To think it’s a bit unreasonable that children have to have fruit for school snack.

I suspect there probably is a fair overlap TBH.

I suspect the people who are talking about not snacking and suffering no ill effects are not the same as the current overweight population

ours allows fruit or veg

I buy the little packets of cut apples that Aldi do as if I cut it , it goes brown

carrots cucumber peppers all quick and easy

even tho out school says fruit and veg only

still get ‘those’ parents who say my kids don’t eat fruit and veg and bring in cakes crisps chocolate bars

Our school has the same rule throughout the whole school irrespective of age. Both of mine still get the free KS1 fruit at breaktime. DD6 won't eat it but we just make sure she has something slow releasing such as porridge, sometimes she will have a piece of toast extra just before we leave. I don't feel like she is missing out, it's her choice and she knows she has to go to lunch without anything and just accepts that. I do find though that because she then has a tiny FSM at lunchtime that by dinner she is ravenous and we have better success in her eating a better diet.

DS4 dives into the fruit at school alongside the free milk as he is under 5.

Give x 2/3 pieces of fruit.

Life really doesn’t need to be this dramatic.

Bananas are a fulling fruit, also dried fruits like figs. High fives to the school for encouraging healthy eating - too many British kids are seriously overweight .

I don’t know what your school is like but the school dinners at ours aren’t shit and ultra processed. There’s pasta, roast dinner, curry, chicken wrap, baked potatoes and things like that. Last week they had joloff rice and chicken. Once a week there’s either pizza or a burger but they are all made fresh on site so nowhere near a dominos or McDonalds. And a veggi option each day. It’s also worth noting that schools are strict about what they can and can’t feed kids so even when you might see cake or a chocolate brownie, they often have very low sugar, added veg and/ or are extremely small.

My generation, I am approaching 70, is not the obesity generation, that came long after us. The idea of snacks just didn't exist in my time growing up. We had an orange after school and a chocolatete bar at the weekend. I don't think there was money for snacks anyway outside of main meals. And those portions were tiny compared to today!

Bear in mind schools answer to Ofsted or the independent schools council dependent on their set up. This always comes from some sort of guidance a school has to follow.
Porridge for breakfast maybe? Cereal with some protein?

Mine get sent in with vegetables and a dip, I've made it clear to the school that they're all fruit avoiders but love vegetables and they need something filling. I'm all for the healthy lunch and snacks rule but not every child likes fruit!

I agree.

What really annoys me is that the school try to dictate what we give as snacks whilst providing shit ultra processed most days school dinners. My kids get tonnes of fruit and veg outside school. But its the hypocrisy of it that annoys me

I think you’re overreacting, she’ll be fine without the malt loaf. Humans can sustain themselves on fruit for breakfast without major side effects. As an adult I still skip breakfast even as I’m used to doing that from a child, yet still managed to turn out okay in life.

Well I have personal evidence to tbe contrary. My kids go crazy after sugar. They have adhd so its likely linked to the dopamine hit, but it has an effect and not in a good way.

WTF. The craziest thing I've ever read.

At my primary school in the 80s we weren’t allowed any snack or drink (except water) at break times. Breakfast at home before school and then nothing until lunchtime. Nothing after that until we got home.

It’s a wonder we survived really!! None of us ever seemed to mind/ struggle as a result.
There was milk at morning break when I first started school but Margaret Thatcher scraped that.

sugar and hyperactivity myth busting https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth

Sadly, so many kids are sent in with junk food but this could be monitored without disadvantaging those who are already eating a balanced and nutritious diet.

Could it?? Who would do this? How on earth would the practitioner gifted with this no -win job decide which children already eat a healthy diet when they have no exposure to what is rated at home?? And how would that work? ‘Oh Felix you’ve brought in flapjacks today but that’s fine because you are deemed to be from a ‘healthy family’ but Fiona, you need to hand over that flapjack because your family often eat a lot of chips so you must have an apple’. I’m being facetious but really and truly schools don’t have enough time to teach the things they’re supposed to teach without all this nonsense.

It’s fruit or veg at our school. DD likes to have carrots.
DD has breakfast at school most days so not until 8am but on home breakfast days she has eggs as that keeps her going.

I think it’s a good idea, you just need a bigger breakfast.

I’m a really health-conscious person but I hate this kind of food-fascism when children are involved. As a teacher I was aware that some children, who’d had no breakfast (not through deprivation but because they didn’t want to eat so early) went through till lunchtime with empty stomachs because they didn’t like fruit. You can imagine how receptive these poor children (with zero blood sugar) were to any form of education.

Fgs - children are different from adults- they need calories for energy AND for growing. It’s cruel to deny them a biscuit or a little piece of cake at break time. What is some do bring a Mars bar? No-one’s going to die - they’ll use that energy.

Of course, the school could monitor things and if an obese and inactive child did this frequently that might merit intervention.

I agree and actually what if your child wants veggies? Or something high fibre? Fruit is high sugar and other than bananas I agree it’s not particularly filling and for many children fruit may cause upset stomachs. I’d struggle to find a fruit other than bananas that wouldn’t make my reception child needing the loo right after which is why they have veggies and other good food sent to school but fruit we eat at home. The UK is weird about food policing tbh and I’d hate this.

Yes children need snacks. No it’s not good to be hungry at school. This is weird.

I couldn’t agree more.

The reality is that if your DD’s breakfast is so filling that she wouldn’t manage anything else before school, she is hardly likely to be starving by break time. And having some fruit will go some way to making her feel less hungry even if it’s not what you would choose in a perfect world.

Saying it doesn’t work for my children and my children are being penalised indicates that you really don’t understand mass education. Stipulating fruit for a mid morning snack is hardly revolutionary and has fewer drawbacks I would say, than stipulating that children can bring anything as a snack. Yes, your child doesn’t get what you would ideally like them to have for their snack but she gets something healthy and there’s a lot to be said for that.

And please stop saying that your child is starving when she’s had a good breakfast with a piece of fruit later on before her good lunch at midday. She’s still a bit hungry even after eating some food that’s all.

I think it's a shame that schools have to put this kind of thing into place. I think it's a poorly thought out approach to say just fruit.
My kids were both sporty, slim and ate a good diet. They didn't need their snacks policed by some well meaning snack supervisior.
Sadly, so many kids are sent in with junk food but this could be monitored without disadvantaging those who are already eating a balanced and nutritious diet.
I agree with the OP. If she has a sporty child who is slim then they are already eating appropriately and malt loaf is actually a perfect snack.

Former school leader here. Schools are obligated to facilitate healthy eating. However, I think I might agree with you in part. Fruit is not very filling and is heavily implicated when it comes to tooth decay and IBS! Also, since it is so sugary, I’ve always thought it sets off a rollercoaster of ups and downs to blood sugar that can make children more cranky, tired, explosive even. I remember, as a child, swapping my apple with another friend’s bag of crisps.

What’s the answer? I think there’s probably something you could do to get round the whole fruit debate by making sure her breakfast is as satiating as it can be. Maybe it’s time to go a bit more traditional with boiled eggs, some porridge, peanut butter, cheese on toast. It’s the protein and fat that is massively satiating. Eggs are the best food. So many nutrients, including those that are good for brain function.