Nursery food- am I right to complain?

[Coj]

Thinking about having a moan to my nursery as I feel that DD (8 1/2 mon) is not getting a balanced nutritional diet (as it says in their handbook) for example one day she was given fish fingers, chips & beans pureed (yuk!) and ice cream! She is rarely given veg or fruit.
I really want what is best for her & try to buy organic stuff, & am still bf, so she does need extra iron & vits.
Would you complain? They will prob say "if you don't like it bring your own"

Message withdrawn

I would complain, that sounds vile for an 8.5m baby.

Coj - Surely though she still gets the majority of meals at home? Is it only her lunch that the Nursery provide?
And beans are vegetables. My pregnancy book tells me to eat more baked beans for fibre and protein..... so they can't be that bad. At 8.5mths though I wouldn't want my child having them every day as they are quite salty. What else does the Nursery feed them? That was an example of one of the days.... what about the rest. Do they get potatoes, carrots etc?

We have to provide all ds's food at Nursery apart from snacks so we don't have this problem. Could you provide fruit for her?

Definitely way too much salt for a baby under 12 mths IMO. I would complain -especially as they've shot themsleves in the foot by using the words "balanced and nutritional". There must be equally convenient but healthier options for them to offer - like pasta or rice dishes?

Hope this resolves quickly for you.

I would complain but at the same time when you chose the nursery what was their menu? When we looked at nurseries part of our inspection was seeing what they fed the kids and then deciding whether that suited us. Hard to complain unless it was hidden from you.
At ds's nursery they had lots of fresh fruit and veg and no processed food as they had a chef.

If you're happy with everything else I would prepare her food myself.

Nursery give her all her meals (she is there 8-5) She often has shepherd's pie, meatballs & spag, spag bol & norm a yog for pud. I normally leave a snack box with cheese, rice cake, dried fruit etc.
Will ask if I can see a menu in advance.
It is actually the secondary sch's kitchen that send the food over (so i suppose chips is v. popular there)

I wouldnt want that fed to my dd (8 months). Far to processed and salty. What does their ofsted report say about the food?

When we chose the nursery it was more for convenience (I work on campus) & we provied the food until they are 8 months, so did not think to ask to see menu, was more worried about her taking expressed milk from a cup

that is appalling, I would take my own in if that is all they offer. I would not feed that to a dog...

I wouldnt eat the crap served by our school canteen. It is no way suitable. What about speaking to the other parents?

I thought it was a Govt policy to introduce fresh fruit as snacks in schools and shouldn't the nursery be setting a good example. Personally I would n't want a baby to have such processed foods at such a young age but as long as it is not every day it should n't cause a problem. If the handbook gives different expectations though I think you have grounds to complain.

Coj, we also choosed our first nursery because it was on campus and dear, they were terrible, I decided to send the lunch when I learned that the children's lunch were prepared at one of the colleges' restaurants that prepared not only horrible tasteless food, but also seemed a very dirty place!

By saying "dear" I didn't mean to be patronising (just a simple expression that ccomes to my mind everytime I can't believe something )

Agree with the govt guidelines, they should be following them but considering how many children get served only cheese when they don't like fish, I wouldn't be surprised if fish fingers, beans and chips together are considered tasty under the govt policy...

sorry not "tasty" but healthy

Eh.... what's wrong with shepherds pie... isn't it just mashed potato, mince and veg? And isn't pasta supposed to be good for them? So why is spaghetti bol suddenly 'too processed'? Isn't that just pasta, mince and veg with herbs????

Fair enough I agree they should be offering more fresh vegetables and giving fruit as a snack, but aren't we all getting a bit OTT about this?

What's wrong with yoghurt? That too processed too? My ds has a yoghurt or fromage frais at least once a day.

Well, toothache if it is from a seconary schools kitchen then it will be processed crap full of salt etc. Unless it is remarkably different from usual canteens.

Tescos btw.

I think if nursery is providing food then it is reasonable to expect it to be suitable and nutritious - I don't think you shoudl have to take your own in order to achieve this.
I think you need to ask for the menus, have a good look at them at home, sort out exactly what you would prefer to see, then ask to talk to the manager about it. Try to make constructive suggestions like 'every meal should have freshly prepared fruit and veg' and 'high sugar and salt foods should be given infrequently' (worded a bit more tactfully than that!).
What do the other parents think?
Good luck - I definitely think it is worth getting better food into our children.

That's true Hercules - I thought everyone was saying that these foods are wrong in general.

I make my DS mince and tatties all the time and think it's full of fresh veg and meat. As long as there isn't too much gravy in it then it's fine. And he eats pasta until it comes out of his ears!!

If it's homemade and not straight from a tin then it must be okay??? No?

Absolutely toothache! Dd has often had these foods but I make hers separately from ds and ours so adding packet mixes, salt etc and leaving hers plain.

coj, do you know if the meals are generally home cooked, or processed?

and is there anyone at the nursery willing to discuss this with you?

Glo- Yes I am sure they will. Think I will send her in with food & discuss it with her key worker & then manager
2ndary sch just seem to provide lots of processed meat & carbos (guess that's what teenagers like). The veg content in shep pie, spag bol & meat balls must be min. There is no need for chips or ice-cream either! (Was looking fwd to giving her her first ice-cream on the beach ) I'm getting really cross now just thinking about it!

Coj - The shepherd pie it's probably cheaper to pack it with carrots and onion etc than it is to pack it with meat. But you'd really have to find out the quality of the food for yourself. It 'might' be okay.... you never know.

Are you angry at the fact they gave her ice cream before you had let her try it or the fact that it's a dessert? I was devastated that the Nursery told me when ds got his 1st tooth. I felt like the worst parent alive. Unfortunately there will be lots of things your DD will do in the Nursery before you get a chance to. Another one of those horrible things that makes working mothers feel sh*t.

Know what you mean. Yes I guess I am angry that she shared the experience with them - god I sound pathetic! (must ask them to lock her away & make sure she has no fun without me!)

Coj - but you will still give her her first proper ice cream on the beach Remember you can't compare a dollop of Iceland's best in a tin dish to a lovely cone with a fresh scoop for licking only - no spoons allowed! Ooooh I fancy a 99 right now

Get constructively worked up about this - but don't get down on yourself.