tea at 3.30?

[mumofben]

Just about to send DS (6 months old) to full time nursery - this coincides with weaning. They do lunch at 11.30 and tea at 3.30.

Is this usual? i would have thought tea would be later, say 5?
He will be there 8-6 so by the time I pick him up and get home, there'll just be time for bath, bottle and bed.

Is 3.30 ok to be the last meal of the day?

The meal times are nothing at all to do with families and everything to do with the nursery schedule - especially for the older ones, where they have some coming on for 2 1/2 hour nursery grant sessions.

So it goes something like this:

8-9 - breakfast and drop off
9-11.30 - nursery education session with snack/drink break in the middle
11.30 - lunch
12.00 - nap for those who need it
1-3.30 - nursery education session with snack/drink break in the middle
3.30 tea
4-6 free play and various children getting picked up.

The younger ones just fit in with this.

Excellent tip Fluffy & Twickers - haven't had old A.K. out for ages. Will have a go at unsticking the pages tonight!

Twickers, yes (nursery manager inhabits a parallel universe a long, long way from ours) but, thankfully, is no longer managing the nursery! The mealtimes are definitely fixed to fit in with pick up times; it was just typical of this woman's style to put this kind of "it's all in your interests" slant on everything...Our nursery is, in fact, in Twickers (presuming you are too?). No need to respond but would be interesting if it was the same one!

hi - my DS goes to nursery and has tea at 3.00 pm - he has thrived on it and isn't hungry for food when he comes home. He has a 9 oz bottle of milk before bed (he is 7.5 months) and sleeps through the night ....

decafskinny - we are at teddies twickenham west.. .you?

The one next door! Have been there since DS was 6 months (now nearly 4)so before Teddies opened. Have been very happy with it in general - especially since said manager handed over to the current girls - and the kids love it (thank goodness). Had a look round Teddies when it first opened, out of pure nosiness; it seemed very friendly and well run.

Logically, if you don't give it with plenty of time for all the children to finish eating, then by the time they get home and a meal is cooked for them, it will be pushing 6 or 7. Which is bedtime for a lot of kids that age.

At DD's old nursery they had lunch around 11:30am and then tea at 3pm. Tea was a light snack - small sandwiches, fruit, crumpets, tea cakes, scones, etc. She would then eat with me and Dh again at 6:30pm before bedtime at 7:30. Always worked very well. We do a similat thing now even though at school - small snakc at 4 when she gets home, then donner as a family at 6:30.

Hula that is exactly how we have always done it. But now that DS is in Y1 and starting to do things like evening swimming lessons and beavers it is going to get more complicated.

Yes, now DD is at school and having play dates we are having tomake changes too. Trying to do family dinners as often as possible still.

wish my DS was like Taylormama's! Incidentally, does he have 4 bottles still? plus breakfast lunch and tea? Am wondering how much I should be feeding my DS, now almost 6 months, he has 4 bottles, plus lunch and tea (still only a few teaspoons). When should he start having breakfast as well and drop the lunchtime bottle???

Gosh it's all so complicated!

At the nursery my DS is starting on Wed ( cos I have to go back to work!), they have tea at 3.30 and then the nursery gives them a snack at 5ish (if they are still there) so I won't have to do anything but give DS his last bottle before bed once he is weaned.

Mumofben - I am with you on how confusing this weaning lark is - I can't think how Ds's bottle routine is going to fit with food - hoping it will all just come clear in time (or the nursery will sort it out for me )

mumofben - my son has a healthy appetite .

his feeding schedule is as follows:

7.00 am - 6 oz bottle
7.30/45 am - weetabix and half a piece of toast
10.30 am - 6 oz bottle
11.00 am - 2 course lunch (protein/tofu and veggies followed by fruit or yoghurt)
2.30 pm - 6 oz bottle
3.00 pm - 2 course tea (as lunch)
5.30/6.30 pm - split feed of 9 oz milk before bed

With the weaning i am guided my him. He started to clear his plate so would offer more food the next day ... he eats quite a lot of finger foods as well which he loves (cheese on toast, veggies, avocados) ...

Mumofben - my DD has started at nursery and is 7 months old. She currently only goes 1 day per week and generally does not sleep very much because it is too exciting, so when she gets home she is too tired to sit and eat. She ends up going to bed by about 6:50.

At the moment, she sleeps through on just an 8oz bottle when we get home. Tea is at 3:30 or 3:50, depending on who I speak to...

One thing you might be able to do if your chap seems to need more food is to send him to nursery with a pot of something to have at 5pm. The staff can warm it in the bottle warmers for him. I will probably do this rather than trying to feed DD when she gets home as there is so little time before bed and she seems to want to spend it all having cuddles!

I was worried about it as well. I just asked them to give him tea later and they do. (I even turned up early one day to check). Its worthwhile asking, they can only say no!