Problem with nursery

[Peckaroo]

Hi, wondering if anyone else has this issue. My 28 month old son attends nursery twice a week in the mornings. He eats fruit and Cheerios before leaving at 8am but then they offer barely anything before 1pm (today it was cucumber and breadsticks) so he is starving and asking me for food when I pick him up! They even said today he was trying to take the other kids food! He is with the babies at the mo and will move into the big kids room in January where the food situation is probably different but what should I do in the mean time? Thanks if u got this far and more thanks if u have an answer!!! xx

They dont serve lunch?

Do you mean they have lunch at 1pm and cucumber and breadsticks as a morning snack?

What time do they serve lunch? Do you need to book/pay for it?

Do they only offer a snack?

In the one I worked in because lunch was at 11.30 it would be things like rice cakes, a home made scone and one piece of fruit at 10am.

The cucumber and breadsticks: is that a mid-morning snack or is it that all they have for lunch at 1pm?

All the nurseries around here serve lunch very early, certainly well before 1pm. Do you need to request and pay for lunch?

Thanks guys, yes lunch is at 1pm (when I pick him up) so he has lunch at home instead x

I’ve never been asked to pay for food so I hope there’s no extras as would quite happily pay so is tummy’s full

I don't know any preschools or nursery's that have lunch at 1pm. I think you should check when they serve lunch, it sounds like he's hungry, so not having lunch when they do but being around it.

Various settings my DS has been in had lunch at 11.45 and 12. Personally we eat later at home.

They deffo have lunch at 1pm as when I pick him up they are starting to serve it, pasta, chilli with rice etc his little face when he’s sat at the table and I walk through the door and he realises he’s not gunna eat the food breaks my heart.

I've worked in nurseries and this was the norm .... breakfast between 7:45-8:45, snack at 11 lunch at 1

If parents wanted their child to stay for lunch we would bill them extra - think it was £5 for lunch & the extra time lunch took

Thanks crazycatlady159 good to know it’s normal for nursery’s you do this. He eats like a horse tho, he could easily have strawberries, 2 bowls of cereal, rice cakes, croissant, an apple and banana before lunch!

Could you find out if they would give him breakfast when he gets there?
Or maybe see if you could collect him after lunch if you can afford to have him there for another hour?

They may allow you to take in a packed lunch for him to sit and eat with the others if that would help him?

Why don’t you give him a more filling breakfast?

Eggs are better than cereal for breakfast.
Cereal would make anyone hungry after an hour or two

That’s weird. At our nursery they get breakfast at 8, morning snack (toast/crumpets/pancakes and fruit) at 10.30, lunch at 12, afternoon tea at 3.30pm. Same at the previous nursery we used. Most toddlers nap 12-2 so 1pm seems a really odd time for lunch. Why no morning snack?

Could you send him with a snack if you feel he needs it?

I don't think snacks are complusory. My DS is the same age as yours and on the 97th centile for weight and height. He hasn't snacked between breakfast, lunch and dinner today. He would eat it and ask for it if he saw it but otherwise it's out of sight, out of mind.

Our nursery set up was different as it was full days so they got breakfast, morning snack, lunch and tea. But it does sound like he's eating a huge amount in the morning when he's with you.

If I’ve understood this right, he has breakfast at home, then nursery provide a mid-morning snack such as cucumber and breadsticks, and then lunch at 1pm. That’s all perfectly normal and in line with standard paediatricians' nutritional advice.

NHS recommend 3 meals plus 1 or 2 snacks and about 12oz of milk daily for 2 year olds. Nurseries normally give morning and afternoon snacks, so they’re already at the top end of the recommended intake. Without wishing to be rude, it’s clear that the normal maximum isn’t enough for your child, which suggests this is something to discuss with your health visitor rather than your nursery.

Whilst most nurseries I know do lunch that bit earlier, 1pm is not all that unusual. It’s quite normal for children to eat around 1pm, especially when you consider how many get picked up from nursery or preschool at noon by parents/childminders, etc.

In fact, 1pm might be considered a more sensible time, as it spreads the daily meals more evenly. A 12 noon lunch can leave 6 or more hours before dinner if parents don’t finish work until 5/5.30 then have to commute, pick up from nursery, and drive home before they can even make a start on meal preparations.

Sounds like a normal set up.

I would ditch the cereal. Do him some scrambled eggs or a cheese and ham omelette for breakfast instead. Or porridge with toasted nuts.

Fruit and cereal is just sugar he would be hungry an hour or 2 afterwards let alone 1.00.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Thinking eggs might be the way to go in the morning for him and his 10 month old brother and maybe put a banana in his bag. As I say it’ll only be till January as he will move up a room and things may change for the older kids (I’ll enquire). Itsaboojum didn’t think you were rude at all, for a kid on the 30 something percentile he sure can put it away!

Hi, I just wanted to say @Peckaroo 1pm does seem late for a young child but I guess it depends on the setting structure. Cucumber and breadsticks are a healthy snack maybe they don't offer enough. I would also recommend that you tell staff he has food in his bag incase other children get hold of it and have an intolerance or allergy.
Another question to ask is why are they allowing him to sit at the table knowing he is not eating, that seems a little mean. In our nursery tea is at 4 but we don't serve it until the 4pm collection is complete for this very reason. It's not fair to build a child's expectation then take it away.

Sounds like a fairly normal set up, although ours have lunch at 12.

Stopping him sitting at the table may not be possible if he’s copying the others. Staff may have already discouraged him and told him he’s going home. Generally it’s a pretty busy part of the day, especially for that age group - serving up, washing hands, talking to parents and getting everyone sat down so they may not be able to stop him copying.

Sometimes if you speak to the nursery and mention that he is hungry and ask if you can bring an extra snack for him to have they might not mind

My DS attends nursery and his lunch is served between 11.30-11.45. There is no way he could last until 1. He eats like mad, and sounds the same as your child. He eats a big breakfast and is still ready for snack time at 10.30 at home. Bless him if he's eating other kids food he must be starving.