My son isn't eating his dinner at school...

[Holbez2011]

My LB started school this year. He's been in nursery since he was 9 months old so is used to having the usual hot dinners type meals. However, school informed me last week that he hasn't been eating anything at school and asked me to bring packed lunch in instead.
I have spoken to my lb and he says the food is yuk and sees others with packed lunch so wants that instead. So the past few days I've sent a packed lunch in and he has been eating it.
The issue I have is that I don't want to give in to him when I feel he should be eating his dinner or atleast trying it to see if he likes it and at the moment, he's getting exactly what he wanted.
I'm really at a loss at what to do and I don't know what's really the best option. Should I refuse to do packed lunch? Or should I just keep sending him with them?

TIA

[Heratnumber7]

Just give him a packed lunch and learn to pick your battles! This one is really not worth it.

[sparepantsandtoothbrush]

Just give him a packed lunch. Really not worth the fuss

[nicp123]

Please send packed lunches, as your child needs nutrition to keep his focus & concentration at correct levels during his school day.
Obviously the teacher made her judgement based on what she saw being served daily in order to advise you.
Unfortunately in some schools, some of the lunch/dinners are disgusting. Our neighbour (School Governor @ local school) sending her child with packed lunches as the LA's Menu is often ignored by the school's cook who is cooking daily some very dodgy concoction. Her daughter brought home one day a burned roast potato empty inside saying that the broccoli was too mushy to be picked with a fork. Yuk! As a school governor she got involved in trying to improve the school dinners but unfortunately very little was done and now when she needs to go for PTA meetings or other reasons she is always escorted avoiding school's diner. :(

[converseandjeans]

I gave in and both mine have packed lunch

[Yokohamajojo]

I persisted with school lunches and they both eat it now, they don't like it all but will have some!

[dalmatianmad]

Send the poor lad with a packed lunch!
Nursery dinners are very different to school dinners, our school invited parents in to sit with their dc and try their dinners and I went a couple of times.
Really awful, I actually felt bad that I'd been encouraging them to have them and started with sandwiches.....
It's a bit rubbish in winter but as long as the get a nice hot meal in the evening

[PerspicaciaTick]

I went through the menu with my DS and agreed the days he would have school lunches. The rest of the time he has packed. It works well.

[MrsJayy]

Give him a packed lunch he is allowed not to like dinners it isn't giving in ime never fight with them over food

[ReallyExhaustedLlama]

I'd send him in with packed lunches for the moment.

Maybe in time you could encourage him to try a meal say once a week of there's something he'd probably like (our school seems to have fish and chips of pizza on a Friday) once the novelty of packed lunches has worn off. If school allows that.

My daughter hardly touches her packed lunch either so I'd say it's good if he's eating that at least and trying to force the issue may just make it worse.

Starting school is such a big change - Maybe it's comforting to have familiar food from home in some way.

[JustSpeakSense]

Some school dinners can be really disgusting. Just send him in with a healthy packed lunch and then you know he's not going hungry.

[ijustwannadance]

Same happened to me last year. We made it til xmas before starting with packed lunch. DD was coming home from school starving and upset as dinner ladies tried unsuccessfully to make her eat.

By giving her packed lunch and allowing her to choose what goes in it, we know she is actually eating in school and can make it to tea time without being so hungry at 3.30.

There is no choice in her school. Set menu. Some schools, like my neice's have choices. Various hot and cold options.
Whilst it annoyed me having to buy stuff for lunches when school dinners are free, £5 a week is nothing if it means my DD is happier when in school.

[MERLYPUSSEDOFF]

Does he eat a dinner with you in the evening? In which case a packed lunch will do him no harm at all.

If you have sandwiches for dinner too then I'd be inclined to make his evening meal a hot dinner even if it's just fish fingers type stuff.

[steppemum]

well I am on the fence.
Is there any choice? I would be working through the menu with him and finding things he likes. Our school for example always has a jacket potato option which mine will eat.

Let him pick one oe two per week, and get used to them. It does depend on the quality obviously. As a governor we went i and tried the meals and they are good, and there is a lot of choice (main, vegetarian or jacket, and a salad bar)

You could then in the evening ask how the meal was, what he liked etc, he will feel as if he has choice, and will gradually get used to eating school dinners.

[MrsJayy]

Yes I agree for now, he might change his mind or you could do have 1 dinner a week the rest packed Lunch his little friends might be on Packed Lunch a nursery lunch is different from a school dinner room it can be noisy look huge and daunting thats maybe putting him off eating his dinner he might feel securer with his pals.

[longdiling]

It's OK for kids to get what they want sometimes you know, it really is. Especially when what they want is (presumably) a healthy packed lunch. If he's otherwise not a fussy eater why not trust what he's telling you, that he doesn't like the food?

[Clutterbugsmum]

I'm a school governor at my children school. And I swapped them to packed lunches as the school dinner were both small, think 2 fish stick which are about the size of your little finger, roughly 10 chips and a desert spoon of beans, and a piece of cake again about an 1.5 inch cube. And the standard dropped.

Our school cook was a very good cook and came up with really good meals. But when the government bought free school meals for KS1 they also restricted what meals school could cook.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Not all schools allow you to chop and change from dinners to packed lunch on a day to day basis so that may not be an option. I think I would go for the packed lunch for now with the aim of trying dinners again further down the line once he is a bit older and more settled.