How do you manage school dinner money at secondary?

Sorry, but if he's not making healthy choices, then I'd be giving him a packed lunch everyday - maybe the compromise would be four days packed lunch, one day meal in school hoping he's making the right choice. Also, he needs to understand that food can't be wasted, so if he's gone in with a packed lunch that's what he has to eat.

DC prefer packed lunches, but I keep accounts topped up for a couple of treats a week - I wish they would have a school lunch or two but they aren't impressed with a) queues b) food !!!

I agree @BurnedToast , unless her DD has the option of taking a packed lunch from home? My DS is pretty lazy when it comes to stuff like this. If the choice is between making sandwiches or just spending money in the canteen I know which one he'd choose!

How old is she, Topseyt ?

Surely it's your responsibility to feed your child? It's not as though lunch is a luxury so I can't see why it should be paid for out her part time job.

I put £30 a month on DD3's canteen account. Anything else she has to put on there herself from her wages (has a part time job).

I don't bother monitoring what she eats. Absolutely not worth it, and she is a healthy -ish eater much of the time anyway.

My ds has packed lunch except on Fridays, normally, when he buys something from the canteen.
I also discourage buying drinks and he takes a bottle of water in every day.

My y7 dd has school dinners twice a week. Only spends about £3 a day as she will still take her break snack from home.

She's doesn't buy drinks. She has one 'treat' thing a week.

£20 a week here.

The school canteen is a rip off. It's been outsourced and is basically a money making exercise for the external company.

Apparently taking packed lunch is embarrassing

Cash at our school. We gave both DC an allowance at the beginning of the month, and made sure we had plenty of options at home for making packed lunches. School meals had to come out of allowance. DS had school meals maybe 3 or 4 times a year, if that - he was happy to make a packed lunch and save. He is the same now at university, takes a pack up into the department rather than buying lunch. DD bought a lunch at school perhaps once a fortnight, now she is upper school and we live < 10 mins from school she often comes home and cooks pasta or similar, and regularly brings half a dozen friends with her!

We set a budget of £40 month, with packed lunch offered every day.

Dd has never used her £40 in school canteen and instead saves the money.

Ds spends his very quickly and then over to packed lunches, nothing saved.

Thought this approach would encourage ds not to spend the money quickly and on rubbish food, but 4 years in and it has made no difference

Yr 10 here. DS used to take packed lunch unless it was PE/ ASC day ( as he can't fit lunch and his jumbo trainers in his backpack ). So he'd have school lunch 2/3 times a week

We've gradually changed it to school lunch every day. It's what most of his friends do and I can't keep up with which days he wants sandwiches so often there's nothing he'd like in the fridge!

He spends £2.50-£3 a day - normally on bagels or pizza

it sounds like drinks are often the big drain on the money from what friends have told me and people posting on here. I couldn't last until 1:30 Sugarbum! don't blame him for needing 2 lunches.

Oh and he also takes two bottles of tap water with him. HIs backpack weights a ton but he doesnt seem to mind.

DS1 is Y7 and I just load up his card with credit when I remember. He generally spends about £2.50 a day (so a tenner a week)

I can put a cap on it, but after observing what he buys each day for the last school year (pizza, pasta or a baguette, plus a 'treat' like a cookie or cake, and lately ice pops, with the occasional bottle of pop) I have never capped it because he is quite good about not buying too much.

He does take in extra food though because he struggles to last until lunchtime which is about 1.30pm. He leaves the house at 7.30am and so I make him a mini lunch for breaktime. ie a sandwich, some fruit and a bag of popcorn. Its kind of like he's having two lunches, but he says he's 'starving' otherwise, and he is a huge 12 year old (5 ft 8, big framed) and I'd rather send him with food than have him spend more in the shop.

My DGD get's £3 a day for lunch, she also take's with her bottled water(from the tap) a piece of fruit or crisp's.

Reading this with interest. Dd is year 8 and I top up her account with £25 per week. She normally spends between £4-£5 per day but this seems to only cover a sandwich/pasta pot, brownie and a drink. Ds is year 7 and I put £35 per week on his account. He spends around £6.50 per day, there is literally nothing of him! The meals seem expensive but I am definitely going to rethink these amounts come September.

Ours is £13.25 per week, I pay online and can be what he's had to eat. It's very repetitive as he has a food intolerance. I'd be very bored. I don't think he's had a cake or biscuit in the last 18 months.

ah ok - that makes sense then.

My 17yr old has PDA and can't cope with money at all.
It wasn't a problem at school luckily as we're entitled to free meals

nonickname he's autistic and no matter how many times you try this, he just won't learn or understand. He's really has no idea about financial responsibility.

Citadels - what if he had to go hungry one day because he had spent it all the day before? do you think he would rapidly learn to budget?

I give my son £15 on a Monday, £3 a day. Told him he gets no more if he spends it all. Seems to have worked so far.

I tried giving my son a fiver yesterday to see if he'd only spend the limit I set of £3. He spent the lot, I flatly refuse to allow a £25 a week spend so it's back to putting the money on daily.