Mum livid as 'snack police' take treats out of children's lunchboxes at nursery
Parents know all too well that their children's lunchboxes need to be a balance of lovely and nutritious foods that their kids are going to enjoy, and actually eat every single day. It can be difficult to find things perfect for fussy eaters, so it's a relief when you discover things that they'll devour.
But one furious mum is claiming that 'snack police' at her son's nursery are seizing fruit juices, smoothies, nuts, and jam sandwiches from lunchboxes as they're not deemed healthy enough - and birthdays at the nursery are even celebrated with wooden cakes, rather than the usual delicious treat.
Emma is fed up of the strict rules (Kennedy News and Media)
She left a note - which was allegedly ignored by staff (Kennedy News and Media)Emma Clarke, from Slough, Berkshire, has told how she was left stunned when she found out her son Archie's packet of 99-calorie Maryland cookies was removed from his lunchbox on his first day at Cippenham Nursery School.
And when it happened again, but with a packet of Pom Bear crisps, she was truly baffled. Emma claimed on both occasions she packed her son a well-balanced lunch including a sandwich, fruit, yoghurt, and a 'lunchbox-sized' sweet snack or packet of crisps - and was left gobsmacked to find that they'd been taken off him.
Emma believes that teachers should not be able to choose what her son can and cannot eat, and claims that she's even been pulled aside by a staff member when picking her child up from nursery and handed a 'ridiculous' note outlining the banned food that appeared in her son's lunch.
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As part of the healthy nursery protocols, Emma also claims the playgroup celebrates the children's birthdays with a plastic or wooden cake and they are not allowed to bring in sweets.
Archie has even reportedly returned home with one of his two satsumas that staff had swiped, claiming that one of them was enough. But the school's headteacher defended their policies as 'very similar to those seen in nearly all nursery schools nationwide' and said they stand by their choices as they 'encourage healthy choices for the children'.
Emma said: "I always felt [the wooden cake] was a bit over the top, as with a lot of things these days. A bit extreme almost. I can't see anything wrong with a slither of cake or a little sweet with their friends to celebrate!
"It does make me a little sad [about the pretend cake] that whilst they are in the nursery setting there are small things such as sharing a birthday cake or typical 'party bag' treats with friends are off limits and kept for 'when you get home'."
She said that when her son started, they were invited to a welcome meeting at the nursery, and they had a chat about smoothies and hidden sugars, with Emma saying it "seemed okay." She continued: "As they were talking it seemed to be getting more and more ridiculous.
"They started going through a list of the crisps that were and weren't allowed and I went home and said to my husband this is going to be a nightmare, especially with kids who are fussy eaters."
The mum even said that after she was reprimanded about the Maryland cookies, she put a note in his lunchbox telling staff not to remove items - but they still did.
"They open up the lunchboxes and take the items out in front of them [the children] and can have them back at the end of the day because they are fine to eat when he's not at nursery", she said. But she pointed out that her son gets "worried" that he's going to get "told off" when he's at nursery.
Emma strongly believes that cakes and crisps should be eaten in moderation, but has slammed the rules as 'ridiculous', also claiming the rules can be ambiguous as foods like sausage rolls, Pepperami sticks, and crisps like Mini Cheddars are allowed but low-calorie snacks such as Pop Chips - which are baked crisps not fried - are banned.
Emma said that she's also been given a letter from the nursery, outlining food that's banned. She also says she is not the only parent left frustrated by the healthy nursery rules.
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Emma thinks all foods are ok in moderation (Kennedy News and Media)
She received a letter telling her which foods are not allowed (Kennedy News and Media)After ranting about the extremely healthy lunches on Facebook, other mums were quick to agree with Emma's frustrations.
One mum said: "Wow! That's crazy. They're children. Poor little boy! I'm all for the healthy parts of meals but my god a packet of crisps isn't the end of the world." Another commented: "Sounds like a tick box situation here."
A third said: "I'd be furious, this is all a bit extreme in my opinion. Working in a school I fully appreciate and support promoting healthy lifestyles, however, they are children and need a balanced diet."
Nisha Gill, headteacher of Cippenham Nursery School, said: "Cippenham Nursery School has a lunchbox policy which is very similar to those seen in nearly all nursery schools nationwide. Its aim is to promote healthy food choices and encourage those both for the children in our care and their families.
"In Slough, the health of our young people is a priority as we have large health inequalities – in particular around childhood obesity levels and conditions in adults which lead to lower life expectancy such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
"A child's early development and experiences play a key role in determining their future health and well-being and we aim to provide those experiences, not just through this policy, but through the school's veggie patch, where our children can grow their own fruit and vegetables, our Healthy Schools, Forest-Schools and Eco-Schools work and our provision of healthy and fun snacks for our children through the school day.
"The vast majority of our parents are very supportive of the policy, understanding that outside of the school environment, they can choose to feed their children whatever suits their family, and where there are dietary requirements we have discussed these to make appropriate exceptions for individual children.
"We also make amendments to the policy to include or exclude items following advice from government, public health, and other experts and if any parent comes across a type of food which they believe could be included they are welcome to raise it with us so we can get the appropriate advice.
"However, we whole-heartedly stand by our policy of encouraging healthy choices for the children in our care, as we are sure the hundreds, possibly thousands, of nursery schools do, across the country."
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