Fruit how do you offer yours?

Fruit how do you offer yours?

by: lollysmum - 27-07-09 20:25

A couple of questions for our experienced members..

Firstly we offer fruit at least twice a day as snacks and then as part of main meals;

At what age would you as a setting stop blending/pureeing fruit and offer it as finger food pieces?

Do you have a no whole fruit policy and implement it by asking parents to sign a waver should their child choke while being given whole fruit pieces at your setting?

I am not sure where I stand on this issue, our previous manager was happy for all ages to have fruit pieces, with fruit being blended or pureed for young babies, our new manager likes to have all fruit blended and offered either as a puree or as a smoothie mixed with whole milk..

Some parents are happy some are not..

What do you do as a setting with age ranges 0 to 1, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 5?

by: Maestro

A waiver should their child choke? Is that for real?

"I'm sorry your son is dead, but its not our fault you signed to say its ok!!"

We tend not to offer hard fruits such as apple until we are confident the children can chew it. Bananas, oranges, grapes, kiwi, melon etc... we offer to the young ones as finger foods if they can manage it.

We do chunks, slices, smoothies the works. Fruit is given four times a day with a choice of water or milk.

by: Maestro

Oh baby babies have it pureed. No one else does.

by: joshuajones

Maestro the ghost of common sense is obviously following you !!!!

I have never heard anything so ridiculous - a waiver should a child choke !!

Children from 8/9 months are offered pieces of fruit or sooner if the parents offer it at home, but fruit is mashed rather than pureed for younger babies. Bearing in mind they aren't weaned now until approx 6/7 months they are more than capable of dealing with mashed, soft fruits. 1 - 5's get a selection of fresh fruit sliced, diced, chunked any which way it comes !!

by: Lolo

pureeing is on its way out anyway - baby-led weaning starts with finger food from day one.

pureeed or juiced fruits are worse for teeth - something to do with breaking the sugar chains?  And do you get all the fibre?

I think it depends on a child's ability to chew.  I would never give an under 5 whole grapes/ other round fruit, and I would be peeling apples and pears until the children can cope with the peel.  My dd1 is nearly 3, and although she does have whole apples, I take a strip of peel off to get her started. 

by: lollysmum

I am not sure how the form is exactly worded as I havent seen it myself but the parent told me she had signed a form to say her child would be allowed to have whole pieces of fruit and that she is responsible for that action.

Previously we did the same as the rest of you, as each child grew and developed so did their ability to chew and eat safely, and as I said I am not sure if this new way of doing things is the way everyone approaches how to give fruit, at the moment I have to keep my opinions to myself and simply pass messages from parents to the leadership team and their response back to parents.  Incidently I have been told that this practice is based on the advice of a dietician, so again I am not sure about good practice in this area and that is why I have asked for your opinions, thoughts and how you offer fruit in your settings so that I can have more understanding and knowledge as I feel that parents are not going to accept this practice without some formal complaint and while I am certain I do not want to be caught in the middle I need to understand all sides of this issue.

Thankyou for your comments x 

by: Maestro

It wont matter how it's worded it will not stand up in court.

by: curly

I'm with Maestro and Joshuajones - a parent's signature doesn't dissolve responsibility.

For babies I used to give banana whole and puree other fruits. Then give whole pieces as and when they could manage it. Sometimes, instead of fruit I would cook frozen mixed vegetables which are very small and very soft and they can practise fine motor skills by having to pick up each one.

by: red sun

We have rolling snack for 2-3's and 3-5's, both are supervised. We do however allow the 3-5's to chop their own fruit, under strict supervision and with a not so sharp sharp knife, I'm sure you know what I mean. It's all done very responsibly and supervised well.

by: Maestro

Rolling snack sounds great. I have visions of fruit going round like in a Sushi Bar.

by: red sun

now there's a thought...........................

by: starfleur

i must say ive never heard of signing such a form

a.id never sign it myself (the setting has responsibility for any child they have with them during the day including ensuring they do not choke.)

b.i really dont see how it would stand up in court, as lot of judges would see it as negligence ie the staff probably didnt take account of how the particular child normally has their fruit/food and if they can handle chunks etc and also they probably werent supervising the child closely enough,maybe even the staff were rushing the child.

also if the careers were not qualified in first aid, im sure the judge would see that as negligence on behalf of the manager( not ensuring staff are up to date on child safety requirements etc ). also, not having correct staffing ratios may also contribute in terms of stress of staff, lack of supervision etc

personally, i see a no whole fruit policy as lazy and completely unnecessary. i bet ofsted wouldnt be happy about that, as chewing is good for young children in terms of facial muscles and preparing the stomach to correctly and effectively digest food.

the manager also needs to be aware that CHILDREN CAN CHOKE ON ANYTHING!!!!not just fruit. the only way to ensure 100% that nobody chokes is to remove all things hard and small including all the childrens small toys, puree all the childrens foods, dont let them do sticking and glueing etc

how boring nursery life would be for them then!!

anyway,.....rant over......

in settings ive worked in it has depended on the child. all childen ive cared for have had sliced fruit such as apple and pear (with skins on ) from about 1.5 upwards. i have seen a 7 month old given a very soft piece of banana that was chopped in half again. the baby was confident eating and had one to one supervision, so no risk of choking.

   grapes have always been chopped in half for any child aged under 5 which makes sense when you have a lot of kids in the room at the time(in this case it was the pre school room with about 25 children having teatime)

i think your manager is a bit over cautious in terms of pureeing fruit for all ages all the time, im not surprised that parents are complaining. if the child is not used to whole pieces of fruit, they may reject it at home out of fear of trying new things or even laziness.

by: Maestro

Why is everyone cutting grapes in half for under fives? Have I missed something?? Next you'll be telling me you peel them!

RE: RE: Fruit how do you offer yours? - 28-07-09 16:55

by: starfleur

one setting i worked in cut up the grapes for the 3-5 year olds to minimise the choking risk, personally i thought it was a bit stupid for that age group but with over 64 children in the preschool section (when at full capacity) it did seem more sensible as you cannot watch 64 children all the time.

by: curly

Maybe Maestro they used to cut grapes to take out the pips and now have changed to seedless but forgot why they were cutting them.

by: Maestro

Ahh I see! Silly me!

by: me

rolling snack table should be the norm in every setting for 2 plus. we use the whole fruit and children chop it with help if required. the best thing is to let them chop whole bananas without peeling it is great cos they chop then have to peel each segment, takes ages! surrey county council did a great dvd about snack times which someone may have i 'lent' mine to someone some time ago! 

the worse thing is to prepare it all in the kitchen then present a lovely plate of prepared fruit, boring and pointless  and for the staffs benefit only.  

by: Maestro

Without sounding like a dumbass what do you refer to as a rolling snack table? We do all of what you have said Tutu but no one has ever referred to it as "rolling"

by: red sun

I've known it be called rolling snack, milk bar, snack bar, all means the same thing! Dont know where the name came from though!!

by: Lolo

Grapes are cut in half because they present a significant choking risk if they are swallowed whole.  Because they are quite small, it is fairly easy for a child to swallow one without having to take a bite from it, unlike a wedge of apple, say. Because they are round, they will pretty put fill the trachea with no gaps around the side to let a little air through.  Also, their skin won't really break down, so the obstruction won't dissolve in the same way that other food might.

Maestro/ Tutu - is it rolling because their isn't a set fruit time, more of a continuous (i.e. rolling) provision? 

by: lollysmum

Thankyou all for your replies, now that I have some insight to how other settings provide their fruit I will have a better idea of what to say when we have our staff meeting and how to approach this subject. 

I agree that our manager has been over cautious and I am not sure where she is coming from on this matter but I will be sure to put some of your ideas, thoughts and opinions across.

I am a mum of two and have many years childcare experience but have always worked in schools or wraparound settings, this is my first post in a private setting and on a few issues I am not fully aware of what is considered normal practice, that is why I ask for support and I am grateful to learn from you.  We all have areas where we excel and others that need some support!

by: me

maestro just a term which i do believe was coined by ofsted just means it is available all session and doesnt have a set time. 

by: Maestro

Makes sense, never heard it called that, I've learnt something new today!

by: curly

Is it common for children to choke on grapes? Is there anyone out there who doesn't cut them who cant tell us?

by: Maestro

We don't cut grapes, no grape induced problems so far.

by: kaz (the first one!)

I often cut grapes just to make them go further! My son choked on a grape when he was 5! His lunch supervisor managed to do that manoeuvre on him and he hasn't eaten a grape since. It can happen to anyone.