg offered but wouldn't it be more sensible to just speak to your childminder and request more fresh fruit/veg and no processed food or offer to send in food rather than removing your child after just 1 day

ETA just one day doesn't offer a balanced view - take my week for example:
If a new child had started Thursday they'd have had sausage roll (homemade with onion, celery, apple , herbs & quality sausage-meat not that I put all that in a daily diary!) with peas and chips (hand cut, boiled & baked!) but Monday it was chicken casserole, new potatoes & brocolli, Tuesday we had veggie lasagne, Wednesday roast chicken with roast potatoes & 2 veg and today homemade minestrone soup.
One of my parents asked me not to give their child puddings (homemade & only twice a week) and that's fine she has Greek yogurt and berries and I'd have been mortified if she pulled her out over a pudding!

The cm is cooking for up to 6 children whilst caring for them ach child will come with its own set of parents who will range from ultra fussy healthy eaters to don't give a shit feed them crap as long as they eat. She will have to produce a menu that is varied and gives each child some thing they will eat, And aim to get a nutritional balance To get a meal on a table after a school run returning between 3.30 and 4 change nappies give snacks and provide activities by 4.30 is a challenge. And then she has to write a diary detailing what was eaten nappy changes sleeps activities all before home time. A child can not be forced to eat or drink if yours hasn't eaten it, it doesn't mean she didn't offer it and its very usual for babies not to take lot on their first few days as its settling.
Your hanging a quartering the woman on one meal a n unsettled baby and your reluctance to work in partnership by sitting down and talking to her how the hell do you know that todays meal was not a one off special request meal or that it wasn't a rush meal as tonight heaven for bid somebody hadn't something important to do later?
Ask the woman for her menu discuss what is offered make suggestions or even cook for your child yourself. Your nursery may well be writing what they put in front of a child not what a child eats having worked in nurseries it is not unheard of fro daily diaries to be written at 10am to get the job done and include the days menu not the intake as an assessor I've seen this in countless nurseries over the years.

Personally I wouldn’t have an issue with a meal of sausages, mashed potatoes and baked beans once a week. I think rather than withdrawing your baby from the childminders you should speak to the childminder and ask what other meals she provides. My children have been going to a childminder for two years and I feel they really benefit from going to her house rather than a nursery as they have a mix of ages and the older children are fantastic with the younger children, plus lots of trips out and about! It seems a shame to write off your childminder based on one meal.

You sound like a nightmare client tbh. At 10 months I had to provide all food to childminders. Children only had food provided over 2. It wasn't always what I would have chosen to feed my kids but I had to look at a balanced diet over a week. I'm sure your childminder will be happy to see you go.

A nightmare?!! To be concerned about the food given to her baby?

She asked, perfectly politely, for opinions about a meal she was not comfortable with being given to her baby (and, frankly, I agree with her!).

This is not a nightmare client; this is someone who has simply decided that her ideas on nutrition is not compatible with this particular childminder's and she has quickly made the decision to go elsewhere. That's what the settling in period is for.

No idea why some posters are taking it so personally!

I’m laughing that you think a nursery will be any better. I know that not all nurseries are the same, but the ofsted rated outstanding nursery I (briefly) worked for, we had to water down the milk to make it go further. The children used to have fresh fruit with their rice pudding or custard, which was actually strawberry jam, all food was from the value ranges or the cheapest they could get hold off, jam sandwiches were a staple tea, the child that brought in extra fruit every day had to share it with all the other children in the group so we could write on their sheet they had fruit that day.

As a childminder, I don’t think sausage, mash and beans is that bad. It’s Not great and I would probably substitute the beans for veg, but maybe cm was in a rush to get it cooked, other child there that day will only eat sausage and beans and cm was trying to be quick preparing lunch and only wanting to do one meal for everyone. FWIW, the sausages I would serve would be good quality ones.

Maybe your child was offered fruit, but wouldn’t eat it, or maybe she didn’t have time to write down that he had some fruit. Have you asked? The five portions of fruit/veg, I wouldn’t be counting at baby age, they are still getting a lot of vitamins etc from their milk, it’s more about the different tastes, textures and the enjoyment of eating. Over the week I’m sure your baby is getting a good variety of these things.
What was your baby given on the other days? Were you happy with those meals?

When I first began childminding I used to cook, but soon gave that up as a bad idea..
"I don't like this", "I don't like that", "it doesn't taste the same as my mums"etc etc
So I stopped cooking, and the school aged children had school dinners and parents sent a packed tea..

The baby (8mths) was sent with sandwich's and homemade fruit purées, fruit/veg sticks, organic yoghurt, cheese sticks etc, perhaps op this could be an alternative for you?

If I was your childminder I'd be glad you were leaving.

A parent who chose to ask the opinion of strangers on the internet rather than speaking directly to me would be my idea of a nightmare.

Communication is key when it comes to a good parent/ carer relationship and on that basis, I've given notice to parents like you on more than one occasion just to safeguard myself.

Have you considered sending your child with packed lunches in future?

A nightmare?!! To be concerned about the food given to her baby?

No. Of course she's perfectly entitled to be concerned about her baby's diet. The 'nightmare' part (for a childminder) is her being unable/unwilling to communicate this in a reasonable way.

Frozen mash is just, erm, mash.

As a nanny I’ve given my charges sausage mash and beans and as older two at school had it so did baby of 10/11mths

As a mum I’ve given my daughter sausage mash and beans

Honestly don’t see the problem with this meal once a week. One meal out of 21

Have you asked to see menu planner

Personally as a child minder myself I would neverevr feed a small Baby such an unhealthy meal baked beans after all are packed full of sugar...I might give it to a toddler or older child once a week or something like but not a baby. I have a few years experience and worked with a number of children, toddlers and babies. Anyone who is formally trained knows about baby nutrition - sausages and beans are on the standard list of food to avoid for babies. You don't even need to be trained to have that common sense

I cook everything fresh and usually for a baby under 18 months it will be something vegetable focused for lunch (today it is a creamy Cauliflower bake...other days it might be roasted veggies or omlet with spinach and tomatoes in it... guacamole...lentils with miced veg...etc) and a sugar free yogurt to finish. I also prepare dinners with protein and veg like fresh chicken/beef/fish (roasted salmon or tuna steak for example) with something like peas/broccoli/green beans/butternut squash/carrots or I will prepare a cottage Pie or chicken + veggie risotto. With some fresh fruit for after as a treat, but not too much as too much fruit can be bad too it's healthy but again full of sugars.

I don't give babies snacks as they don't need it, they get a big portion of porridge at breakfast, a large lunch in the middle of the day and dinner at night. They are so small thry don't need yo be snacking, even I have visited the local health nurse with 3 different parents for the 1yr check up the nurse has said babies don't need snacks if they are fed properly at meal times as this can add excess calories the baby does not need.

But sausages and beans sounds kind of lazy and not right for a baby in my opinion. If your concerned about his nutrition and how much food he is getting it all depends what else he is getting though out his day for breakfast and dinner if your feeding him a big breakfast and healthy dinners it's not the worst especially if this isn't a meal he gets every day for lunch...once won't kill him

I think you need to be realistic.

I would be pissed off if you discussed food before you signed your contract and she said she only serves freshly-made, organic food. Then I could understand you not being happy with sausages, mash and beans.

How much do you pay per hour?, when I was looking for childminders, there was a big difference in price if the childminder was offering only home-made, organic food. The rate in my area is about £5-£6 per hour and the kind of childminder you are looking for would be £7 or £8 per hour (in my area).

Childminders take care of kids of different ages and it is hard work, I do not see how can you be taking care of a few babies/kids and being in the kitchen cooking absolutely everything from scratch (I wouldn't be able to do it!) I understand than when my DD go to her childminder she gets food with some salt on it and sometimes gets sausage or pizza (DD is 19 months). Maybe is not what I would give her at home or often, but she only goes twice a week, so I am not too bothered, she also gives her plenty of fruit and vegetables (not the baked beans kind) and she never gives them dessert.
I also think it is naive to think that in a nursery is going to be better.

Have you spoken to the childminder? I think it's important to discuss with with her rather than just remove your child. There's every chance that this sort of meal isn't what she regularly serves. Other meals could be perfectly balanced and exactly what you'd serve yourself- but if you don't ask her, you'll never know. Personally I don't think it's all that bad- if served very occasionally- especially if it was a good quality sausage and low salt, low sugar beans. We can't just assume it was all cheap value poor quality rubbish food.