Meals at nursery

[emmajane]

I have just made a big fuss at my sons nursery and then after research on the internet, I think I might be losing my battle! I wondered if anyone else with children at nursery have the same concern as me.

My kids nursery have also said how great the meals are etc and that was one element of why we chose it. However I have just received the menu for the next few weeks and it is full of puddings. Twice a day they seem to have sugary including bread and butter pudding and cream, fudge tart or chocolate crispie cake. Am I the only one who can't understand why any child would need to be offered that at a nursery??

We have always restricted the boys sugar intake as we are a family with weight problems and they didn't have anything sweet until they were 2ish as neither seem bothered by sweets/chocolate or puddings and I have never been asked by either of them for these things. They are very happy to have fruit or yoghurt. I have no been forced to ask the nursery not to give them these puddings as we feel so strongly about it and they seem so totally appropriate and unecessary to be fed this stuff twice (sometimes three times a day). Whipped cream is on the menu for one day which I am sure children have no need to eat!

Has anyone else come across this problem? I know lots of parents don't have the same opinion about the sweet issue for children but would be very interested in hearing thoughts.

 

[isil]

the kind of puddings you are listing are insane! However I would say that by making the boys different, I'd worry about making them feel like they were missing out on something and want it more?

It sounds like a hard situation though as I wouldn't be happy my LO having fudge tart unless it was a total one off! it's just sugar. Things like fruit and custard or apple pie or you know, something with some nutritional benefit I'm all for. I don't think there is an issue with the occasional chocolate rice crispie cake but not alongside a fudge tart and a bread and butter pudding

 

[QTPie]

I agree. Not so much about milky/creamy puddings (active toddlers can handle dairy and many need it), but certainly about sugary/chocolately puddings - that is not good. DS might share a dessert like that as a one off (once a month or less), but that is it... Really not a good habit to be in regularly...

Were you led to believe (sample menus etc) that the nursery only gave healthy puddings? What do other parents think? If they are in agreement, maybe that would help getting the nursery to change...

QT

 

[08marchbean]

wow! I wouldnt give my LO those kind of puddings at home so no i would not be happy for her to get them twice a day at nursery! My Lo's nursey mostly offers fruit or yoghurt for puddings at this age. Not a good habbit i my opinion to be given hugley sweet filling puddings after every meal. occasionally yes but certainly not once or even twice a day!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

There can't really be any excuse for fudge tart (sounds yummy though haha) but I know Ruby's nursery don't add refined sugar to their desserts at all. They make various cakes and biscuits for puddings that have no sugar in, they're sweetened with fruit etc. So on the face of it it does sound like they have quite a few sweet bits but there's no sugar in them so it's fine by me. Maybe check with them that it is all full sugar stuff?

 

[Dimples81]

i have been in some nurseries where the meals and snacks are shocking to be honest, similar to what you say. I have also worked in settings which have gone too far the other way and only ever offered fruit as pudding. too much cake is bad for children, end of. Every day is too much, twice a day is certainly too much.

 

[louisiana]

once in a while i would be happy with brodie having one of those puddings but everyday and more than once a day-no way.
i would have to say something to the nursery.the one brodie goes to is always sending out info on healthy eating and lifestyles so i know i dont need to worry

 

[cw1975]

Archie is in a Surestart nursery, and once a week they have cake and custard, however it is home made, on site and like someone else said, no refined sugar is used so I don't mind once a week. But this is a typical menu

Breakfast - weetabox
Snack - milk and fruit
lunch - cottage pie with sweetcorn and peas
Snack - milk and fruit
tea - tomato cous cous

My niece goes to a smaller, but more expensive, private nursery and I collected her with my sister a few weeks ago and this was what she had on ONE day:-

Breakfast - cocopops
Snack - jam crackers and juice
Lunch fishfingers, smiley faces and beans, arctic roll for dessert
snack SAUSAGE ROLL AND DONUT
Tea sausage chips and gravy, creamed rice pudding for dessert
Snack - jam on toast

I was horrified - I said to my sister does she eat like that every day and she got the hump with me and said it's not a competition which nursery is best you know That wasn't what I was getting at - if they was how Archie ate in nursery he'd be like Augustus Gloop by the time he gets it 18 months!!!

 

[ButterCupJoJo]

Wow thats is really insane!! My childs nursery that he attends are ok meals, they will have fruit as a morning snack, then lunch will be something like fish, beans and mash, potato, cheese and beans with side salad, rice and mince curry (not spicy of course) and it will change every 2 weeks to what they have, for pudding they will have fruit with a small size cake, with custard, ice cream and fruit jelly. It's quite a healthy menu. They then have different veg such as carrot and cucumber sticks, tomatoes etc.

I would def make a stand like you have though!! Well done you!

 

[Alias]

We have a menu similar to what cw1975 has at her creche.

Cereal and toast in the morning (no jam, no sugar)
fruit for snack
meat/fish veg and rice/pasta for lunch
yoghurt/ricecakes etc for snack
a light tea, cheese sandwiches or hummous and crackers, something like that

They do have custard with fruit as an afternoon snack on occasion but I'd say once every second week, and they have treats when they have a party (the next one is probably not until Christmas). When she was in the baby room they asked me before giving her any sugar at all, now that she's a toddler they presume she can have a small bit, but it's not often and it's not much. Oh, and they have spaghetti hoops on the menu once every 4 weeks and DD hates them, she refuses to eat them, just has the toast

 

[keepontrying]

I am a nursery manager and i actively changed the menu of a setting i took over because i was disgusted at the cheap rotten shit being served.

I altered it to :

Breakfast - selection of cereals (weetabix, porridge, cornflakes, rice krispies so no sugar laced ones)
snack - Fruit / dried fruit / veg sticks / cracker / malt loaf / toast /occasionally a biscuit. with milk or water
Lunch - home cooked, always served with veg and contained dishes like mild chicken and veg curry / rice, lasagne, shepherds pie, roast dinner.
Pudding - fresh fruit salad every day.
Tea - sandwhiches / cucmber sticks, pasta dishes, crackers and cold meats, rice dishes, wraps, cauliflower/brocolli chees bake.
Pudding - yoghurt or a sweet dish such as jelly, sponge and custard etc. brithday cake if it was a childs birthday.
snack - same as am snack.

in summer we would serve fruit squash/ ice pops to encourage intake of fluids .
we would sometimes serve fresh fruit juice but watered down and it was occasional not daily.

They have a responsiblity and duty of care to ensure that your child is being provided with fresh fruit and veg every day along with guidelines. If your child is there all day then there menu should have a number of varieties of this.

 

[Hayley90]

no i wouldnt be happy at all!!! I worked in a surestart nursery for 6 months, and i was really pleasantly surprised at how nice the meals were.

they would have weetabix for breakfast, fruit for snacks, lunch was always a hot homecooked meal like a pie or chicken, with veg, another fruit snack, and the late dinners were something like lasagne or a rice/pasta dish.

there were a few mums who brought in their own yoghurts, like petits filous so their child had a different pudding, and the little ones had all manner of extras being brought in by their parents - some preferred brown bread, others preferred non-pork sausages etc, so they used those for those children.

could you maybe ask them to give them something else of your choice instead? xx

 

[Blah11]

Amelies nursery has a good menu imo. Proper puddings aren't banned but they only get then twice a week and they're made from scratch, the rest of the time its fruit and yogurt or similar.
Id rather she had home made cake and custard than artificial or convenience foods though. Id be way more angry if she was getting tonnes ravioli or tinned soup etc

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Ruby's nusery's attitude is pretty much, if you don't want her to have something / she doesn't like it, just tell us and we'll do something else for her. They just say to let them know if you only want your child to have brown bread, or whatever.

The puddings on offer this week were: homemade lemon cake and custard, apple and toasted oats with ice cream, banana and custard, homemade raisin cakes, and fromage frais.
Does sounds very sweet but once you know they don't use refined sugar, I don't have a problem.

 

[Blah11]

Fudge tart is an odd one. Amelies puddinfs are more things like eves pudding, banana bread, fruit crumble etc

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I've never heard of fudge tart either but I thought it sounded yummy when I was a bit peckish this morning!

I'd also be less bothered about sweet puddings than if salty convenience crap was being served.
Ruby eats much better at nursery than at home can never believe what they tell me she's eaten and asked for more!

 

[Blah11]

Same! Amelie asks for 2nds when its nursery moroccan couscous but its yucky at home only thing she's not keen on is their tuna lasagna so they make her a cheese dandwich instead.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

hahaha! Ruby did eat my homemade custard at the weekend but informed nursery that theirs was 'not tasty' !

But yeah, she eats all sorts of casserole-y type things she wouldn't even try at home.

 

[fairy1984]

agree with the majority here. when my LO started nursery at 9/10 months they served puddings (cant remember what but rice pudding/softer cakes etc) and i said i only wanted her to have fruit and yougurt at that age which they happily did instead of the desserts. I am now happy for my LO to have more desserts but they're more like fruit crumbles or "healthy" cakes (not actually healthy but made from scratch and with lots of dried fruit etc in rather than icing to sweeten them).

fudge tart does sound yummy but why do they need have it at that age. i agree to chat to toher parents and raise your concerns collectively.

 

[RachA]

I'm amazed at what some nursery's seem to be serving up to young children. Especially when as parents we are pretty much told to cut back on all un-necessary sugars and to watch fat and salt intake. Surely these nurseries are being marked on their food in their ofstead reports?