To think a leftover happy meal isn’t the worst packed lunch you could have?

School probably will though
Which is a point most posters are missing
Sending a child in with a left over happy meal looks terrible

Okay?

I would be sceptical that a child having a leftover happy meal is normally having a healthy balanced lunch tbh.

I’m guessing the issue with sushi is that raw fish is a food poisoning hazard unless it’s refrigerated?

Meh, I couldn't really get excited about this, as long as it was a one off, and the child was happy to eat it. And as long as they usually take a nutritious lunch.
There's a lot of pearl clutching on this thread.

Now cold pizza on the other hand is fine
No it really isn't

Of course it is, again as a one off. How is it very much different from a cheese sandwich?

The highlight of my DCs packed lunch days was the occasional left over chicken nuggets as their snacks 🤣

Sushi was always popular too, weirdly I never got pulled up over the nuggets but frequently got messages about sushi not being appropriate 🙄 (which just made me send it in more often tbh 😬)

Depends on the happy meal ...cold burger and soggy chips or cold chicken nuggets (often suggested on here as a party food idea) and a fruit bag ?

Well local authorities/government fund free school meals and many children are on them even if they do get the occasional happy meal, although this isn't about affordability this is about neglectful parents and if they did provide FSM for all at least they were getting cared for, and different UK countries have different criteria for universal FSM don't they? So they are provided to certain year groups.

Now cold pizza on the other hand is fine

No it really isn't.

I’ve seen it all, cold chips, cold chicken nuggets, cold burger.

It isn't great. It can't be much food either considering happy meals aren't exactly huge and I can't imagine cold leftover nugget and a few fries tastes very nice.

Mine doesn't eat the healthiest packed lunches but come on now.

I think it depends what it is. I dont see a problem with cold nuggets. I see that only the same as having chicken at a kids party. But not the chips or a burger. I cook my kids chicken (drumsticks, wings, fillet) for school. Its no different.

I love a cheeky maccas every now and again but I couldn’t stand it cold

McDonald's occasionally is fine you might not like it personally but many people do and its very tasty imo
Its the left over for tomorrow's lunch that is a big problem.

Yeah any parent who hasn’t been living under a rock would have the social radar to figure out that sending a kid into school with a half eaten Maccy Ds isn’t going to make them look like Parent of the Year.

Regardless of the nutritional benefits of a hamburger versus a ham sandwich (and both have their shortcomings), you know its going to make you look a shit parent and have potential ramifications for your kid.

Why would a caring parent not just spend five minutes making sandwiches to avoid stigmatising their child? Its lame. I just don’t buy that anyone needs to do it.

But why should schools fund children's food? If they can afford a happy meal, they can afford a loaf of bread and some ham!

It sounds really awful, though. Cold burger and chips? 🤮

What IS the average packed lunch?

I wouldn’t send a Happy Meal into school, no, but saying things like “no nutritional content” is just silly. The meal contains carbs and protein, which are the primary nutritional needs of a child, and McDonald’s uses 100% beef in its burgers. Yes, the meals have too much salt and fat, and too little veg, but claiming there’s nothing of nutritional value in them is just incorrect.

I’m all for leftovers in packed lunches, but I think a cold MacDonald’s sounds pretty grim.

It’s very sad the number of children who have absolutely shocking nutrition, for many reasons. Universal free school meals wouldn’t prevent this, but maybe it would help slightly.

The school will judge ....

In my experience your example isn’t the average lunch though.

My daughter usually has some kind of bar like a go-ahead something or other, and a piece of fruit for morning snack. At lunchtime I normally give her a sandwich, fruit, yogurt and something else, could be some crackers, rice crackers, mini cheddars, jelly. I often also give her pasta in a food flask made with a stir-in sauce, or noodles, or home made soup. Basically, I give her what she will eat minus sweets or chocolate, and if I give her the healthiest option (the soup, my preference because it has actual vegetables in it) too often she starts coming home with most of it uneaten. So not the absolute healthiest lunches, being quite limited by something that needs to keep in a lunchbox for a few hours and the fact that flasks regularly go missing and I can't afford to replace them immediately every time, but also not the worst by a long shot. And frankly, often better than the school lunch options. I don't really pay attention to what anyone else has except to say it was difficult for a long time because she didn't understand why other kids had chocolate and pringles and she didn't. There are children eating worse rubbish at school whose parents are doing the same as me, giving their children what they know they will eat, but there is also a massive culture problem around what we feed our kids. I'm still learning, as someone brought up on fish fingers and supernoodles and who was actually teased for many years because I liked vegetables. Massive cultural problem.

Nothing but I wouldn't send my child to school with a left over McDonald's happy meal it looks terrible and people will judge and I can well imagine getting some " concerned " phone calls from school

Im trying to think how there can be any leftovers in a happy meal. But cold fries and burger or nuggets are pretty grim. @InOverMyHead84if they can afford McDonalds they can probably afford a freshly made sandwich.