With our Spring & Summer Menus finalised and new nutrition guidance arriving this September we'll be focusing on different aspects of the food at Red Bus - starting with our weaning menu.
We have always catered for children under 12 months, and we now feature complimentary weaning menus alongside our main menu. Our amazing nursery teams have been strengthening their knowledge through staff training, ensuring we work in partnership with you and your child as they take this big step from a milk-only diet to solid foods.
The NHS recommends starting weaning around six months old - but all children develop at their own pace, so think about where your baby is developmentally rather than strictly focusing on their age. You can start to introduce solid foods when your baby...
• Can stay in a sitting position and support their own head
• Can coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up, and put it in their mouth
• Can swallow food, rather than push it back out.
The Solid Starts App • NHS - Weaning and Feeding • NHS - Foods to Avoid Giving Babies
We will never make assumptions about your child's diet or weaning journey based on their age. Just before your child joins us we will ask you to provide information, such as...
Babies will never be given foods at Red Bus that they haven't already tried at home - so we will ask you which of the common food allergens your child has already tried.
Allergens should be introduced one at a time, and in very small amounts so that you can spot a reaction.
We have a 6 month menu consisting of one vegetable puree, and one fruit . They are a mixture of flavours, including slightly bitter ones so that children get used to a range of tastes - not just sweet.
We also offer a 7 to 12 month menu offering breakfast, lunch and tea but no snacks. Meals are served with a finger food such as thin sticks of bread, soft-cooked broccoli or carrot, or banana cut into batons. These can encourage hand-eye coordination as well as introducing new textures!
From 10 months old, children are offered the second dish at lunch and tea and from 12 months children are provided meals from the main menu.
All of our nursery rooms have a dedicated area for mealtimes, where distractions can be minimised. Children sit together in small groups, seated safely in a highchair or appropriately sized low chair whilst eating. This set up is similar to Kindergarten and Pre-School's mealtimes, so children are given consistency right from the start.
Children are always supervised during mealtimes by practitioners, who sit down at their level, facing the children to ensure they are eating in a way to prevent choking and sharing of food. There is always at least one member of staff in the room with a valid paediatric first aid certificate - you can find the full list of who is first aid trained on display on our parent noticeboards.
Younger babies are fed responsively according to their needs. This means feeding children when they show signs that they are hungry, at their own pace, and recognising the cues that they are full.
Children are encouraged to feed themselves, gradually promoting independence. Older children are also encouraged to have autonomy, listening to their hunger cues and deciding if they would like another helping of food.
Practitioners are encouraged to eat the same meal alongside the children, and engage in active discussions around the food - further developing their communication and language skills.