Puddings every day at nursery

[ayshigirl]

Up till now my daughter occasionally has sweet treats, e.g. chocolate, biscuits, cake which either I give her or one of her grandmothers do. She loves fruit and for dessert I often give her pureed fruit with creamy plain yoghurt and maybe a sprinkle of cocoa (it tastes amazingly sweet). But now she has started at nursery she is having sweet puddings every single day. Just wondering if anyone else shares my concern about this. Firstly, not very tooth friendly, also I feel it's maybe getting her addicted to sweet flavours and I also wonder about its effect on behaviour/concentration down the line. Anoyone else have a similar experience? I'm feeling quite confused

[dizzydixies]

I did too but dd1 doesn't eat hers - have asked them to give her some fruit instead

dd2 shovels them all in though so will need to have a think about that

do they clean their teeth after their lunch?
are they given plenty of water?

[ayshigirl]

Thanks for your reply.My girl loves all the puddings and I don't want to deprive her if everyone else is having them too. I am just really surprised that they offer it every single day. Good point about brushing their teeth. No, they don't do this (there are over 50 kids in the nursery so it wouldn't be practical) though they do offer plenty of water. I am going to try to meet the deputy head about this but wanted to hear what other people have to say first. I have thought about asking them to provide cheese at the end of the meal since I've heard/read that this coats the teeth for a while and can be protective until the teeth are brushed.

[swedishmum]

My dd has what is basically a schoolmeal. My main gripe is that they get a sticker if they eat everything on te plate. I always tell dd to stop when she's full at home. Don't like them always having pudding. Yoghurt of fruit chez nous.

[wannaBe]

presumably though they have a balanced meal which contains veg etc and the pudding is just a part of that.

Far bigger things in life to be concerned about imo.

[swedishmum]

Typing 1 handed - poorly toddler in lh...

[Jackstini]

dd also has desserts every day at nursery - twice! (after lunch and tea). However one is always fruit and they include other healthier options, (like rice pudding and yoghurt) and the pudding portions are always smaller than the dinner ones.
I don't mind for these reasons and the fact it prolongs their time at the table so they get used to longer sit down family meals at home. I also don't want her to grow up thinking any foods are 'bad' and thankfully they are quite good at teaching moderation.

[ayshigirl]

Thanks for all your replies. It's interesting to see different opinions on this. I have a friend at a school in a neighbouring borough and just saw their lunch menu today. I was really impressed that all of their desserts are fruit based and at least twice a week they have either just plain fruit or apples and cheese. I agree that children shouldn't see some foods as bad but I also think sugar can be addictive so it's good to do without it a few days each week. In my daughter's case I am wondering if all the sugar at school has been making her tantrummy, because she wasn't before nursery. And I do wonder about the effects on children's teeth.