Tesco Value Shortbread at Nursery

[mama2b]

Would you be annoyed if you collected your child from nursery and saw them being given TV Shortbread for a snack ?

Bearing in mind the nursery has its own chef and makes a huge fuss over the meals being homemade, fresh, local produce etc.

I have a meeting with the nursery next week as there have been a few issues over the last month but it is this topic I want to tackle the most. I am by no means an expert on nutrition but I always thought shortbread was stuffed with sugar ? Hardly the snack of choice for 1-2 year olds ?!

 

[Lois]

I wouldn't be happy with that either although I'm sure other parents would be fine with it. Evie was occassionally being offered custard creams as her morning snack and was being given high-sugar, high-fat foods for puddings (like chocolate brownies and ice-cream - just not necessary!) so I have specifically asked them to offer her a healthy alternative to biscuits and only fruit or fromage frais for pudding. They were fine with it.

P.S. I see you're in Warwickshire too...it's not a nursery in Leamington is it?!

Lx

 

[jenstar]

Well, personally no I wouldn't be that annoyed because at age 18 months I would have let my boy have biscuits or some kind of treat thing like that at home. My wee boy sometimes gets a biccy or shares a packet of wotsits or gets a few chocolate buttons at the childminder- that would be about once or twice a fortnight. I was however aware of this when I picked my childminder. Did you not know that your child would get treats like that at the nursery when you picked it?

 

[mama2b]

I wouldn't be happy with that either although I'm sure other parents would be fine with it. Evie was occassionally being offered custard creams as her morning snack and was being given high-sugar, high-fat foods for puddings (like chocolate brownies and ice-cream - just not necessary!) so I have specifically asked them to offer her a healthy alternative to biscuits and only fruit or fromage frais for pudding. They were fine with it.

P.S. I see you're in Warwickshire too...it's not a nursery in Leamington is it?!

Lx

No its not in Leamington its not far though ! lol

Maybe I will start sending him in with fruit to make a point.

Well, personally no I wouldn't be that annoyed because at age 18 months I would have let my boy have biscuits or some kind of treat thing like that at home. My wee boy sometimes gets a biccy or shares a packet of wotsits or gets a few chocolate buttons at the childminder- that would be about once or twice a fortnight. I was however aware of this when I picked my childminder. Did you not know that your child would get treats like that at the nursery when you picked it?

I 100% didn't know he would get stuff like that. In the prospectus there is a lot of emphasis that practically everything is homemade and they try to avoid sugary items which is on of the reasons I choose it. He does have a bit of chocolate now and again and the organix 'sweet' snacks at home but I have never given him anything overly sweet, the shortbread he was given literally had a layer of sugar on the top not something I would choose.

It also bothered me that it was a cheap range, this may sound trivial but the nursery is expensive £50 per day and it irritates me that they are buying cheap snacks for the children yet charging nearly £3.50 for lunch everyday.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Is it the shortbread your annoyed at? Or the fact its Tesco Value?

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Oh god I would be VERY annoyed! I bet you are paying them more than enough for them not to be offering economy food products. What a joke!
Ruby is 16 months and I don't let her have bought biscuits and cakes unless they are the type with no added crap / sugar.
I have no issue with certain value products where it is literally the appearance / shape of the food that is making it value, and do sometimes buy them, but definitely not for biscuits etc. I would be talking to them about it.

 

[Shri]

maybe the fantastic chef burned what he was going to give them, and the shortbread was a last minute rescue????
If not, I would be cross. They shouldn't be cutting corners by offering snacks that are not healthy.

 

[TTC LADY]

Personally I would not like it , not because its cheap but because of the sugar overload. Riya is very fussy with her food and for a couple of days when she started at nursery I used to take fruit in that I know she likes (mango, peaches, kiwis etc) nursery soon realised and now give buy and give her these things as snacks whilst other kids get crackers etc.
They were very flexible and try to cater for all food tastes. I would just mention to them but not make a massive deal about it.

 

[Laura2919]

If they brag about having their own homemade stuff then yeah I would.. I pay Chloe and Jaycee's nursery a fortune each month so I'd be super disapointed if I see they were having value stuff.. Which they probably are anyway lol, I just havent seen any packaging as thei kitchen is upstairs lol.
The girls nursery brags about freshly cooked food and thats what they get, the girls sometimes make biscuits in their room but they dont get the for a snack, they get crackers with philidelphia and fruit for their snacks..

 

[billy2mm]

tbh once in a while is not a massive problem imo. some of the value stuff is better than the brand stuff and is healthier too. i have no problem with my boys nursery giving them biscuits and value stuff now and again (its only an issue with my eldest as i have to bring everything in for my youngest son as he has so many allergies and the chance of cross-contamination is too great) its all part of a balanced diet and you really ought to see some of the stuff some parents put in their kids packed lunch boxes!!!

 

[isil]

I'd be angry. At my son's nursery they give pitta bread, vegetables and fruit or so they tell me. I'd be raging if I realised they were giving him any kind of biscuits for a snack. Yes, I might do it at home but that's my choice, I pay them to give them healthy choices. I know they occasionally have custardy type puddings but I don't mind that as much because when I think of shortbread/biscuits I just think about the complete lack of nutritional value...

 

[Aidedhoney]

If the nursery prides it self on home cooked meals then yeah i would be pissed that it wasnt homemade shortbread but tbh i think everything in moderation is the key......There is nothing worse than seeing a child pig out at the birthday party because mum dont let them have it at home.

 

[polo_princess]

Yes i'd be annoyed for several reasons, shortbread is ridiculously high in sugar, even for an adult, let alone a child .. yes a one off isnt so bad, but when you are leaving your child in a nursery, how are you to know how often it occurs? It could be everyday ... you arent there so you dont know

Totally see your point about the "own brand" thing also when they are harping on about home cooked, healthy food, especially since their fee's are so high

I pay the same as you and the kids always get a "sweet" or desert after their dinner, but its a fresh cooked, spotted dick, apple crumble, that kind of thing.

They only get a proper sweet like biscuits and cakes when its a childs birthday

 

[mama2b]

Thanks for all your comments, really appreciate it.

I think the fact that is cheap bothers me just as much as it being packed full of sugar. Not because I dislike cheap food in general but because I expect the nursery to provide premium, homemade food I always thought he got fed better food there than at home !

As Polo_princess said I don't know how often its happening, I suspect this isn't the first time as on a few occasions he has refused his dinner after nursery and if hes been stuffed with shortcake im not suprised.

The other thing I forgot to mention was the day he was given the shortbread it was not recorded on his daily diary, they had only wrote fruit & crumpet for his afternoon snack.

I will let you know what they say on Wednesday !

 

[polo_princess]

See now that would bother me, if it was written down in his record book then i wouldnt make a huge deal out of it, but if they arent writing it in their books then there must be a reason why??

It could be something simple like theyve forgotten, but im on the side of the fence that they dont want you to know!!

 

[special_kala]

I'd kick of big time tbh.

I understand why some people say its not a big deal every now and then if thats how they feel about biscuits and their kids but personally i am not ok with that for River so would be angry that someone gave her a biscuit

 

[jenstar]

Thanks for all your comments, really appreciate it.

I think the fact that is cheap bothers me just as much as it being packed full of sugar. Not because I dislike cheap food in general but because I expect the nursery to provide premium, homemade food I always thought he got fed better food there than at home !

As Polo_princess said I don't know how often its happening, I suspect this isn't the first time as on a few occasions he has refused his dinner after nursery and if hes been stuffed with shortcake im not suprised.

The other thing I forgot to mention was the day he was given the shortbread it was not recorded on his daily diary, they had only wrote fruit & crumpet for his afternoon snack.
I will let you know what they say on Wednesday !

This does sound a bit dodgy. In my case, I don't expect my childminder to document every crumb that passes my child's lips eg he gets a segment of mandarin orange when one of her children opens one for themself and gives him share or like one wotsit but I trust her that she iisn't leaving out anything major, eg a whole biscuit.

 

[bjl1981]

I would be annoyed, but not by the TV part.
I only give my LO what I consider to be healthy treats (bread sticks, rice cakes,and the occasional biscuit!) so I wouldn't expect the nursery to be giving him sugary snacks.
can't believe your nursery is £50 a day!

 

[isil]

It'd make me feel even more uneasy that it wasn't put in his diary. What's the point in them if they aren't going to write down what they're having?!

 

[helen1234]

i probably would be a bit miffed but i think i'd just ask if it was a regular thing and what the reason was. if its a one off, i;d ask that next time rhys be given apple or another fruit as this is what i give him at home.
there's lots of things people give children and babies and the hidden sugar content is ridiculous there's 2 teaspoons of sugar in a little pot of petit filous,

there's 62 calories in petit filous, there's 65 calories in one finger of value shortbread. so when put like that it doesnt sound so bad.
but ye i wouldnt be too happy biscuits to be given on a regular basis.

x