Lunchbox contents fine for school but not holiday club

[TheLunchIsServed]

DD is 7, about to go into year 3 at school.

She doesn’t always have a school hot dinner so takes a packed lunch. Usually she has

• Ham Sandwich
  
• Cheese string or babybel
  
• Penguin bar or similar small type biscuit
  
• Cucumber and carrot sticks
  
• Apple orange or banana
  
• Water
  
  Sometimes I swap the cucumber and carrots for a homemade yogurt (fruit and greek yogurt combined). School have never commented negatively on the contents of her lunchbox, only comment I’ve ever had about it was from the headteacher the first time she took a lunchbox and I asked if it was (she’d gone in late for a reason and was taken to class by the HT) who said it sounded fine.
  
  DD is at holiday club while I work and is taking the same packed lunch with her. She’s been before to this holiday club but I had a call to say policy has changed and she’s not allowed the cheese, yogurt (even a homemade one) or the chocolate and that lunch has to contain two portions of vegetables. They’d rather I didn’t send sugary fruit – even though DD tends to eat that at morning snack time rather than with lunch.
  
  They’ve suggested I leave in the sandwich, cucumber and carrots, swap the cheese for another portion of vegetables – they suggested some cooked and cooled sweetcorn or tomatos (which are fruit) neither of which DD likes. They said to leave the chocolate out completely.
  
  It’s nothing to do with hot weather as the lunchbox goes into a coolbag thing when she gets to holiday club and DD says it’s still cold when she eats it (at school I put those iceblocks in when it’s hot to keep it cool and DD says it’s nice there too).
  
  I can’t understand why her lunchbox is fine at school but not holiday club who I was expecting to be more lenient.
  
  So AIBU to think as I’m paying £35 a day for the service they can ignore a bit of cheese and a small chocolate bar? Or AIBU?
  
  And if so can you make suggestions that a 7 year old will actually eat?
  
  Rules are:
  
• Two Portions of Veg
  
• No nuts or seeds
  
• No kiwi
  
• No tahini/hummus

[Idontgiveagriffindamn]

Ridiculous. I’d politely tell them to do one and carry on sending what you’ve been sending in. Assuming nothing they excluded is for alergy purposes which is unlikely.

[pinksquash13]

So bizarre. What's their issue with cheese and yogurt? Schools have to promote healthy lunch boxes but your one sounds fine and perfectly balanced. Not sure why private holiday clubs even concern themselves with what's in a lunch box (allergens aside) as like you say, it's a bit of a special occasion. I'd question it or ignore it.

[DeathStare]

That's ridiculous. Asking you to leave out the chocolate is one thing. This a whole other level.

[dementedpixie]

Bonkers
What's wrong with dairy products or fruit?

[2reefsin30knots]

I would ignore them. What are they going to do??

[TheLunchIsServed]

I'll speak to them when I pick DD up and see if it's a chocolate thing.

They're just a normal childcare holiday club not one connected to a sports or a hobby.

[Wjevtvha]

Why on earth no cheese or yoghurt? What’s their theory? I wouldn’t be bothered about being asked not to put the chocolate bar in but the rest of it just no

[Fullofglee]

I think they got a cheek when your paying for their services its not up to them what you put in your child lunch box.

[DPotter]

We're raising a generation of children with low levels of vitamin D and calcium in their bodies. I really don't understand this aversion to dairy products in a standard omnivorous diet.

[Ladypuggerz]

I'd want to tell them to mind their own business frankly.

Ok, I get grumbles over a chocolate bar but cheese, fruit and yoghurt? Really?

Demonising good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals and existing all day at holiday club on a sandwich and veg does not sound healthy at all...

[Gunpowder]

Completely bonkers. Think that’s a normal well balanced lunch for a child.

[Pleasegodgotosleep]

Perhaps they have a child with a dairy allergy? A friend's child is anaphalactic with dairy so if any child has dairy he has to sit in another room until they eat, fully clean surfaces, kids hands and even brush the kids teeth so it's not on their breath.

[LivingInABuildingSite]

Bonkers, but I had similar years ago when Ds1 went to a holiday club and they took his small chocolate bar off him to give to me at the end with stern words.

Then gave him an equivalent chocolate bar as a prize for some activity 🙄

He only went to play with friends, so we stopped going.

More usefully,

Chopped peppers, red/yellow/orange ones.
Crackers (with cheese in already)?

Radishes? My DC wouldn’t eat them.

Mange tout might work?

[Iloveitall]

I’d maybe get it if they asked you to leave out the chocolate (although a penguin sized bar is hardly a problem) but cheese and yogurt??? Ridiculous. They are healthy items full of calcium for growing bones.

[OrangeSharked]

Thats absolutely ridiculous. Nothing wrong with cheese or Greek yoghurt, she's getting 2 portions of fruit and veg at lunch which seems reasonable.

Not sure how some cold sweetcorn which sounds pretty disgusting, but also quote sugary, is going to be better than some cheese which has plenty of vitamins and minerals in it. Get rid of the sugary fruit and replace it with sugary vegetables with lower nutritional value? Ridiculous

[Comedycook]

Why do they care?! . I can understand rules regarding allergies so no nuts or whatever else but apart from that, what's it to them?!

[VinoEsmeralda]

Change holiday club.

[Skyechasemarshalontheway]

They sound bonkers cheese is fine. The only time a holiday club have called me about food was to check the chocolate sandwiches we sent in were nut free as they are a nut free establishment. They were as we have another child with a nut allergy. They didn't judge at all.

[NotAnotherPushyMum]

Unless they have a child with a dairy allergy that makes no sense.

[insancerre]

What’s wrong with cheese and yogurt and fruit?
I can maybe see a problem with the chocolate biscuit but not the rest
I run a nursery and while we do give advice about lunch boxes we couldn’t stop a child eating what their parent has sent in, unless it’s because of life threatening allergies
Op, just ignore the batshit rules

[OrangeSharked]

Honestly I'd just add in maybe carrots and cucumber or some chopped pepper or mangetout and leave it. Maybe swap fruit for berries but then banana/apple is more filling

Cheese is perfectly healthy and its better to have some veg and small amount of cheese than all veg. Chocolate is okay in moderation and if you want to feed your DD a penguin at lunch that's your choice

[TheLunchIsServed]

I will ask, I wonder if it could be dairy allergy child as they have 3 rooms, one for each age stage as they go up to age 12 but all eat in one room. I hadn't thought it could be that.

[Fiddliestofsticks]

Do people still give their kids chocolate spread? Why? why would you do that?

OP, ignore them. That lunch is fine. Cheese is a great snack, and they are meant to have a portion of dairy in their lunches.

[Phineyj]

Surely one of the points of holiday club from the DC point of view is to have a more exciting lunch. Ask for their reasoning and if it's not allergies, remind them you're a customer...

[RedMarauder]

Ok they don't want her to have chocolate or a biscuit fair enough but the rest is madness.

I don't know what this aversion is to people eating fruit. Fruit has the fibre and other nutritions still in it unlike fruit juice. Plus not all varieties of apples and pears are sweet particularly if they aren't commercially grown.

I had a childhood of eating eating home grown fruit due to friends and neighbours wanting to get rid of excess apples, pears etc. If I ate too many then I would end up with good bowel movements.