Three quarters (73%) of nursery staff think nurseries should be able to ban sugary food and junk food from children’s lunch boxes, according to a new survey by daynurseries.co.uk.
The leading review site for nurseries also found that just over a quarter of nursery staff (27%) have children in their nurseries that they consider to be obese.
The survey, which received 1,000 responses from nursery owners, managers and staff, asked ‘do you think nurseries should be able to ban sugary food and junk food from children’s lunchboxes?’ 73% said yes and 27% said no. daynurseries.co.uk also asked ‘are there children you consider to be obese in your nursery?’ with just over a quarter – 27% saying yes.
One in 10 four and five year olds obese
The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) which measures the height and weight of children in England, in Reception class aged 4-5, shows 9.7% of reception age children in England were obese in 2018/2019, with a further 12.9% overweight. Boys were more likely to be overweight and obese than girls.
Sue Learner, editor of daynurseries.co.uk, said: “It is shocking that one in ten children start school obese. Pre-school years can be instrumental in helping form eating habits that can stay with a person for life, so it is vital nurseries play a part in educating children on healthy eating.
“I think it is good for nurseries to give guidance on what should be in children’s lunchboxes as it can be confusing for parents, as some seemingly healthy yoghurts have as much as a teaspoon of sugar in them. But giving information and advice is very different from a full-scale ban.
“It can be hard for parents who are often time-poor and I am as guilty as the next parent for slipping a bag of crisps or a cookie into my son’s lunchbox. I think it is fine to discourage parents from giving their children sugary and fatty food, but relationships between the nursery and parent may be put in jeopardy by a draconian approach.”
Some nurseries operate a ‘food from home’ poilicy
Tops Day Nurseries in the south of England has been working for some time to address the obesity crisis.
Amy Alderson, operations director, said: “In 2019 we introduced the Tops Food from home policy, which limits parents from being able to provide high sugar and fatty foods for their children whilst at nursery. On average, children who bring in packed lunches consume more foods like processed meats, pasties, cakes, sugary drinks and snacks, high in fat and salt, than those children having nursery meals.
“We ask parents to avoid bringing in high fat and processed foods such as sausage rolls or pork pies. We discourage crisps as well. We believe that we have a responsibility to help educate children and parents on the impacts of high sugar and fatty foods and encourage them to choose healthier alternatives.
“Exercise is just as important as the food we eat when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. Outside play is encouraged at all times at Tops Day Nurseries, and we have recently introduced the daily mile across our settings as another way of tacking the obesity crisis.”
Defining what is junk food can be complex
June O’Sullivan, chief executive of London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), is a member of the London Mayor’s Child Obesity Taskforce and recently set up an early years chef academy and launched a professional qualification for nursery chefs to help tackle child obesity.
She said: “I am not one for banning junk food from lunch boxes per se. I think we can ask that there are no fizzy drinks and no sweets but for some people, banning junk food is a confusing and alienating message.
“The line is blurred for many people about what is junk and what is not. So, for some children who may be going through a phase of only eating chocolate spread, encouraging parents to spread it on brown bread with a banana might be a better option than saying no chocolate spread and then it stops the anxiety of what to put in the lunch box.”
She added: “As a parent, filling the lunch box was a nightmare. Meeting the children’s choices and trying to find time to make them appetising in small portions, thinking about different foods from what is in the cupboard that will stay fresh and trying to find reasonable priced foods in small sizes.
“We thought Petit Filou was a great option but then discovered it was high in fat and sugar. Raisins proved to be bad for teeth unless accompanied by a drink, sliced meats are high in salt so it’s a tricky situation.
“I think it’s much better to give parents a list of suitable lunch box options. Make it easy for them to use food flasks and make sure nursery snacks are healthy and provide fruit so a balance can be achieved.”
Notes for editors:
Statistics for reception aged children on the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2018-19-school-year