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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Angel delight now at nursery for 7 -8 month old

49 replies

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:23

Apparently DS was given noodles in black bean sauce for lunch. He didn't really like it but then was given some Angel Delight, which he liked better.

A bit shocked, I googled Angel Delight on the internet...and found a 7 page Mumsnet thread from 2007 about how awful or not it was for your child to get Angel Delight at nursery.

I have to admit, it's not something I'd think of buying. And for a baby under 8 months? We have given him fresh fruit and yesterday tried a fromage frais dessert thing for the first time, but sweetened with fruit juice not sugar.

(I am the mum who has been banging on about biscotti). Okay, so this is my first baby and maybe I'm inclined to be precious about him, but surely it isn't good to be giving them sugary things? Surely?

OP posts:

bubbleymummy · 19/01/2009 13:26

Totally agree with you chatname! I would not give sugary snacks like that to a baby. DS (2y9m)still wouldn't get stuff like that - he loves fruit and greek yoghurt with honey for snacks and the occasional organix biscuit.

paddingtonbear1 · 19/01/2009 13:27

when I was a teenager we had loads of Angel Delight, it was all the rage then!
I don't think I'd give it to dd now though. Esp. not when she was a baby! And I am fairly liberal when it comes to food. I didn't even know you could still get it!
Is it typical of the stuff he gets at nursery?

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:31

He is just starting at nursery. We are in the process of finding out what stuff he is going to be given. I thought the sample menus looked quite good. However, in his first week of settling sessions, he was given a biscotti in the first 2 hour session and 4 biscottis in the 4 hour session. I did express concern about this!

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PortAndLemon · 19/01/2009 13:32

Ingredients of Angel Delight: Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Modified Starch, Emulsifiers, (Propane-1, 2-dial esters of fatty acids, Soya Lecithin), Gelling Agents (Disodium Phosphate, Diphosphates), Milk Protein, Lactose, Flavourings, Colours (Betamin, Annatto, Beta-Carotene), Whey Powder.

The two main ingredients are sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil (and if it contains hydrogenated vegetable oil it is likely to contain trans fats). I wouldn't be at all happy for an older child, and for a 7-month old it seems like madness.

paddingtonbear1 · 19/01/2009 13:32

biscotti, what are they?
dd never had those.

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:34

Small sweet biscuits, but it sounds better

OP posts:

AnarchyAunt · 19/01/2009 13:34

I'd be hopping mad tbh.

They are feeding your child sugary crap and its obviously standard for the nursery. Sounds like the staff are totally clueless about what is a good diet for a 7m baby.

I'd have to have Strong Words.

paddingtonbear1 · 19/01/2009 13:35

do the nursery make the food on the premises?
dd's old nursery used to give things like spag bol and roast dinners, which they made there. They did give puddings but it wasn't rubbish, it was stuff like home made rice pudding.

MarlaSinger · 19/01/2009 13:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pgwithnumber3 · 19/01/2009 13:37

I would have a hissy fit if my 7 month old baby was fed Angel Delight by child professionals.

Not too bad as a treat for a 4 year old but no way for a baby. I would be speaking to the Nursery Manager.

pispirispis · 19/01/2009 13:38

My dd is 8.5 months and tbh I'd be furious if she was given Angel Delight!! Like Anarchy Aunt says, I'd be having Strong Words too! And FWIW I don't think you are being PFB about it!

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:38

Does anyone think it would come over as being very precious and middle class if I asked them not to give Angel Delight?

(am also feeling a bit guilty as we have been bfing /begun blwing at home but I have asked them to try and give formula during the day. He does seem to accept some formula from us at home in a beaker-with-spout but they say he won't take anything at nursery. Therefore they are perhaps a little more enthusiastic at trying to get something into him. I had hoped that away from mummy and her milk and with their experience it would be easier, not harder, for him to take an alternative liquid.)

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Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:40

Ah, cross posted. So not being PFB then. I am going in with DH to pick up DS this evening so maybe we can have a chat with the manager with his moral support!

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Brangelina · 19/01/2009 13:41

I am constantly astounded by the rubbish often served up in UK nurseries. Did the black bean sauce come out of a packet as well?

Are there no regulating bodies that outline adequate nutrition for infants? Here all schools and nurseries have to follow a local authority menu drawn up with a dietician.

paddingtonbear1 · 19/01/2009 13:42

no not precious at all.
is ds settling in well otherwise?

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 13:54

is ds settling in well otherwise?

We do wave goodbye when we drop him off, but he often is too engrossed in a toy etc. to even look at us.

He looks fine when we pick him up (though DH thought he looked a little sad last time) but weeps plaintively when he catches sight of me.

When I phoned to check how he's getting on (I'm not back at work yet, so could go and feed him if things are desperate) I could hear him crying. The girl I spoke to said he was "fine". She said he had been playing on his own much of the morning, but from time to time he will "remember mummy isn't there" and cry. She thought he might still be struggling to understand that mummy is coming back to pick him up later.

I think he seems a little less smiley than before he started nursery (he is by nature a very jolly, sociable little boy with a big gummy grin). That is rather sad, but I don't know, it might be normal in the first stage of settling into nursery.

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goingnowherefast · 19/01/2009 13:57

I wouldn't be happy at all but have been told I am too precious about food for my DD so maybe not the best person to comment!

ThursdayNext · 19/01/2009 13:59

Ugh, no, not good at all.
And isn't black bean sauce usually really salty?
What's the rest of the menu like, apart from the biscotti?

muppetgirl · 19/01/2009 14:03

Cannot believe nursery would give a baby this!!!

I mean I love it but that's for me not the dc.

Also LOVE biscotti (again for me not the dc)

I eat crap food don't I????

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 14:07

They tried to give him pureed toad in the hole, but he wouldn't eat it.

The Ofsted report talks about "healthy snacks... raisins and fresh fruit ... high quality home cooked meals prepared daily on the premises by the cook using fresh ingredients". It says the children are "very well nourished".

So it sounds really good. I wasn't expecting to be concerned about the food, I thought they'd know better than me what to feed a baby.

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muppetgirl · 19/01/2009 14:10

Are you unhappy about the pureeing? Or is it the toad in the hole aspect.

Original poster

chatname · 19/01/2009 14:16

That was in reply to the question about what the other meals are like - that was the only other lunch he's had, I think. He didn't like the pureed road in the hole, so he got lots of biscotti (IIRC).

I had suggested to the staff beforehand that he liked eating Yorkshire pudding in chunks - he'd had some as finger food the previous week. But they aren't comfortable with main meals being given as finger food, because theya re worried about choking.

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Becky77 · 19/01/2009 14:17

I'm not particularly precious about food but I would definitely draw a line way before angel delight! You are a paying customer, please don't worry about being seen as "precious" or "middle class"... Grrr it's because it's so difficult to get them into nurseries that we feel we have to keep them happy rather than the other way around! Why can't they offer him yoghurt rather than Angel Delight? Shocking!

muppetgirl · 19/01/2009 14:18

that's kind of what I was getting at. Ds's nursery give the children the food in the way you'd like so ds 2 has his food as finger food which is the same as home. I would give him T in the H as a finger food, with the veg too. I would spoon mash potato (I have learned from mashy mistakes!) for him.

Becky77 · 19/01/2009 14:21

I can see that having lots of babies eating finger food is harder work for them and they'd have to be more vigilant but isn't that what you're paying for? If they're that worried about choking they shouldn't be leaving him with biscotti should they?

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