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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

food at nurseries?

29 replies

freddy05 · 17/05/2011 23:00

how often should children eat at nursery? DD used to eat three meals and two snacks a day so about every 2 hours but nursery have now decided they cant have snacks anymore so they eat 4 hourly. We're not allowed to send any food with her so there's nothing we can do but she gets so giddy or very tearful before both lunch and dinner and is getting in trouble for being naughty!

so is this normal? such long gaps between food? just trying to work out I should be expecting.

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Pancakeflipper · 17/05/2011 23:06

4 hours? Blimey. That's a huge gap. Our nursery does:
8am - breakfast for those kids who are early.
10am - morning snack and drink
12.15pm - lunch
2.15pm - afternoon snack and drink
4.30pm - tea for any kids who are there for longer hours daycare.

Pancakeflipper · 17/05/2011 23:07

Forgot to say my son could not go 4 hrs at nursery without throwing a few tantrums. It's hard work all that playing through learning. They need refuelling.

thisisyesterday · 17/05/2011 23:15

no, i don't think that's normal

all the nurseries i've visited/seen/used have had regular snack times

Original poster

freddy05 · 17/05/2011 23:26

Thanks I didn't think it was normal!

I have been being told day after day that she had been naughty before or at meal times for the last few months and she has been much more restless when I pick her up and i haven't been able to fathom the change until she happened to mention that she didn't get snack anymore. I thought she was making it up or confused so i asked them today and apparently they decided not to give snack to any child over 2 anymore and this was a good few months ago. Can't work out why they thought it ok and even worse why they hid it from the parents!

They told me that we can't send anything with her because of allergies!!! and if i want her to have food more regularly than 7.30 11.45 16.00 I'd need a doctors note.

The place really is going down hill can't help thinking that i should start lookign elsewhere for DD2.

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princesbold · 18/05/2011 08:46

Did they offer you a refund for not supplying the snacks that you pay for in your fees ?
When nurseries start making this kind of cost cutting decisions they are either financially unstable or the owners are being greedy, either way it's at the expense of the care you are paying for, time to move !

TiggyD · 18/05/2011 09:54

If a nursery starts going downhill the chances are that it will continue. Not telling parents does kind of send out the message that they knew it wouldn't be popular. It also makes you wonder what else will change. Dodgy. Start looking elsewhere.

Original poster

freddy05 · 18/05/2011 11:15

The staff are fab and they are brilliant with my children and have been very supportive throuhg issues since DD2 was born but the management really are not good!!

The staff have been told it's because of allergies which makes no sense to me but they use this to say we can't send her anything in either! I was told by management that it was affecting the education of the children because they were always tidying up to eat!! doesn't seem to be a problem for any other nursery! They claim they sent something home in a newsletter, which to me is not an appropriate way to communicate cutting the food intake of the children or requiring them to go longer between meals than is recommended even for adults, but i asked them to prove it to me and find the saved copy of the newsletter in which they told the parents. The look on her face tells me she won't find it but you never know I might have missed it, doesn't mean I'll let it lie though!!

thanks for the info I feel a little less unreasonable fighting them over this now.

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princesbold · 18/05/2011 11:40

Allergies of other children as an excuse is not very good. I have had many children who have suffered food allergies, specifically to eggs and peanuts, reactions so severe that the children would immediately suffer severe anaphylactic shocks only treatable by the immediate use of an epi pen dose of adrenaline to bring them back. To ensure the child was safe we had to involve all the children and parents at the nursery informing them all of the situation, asking them not to let their children have eggs for breakfast in case they inadvertently bought some of their breakfast in with them, just a teardrop of egg yolk on a Childs t shirt would cause the reaction.

sparkleshine · 18/05/2011 11:43

I wonder if any other parents know about this change also? Are you still being charged the same fee?
I think it's wrong and unusual that they don't get snacks between meals. They run around and play all day, they need food to fuel that energy. I'm not surprised your DD is moody, My DS would be as well.

Hope you get this sorted. But if I were you, look for other places in the area while you are talking with the management.

TheVisitor · 18/05/2011 11:46

OFSTED won't take the lack of snacks lightly - they need to be provided. I would look elsewhere.

Original poster

freddy05 · 18/05/2011 12:38

Fees have gone up after a long explaination about VAT rises blar blar blar . It may be that they did send something informing us and i missed it so i guess i have to give them a while to find it. To me if you are informing of removing food from children you do it in a specific letter not hidden somewhere. i'm not sure other parets know Especially the parents of two year olds who really can't ask their children!!

If i could send stuff for her I would be I can't get away from the feeling that if they were leaving babies to scream for hours without food they would loose their registration but because the children are older leaving them hungry is ok!

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princesbold · 18/05/2011 12:54

Vat is a bit lame an excuse as well, Nurseries do not charge Vat and can't reclaim it either, but they are able to put any Vat that they pay against their profits for tax exemption. On £5000 worth of spending the increase is about £130, but in a nursery the vatable purchases would make up the minority of expenditure, vat on electricity and gas remained unchanged anyway.
Rewarding quality staff members with above inflation increases would have been a far better reason.

Pancakeflipper · 18/05/2011 17:27

What nonsense excuses they are giving you. I'd be annoyed too. They should have stuck notices in the nursery saying what they were intending to do and when they intended to introduce it. They do seem to have tried to sneak it in.

I would contact Ofsted. Part of nursery life are social skills kids learn when eating together. It's also essential they eat regularly. I know I am rubbish at providing snacks regularly at home but I know my child needs his snack at nursery cos he's into everything there and yes the mess can be grim but it takes 10mins to clean and the kids can help with that. Mine little one also has a food intolerance and the nursery handle it fine.

Can I come and protest with you?

RitaMorgan · 18/05/2011 17:32

DS's nursery does substantial snacks (toast, banana, cup of milk etc) at 9.30am and 2.30pm, with meals at 11.45 and 4.30pm. 4 hours is a long time for a 3 year old to go with nothing, especially when they are so active.

Do they have free access to drinks and are encouraged to have them? Snack time is a good opportunity to ensure all children are drinking regularly otherwise it is too easy for them to forget while they're playing.

dribbleface · 18/05/2011 17:41

Always tidying up to eat......then they need to be more inventive with their timetable! Not on, I bet they have seen a rise in difficult behaviour too!

EdithWeston · 18/05/2011 17:48

Other nurseries will also have fabulous staff, who will be brilliant and supportive.

I really do think it's time to look around for a different nursery. I was unhappy with the management a nursery we used, but I tried to hang on in there. I really, really wish I hadn't. It all ended in tears (and an upheld complaint to OFSTED), and all the while there was a better (and cheaper) one just around the corner

Original poster

freddy05 · 18/05/2011 19:38

I've spoken to the manager this evening having spoken to the deputy yesterday and i have to say i am even more annoyed now. She said it had never been company policy to give snacks but someone had taken it upon themselves to give them (they've had snack three times a day since DD started 2 1/2 years ago) so they had simply returned to company rules so had no need to inform parents!

I'm not really a scary person but I have to say she looked like a naughty school girl who had been caught out. She said noonelse had complained and it had been months. I said that i only knew because my daughter had told me (in another conversation) and not many 3 year olds are able to pass on nutricinal (sp?) information to their parents never mind the poor 2 year olds who will simply be going hungry and not be able to tell anyone. It became apparent that she was trying to usher me away form other parents arriving to pick up their children so she is still trying to keep it from parents, think i might ask all parents i see at drop off and pick up and see how many others have been told or think it is ok.

thanks for confirming that I'm not mad for thinking that four hours is to long to go between food for such young children.

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TiggyD · 18/05/2011 20:10

What is the name of the company?

giraffesCantDanceWiOotBuckie · 18/05/2011 20:27

too long

Original poster

freddy05 · 18/05/2011 21:05

Just learning is the company. I'm thinking of having a ring round tomorrow and asking a few questions of other nurseries and see what answers I get.

OP posts:

kateyfer · 19/05/2011 17:13

I think you should print up some leaflets and start handing them out to parents at the nursery gate so all parents can make an informed decision as to whether to challenge this, take their child elsewhere or put up with it. Is there a staff/parent committee at the nursery you could approach and ask for the issue to be discussed at the next meeting?

But I also think that you may want to look for another nursery. You need to know that not only is your child supported, but that they are being nutritionally developed as well. Hungry children won't develop or learn in the same way as well-fed ones.

Original poster

freddy05 · 21/05/2011 20:32

think I might, will certainly be asking other parents if they are aware when I see them.

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bisopharm · 21/05/2011 20:40

I think you should start looking for another nursery, why would you leave a 3yr old without snacks for 4hrs! They expend so much energy during play and need refuelling with drinks and little bites regularly.

bisopharm · 21/05/2011 20:43

My 21months old DD is always so hungry when i pick her up at 5.30pm that she can hardly wait for me to serve her dinner when we get home. She cant communicate properly so i dont know if she is eating her meals at nursery or not. When i mentioned it to one of the staff she replied "we do feed her"

And all they do is write the meals and tick and i have no idea if she ate it all or not.

dribbleface · 22/05/2011 12:06

bisopharm - i assume if they tick it they mean she has eaten? Lots of chidren are hungry when getting home from nursery, long active day etc. What time do they have tea?

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