A nursery member of staff put my sons toast on the window ledge and then gave it to him to eat?

Question

Is it acceptable for a nurseries to put food on the window ledge(no plate or napkin) and then give it to a one year old baby to eat?

Her justification was that the window ledge was clean.

No the nursery nurse did not wash her hands after touching her spots and hair.

She did it all right in front of my face.

Answer 1

At that age, the baby is just building up his immunity to various diseases around him. If he were two or three years older and has acquired immunity to more diseases because of small exposures, it would have been all right. But this is still a baby. I'm sure you still sterilize the bottles/trainer cups you use to feed him his milk! This is unacceptable, tell the manager. You not only help yourself and your son that way, but other parents and their kids as well.

Answer 2

I dont find it acceptable at all!!
i understand where some of these people are coming from..saying a bit of dirt wont hurt him, and he needs to build up his immune system...BUT would these people feel the same way if the next time they bought a hamburger or something in a fast food place, and the bun fell on a just washed floor, but was still served to you? The floor was clean...what's the problem? Or how about the person who handles the cash money, and then neglects to wash their hands, and touches the food you are served? what's wrong....you don't want to eat a few thousand germs? We as adults wouldn't accept it so why should it be acceptable for a toddler?
It's not about the fact that he will come in contact with other germs, from other kids, dirt, fingers etc...the problem is that the adult in charge is being negligent, and probably not following procedures for safe food handling.
If the child is going to eat anything that sits anywhere without a plate or napkin....It should be up to the parents to do that, Not by someone who is supposed to be taking care of your boy in the best, safest way possible.
If my child drops her cookie on my kitchen floor, she can still eat it, but if she drops it on the floor in a restraunt, supermarket, doctor office, etc. I will not let her eat it. I control that, and I would not have anyone else come along and tell her it's ok to eat it....the floor is clean.

Answer 3

You cant watch your kids all the time, and im sure that he's had more germs than what you may think! I've got a daughter thats 2yrs old and shes disgusting! She at the moment has a habit of playing down the toilet and no matta how hard i try to stop her, she wont or she'll find some other disgusting thing to do for example play in the bin or somewhere wheres theres always germs. These things cant be helped and happen all the time.
Ok i wouldn't be happy to of seen that myself but i would of kept my thoughts to myself as shes maybe done your boy a favour, his immune system in one way or another needs toughening up.

Answer 4

shulda bin on a plate, but come on! a lil bit of dirt isn't going to hurt him! its people thinking everything a baby touches must be spotlessly clean that end up with children allergic to everything!

ummm, don't take this the wrong way, and if u come on here a bit then you'll see the amount of fake questions. hands up, sorry if its an honest question...but...how do u kno they put it on the window ledge? cuz if you were there then well...no one to blame but your self. plus it just seems so daft that a nursery worker would risk the whole nursery by putting toast on the side. my mother in law runs a nursery, and i know that since some children have died in them the rules have become much stricter. if they put the toast on the side and u complained to a higher body that nursery could be a serious risk of being shut down! all for sum ruddy toast on the side! i also know nursery's try to teach manners, and tehre for have children sitting down for snacks and drinks, if drinks are in a carton they're put in a beaker, all food is placed on a plate. its simple. do you see why i doubt your question? i don't mean to be horrible. but if u know they put it on the window ledge i'm assuming u were there...then its ur fault too. i seriously doubt it came up in conversation with a play worker that the toast was on the side!

Answer 5

I'm just wondering, what are you doing standing at the nursery watching this woman touch her 'spots and hair' and putting toast on the windows edge?! If you are at the nursery, shouldn't you be going home with your child...not making other people still look after him?

This women work with a number of children...yes? Do the children play together, share toys, spit up, go outsdie? They all have germs, you son has germs too! Amazing.

If we all use 99.9% germ killers in a few years when your child has a cold, he will end up in the hospital. You should be thankful this woman was slightly careless about wear the food was put, as he will be a stronger child for it.

Listen, I am a nanny, full-time. When I was watching 3 children aged 1,2 and 5 the mother never complained when her children ate food that fell on the floor....This doesn't mean I put their food on the floor, but things to drop, and children and QUICK to pop it into their mouths.

I encourage children to play outside all day, and yes they get dirty and get things into their mouths, but if they didn't...they wouldn't be children.

Relax. If you have a REAL reason not to trust the people caring for your child, look into it, and change places. Have any other mothers/fathers had problems with them? Have you looked into them enough to know they are a good place to have your child? Or, are you just critising them, because you think you can care for him better and feel chalanged as a mother who cannot be with him 24/7?

I'm not trying to be mean, but you sound unreasonable. If someone fired me for handing their child a snack without washing my hands every 5 minutes (like when out at the park, in the stroller etc) I would be jobless. It isn't always possible to wash your hands constantly, if they did, they would be in the sink all day and your child would most likely be covered him bruises from falls they couldn't catch!

Hope this opens your eyes a little on the issue of germs and daycares....they are dirty, kids are dirty, the air is dirty....they YOU are dirty. Do you wash your hands everytime before you hug, kiss and love your child...NO. This is what mothers were made for, passing germs to their children to help build immunity.

:D

Answer 6

Is your baby well taken care of at the nursery? Can you afford the care you are paying for? Do you need to work?
These are all questions for you to answer in your mind.

If the baby is not coming home with bruises and bites and diaper rash, and he is being well cared for, then forget about it. Hesperia the nanny is right. Children do the same, and when you are caring for children, their safety and well being is what you are concerned about. Have you ever sat your cookie down on a table at home and then picked it up and finished it without having a plate? Get over it. I am sitting here taking an asthma breathing treatment because I have such bad allergies and asthma. My mother kept our house practically sterile. I have little immunity because I never went outside and got dirty. Other kids played in the dirt...I got a dish pan and play dishes and soapy water to play in. Your son will be better for the people he is exposed to at this age and the germs he is around. Also, please make sure he has a pet while he is little too. Homes without cats or dogs create a child with allergies to dogs and cats when they get older. It took me years of shots and finally living with a dog that shed heavily to get over my allergy. It is much easier as a child to be exposed to everything than as an adult to live like I do, having trouble breathing around dust & dirt & smoke because I never was exposed to it.

Answer 7

no dats not acceptable its ok for a parent to do for their child but its not in a nursery where the children their lookin after isnt thiers. i no children pick things off the floor and put it in their mouth when they are little and eat food off the floor its all part of growing up. even thou children need to build up their imune system. in a nursey its not acceptable as its their company on the line and its not very hygienic they shud use tables and plates that way the nursery nurses wud b showin to the parents that they care for their child and their in safe hands. u seeing dat in a nursey you thought was a safe palce to leave ur child turns out they arent so gd after all. you need to find a new nursery they oviously are very carelessand who knows what they will do next dats careless cos it cud turn out to be dangerous and harmful towards ur chil. .hope this helped.

Answer 8

this is why i'm not going back to work this time. my eldest came back from nursery stinking of cigarettes when she was only 7 months old. she never went back. no one will care for your child like you will. this won't have harmed him but it just shows what sort of place it is. you get 18 year olds with nvq's (not very qualified's!) in childcare on minimum wage who don't give a ****. look at that place where the little was strangled by someone leaving a bag on the side of the cot. my personal choice has been that i would rather struggle financially for a couple of years. they're only little for a short time and i'm going to be here to enjoy it this time round.

Answer 9

I know nurseries are very clean but i think a window ledge was a bit bad as it's most common place to ppick up dust. I don't think this was acceptable. That's my opinion anyways

Answer 10

As clean as the window ledge may have been, she should be more careful when caring for other peoples children. And it's not exactly hard to get a plate...
I don't think what she did was acceptable.

Answer 11

This must be your first child. Technically, that's probably not acceptable. However, you child is getting exposed to a lot worse than toast that sat on a ledge. That's just the fact of the world we live in.
Ask them to please not do that again. If the place looks dirty, or the staff acts like they don't care, find another place to take your child.
I wouldn't make a federal case out of it, though. You're going to have a lot worse to deal with raising a child. Loosen up a little, and don't worry about it.