Mum appalled at preschool's drink of choice

A woman has taken to parenting forum Mumsnet for advice after discovering her two-year-old son was given a cup of tea at preschool.

In a recent thread, the horrified mum asked fellow parents for their take on the issue:

“My ds [dear son] has just moved out of baby room. When I collected him the other day was told he’d just had a cup of tea and biscuit.

“I assumed they were role playing and really meant water or milk. However the staff member said no real tea.”

She asked if she was being ‘unreasonable’, adding that she had no other concerns with the daycare.

“AIBU [Am I being unreasonable?] to think this isn’t really appropriate for 2-year-olds? Before this I’ve never had any concerns at all with the nursery.”

The response was divided. Some agreed it seemed like an odd practice in a preschool.

“I wouldn’t like that at all,” wrote one parent. “I wouldn’t give a 2 year old a cup of tea at home (still don’t in their teens.) I can’t see why they would do that and it must be a lot of faff for the staff compared to giving them water.”

Someone else questioned: “Is your child going to nursery in 1976?”

One even suggested the mum take radical action: “I know this will go against the census, but honestly, I’d move nurseries.”

For others, however the tea wasn’t a big deal. Some doubted the tea would be very strong, with one suggesting: “I expect it’s milk with a teabag wafted over it.”

Others claimed their own children drank tea without a problem.

“My 2yo and 5yo like the odd cup of tea. I won’t allow them squash though. Everyone has different ideas on parenting!”, one wrote.

“Both my little cousins drank tea at that age, I’m not sure what the problem is. They wouldn’t have given it to him scalding hot,” said another user.

While parents clearly have different approaches to whether or not toddlers should drink tea, the official line is that it is “unsuitable”.

According to the Department of Health children and babies should not be given caffeine, specifically listing tea as a beverage which is both caffeinated and sweet.

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