Nursery World - Happy birthday (1)

Cut out the problems in celebrating children's birthdays at nursery with cake by switching to this strategy devised by Mary Whiting As recent letters to Nursery World have shown, celebrations involving birthday cakes can be problematical. I once worked in a setting where parents brought in birthday cakes. Some were elaborately decorated, sometimes covered in cream (real or synthetic) and all manner of coloured bits and bobs; some were cheap 'long shelf-life' versions. Few were homemade. The practice created a range of problems, including competitiveness. Once, two cakes arrived on the same day: one was a spectacular, professionally iced affair that the children excitedly clustered round, the other a nice-looking, homemade sponge cake, which got barely a glance.

As recent letters to Nursery World have shown, celebrations involving birthday cakes can be problematical. I once worked in a setting where parents brought in birthday cakes. Some were elaborately decorated, sometimes covered in cream (real or synthetic) and all manner of coloured bits and bobs; some were cheap 'long shelf-life' versions. Few were homemade. The practice created a range of problems, including competitiveness. Once, two cakes arrived on the same day: one was a spectacular, professionally iced affair that the children excitedly clustered round, the other a nice-looking, homemade sponge cake, which got barely a glance.

For me, that was the last straw! I quickly devised a 'birthday strategy'.

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