School complaining about dd perfectly normal packed lunch.

[Juk3]

The class TA came out to talk to me yesterday (from a distance) to discuss dd unhealthy lunch and the lunch box policy. The dinner lady assigned to dd raised it and the TA did say she wasn't in the class room during lunch so was just passing on info she had been given. She asked me to have a look on the website for the lunch box policy and try to adhere to it if possible, she was perfectly pleasant and I took my telling off but after reading the policy dd's lunch has not broken any rules. I try to make a variety of different lunches as I wouldn't want to eat the same thing every day myself. If I list yesterday's and today's lunch below could you tell me what's so bad about them as I just don't get it. I am wondering if the there has been a mix up with kids not that I will bring this up with school.

Yesterday:- grilled chicken breast with mayo on a mini wrap with lettuce, cucumber and tomato.
Carrot and red pepper sticks with a single serve pot of humous.
Pot of honeydew melon.
A tube yogurt.
A square of homemade shortbread.
A bag of sliced apple (she usually will have this at break).
Carton of juice

Today:- sliced boiled egg sandwich on 50/50 bread with crusts removed.
Pot of sliced red grapes.
2 mini cucumbers and celery sticks with a single serve pot of humous.
Small bag of mini pretzels.
A bag of sliced apple (usually eaten at break)
Carton of juice

She is 8 (9 in dec) in year 4 perfectly normal height and weight.

Nothing wrong with it at all, if the school do not like the contents of your DD lunchbox, then they can pay for her lunch instead

I'm so surprised by this "juice isn't allowed" business. Wow.

I know, sugar blah blah. But one juice box a day is a better controlled amount than pouring from the carton at home, I find. I'd be annoyed if our school thought that was a hill to die on.

I'm really place marking to see what they reply with but the whole business of lunch box inspections would really get my back up .

I’m a TA and a child came into school with a sandwich and a full pack of biscuits as her lunch. I’ve also seen lunches with 3 different types of choc, cake and biscuit bars.
Your lunch is perfectly fine!

Oh and we don’t say anything to individual families about lunches but we are trying to push the healthy eating policy to the whole school to try and combat this sort of lunch.

No juice allowed here either.

Tbh I tend to ignore the strict lunchbox rules, they’re largely ridiculous for the majority. In ours the rules say no juice, biscuits, chocolate bars or cakes. Only to find that the kids having school dinners get cookies or sugary puddings and custard for dessert. And if there’s some left over they’re allowed seconds too!

My dc eat a healthy balanced diet and really love their fruit/veg. So I Ignore the rules and sneak in a couple of haribos fried eggs, chocolate buttons or whatever into their packed lunch on a Friday.

@yasmeani
that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! What happens if you bump into said child on a Saturday after having eggs for breakfast!🤣🤣
Yes life threatening allergies are hilarious  watching your kid fight for their life is side splitting a lol a minute.

I cant see how the school can dictate what people are eating for breakfast ! My dd has eggy bread or poached eggs on toast every morning before school and I wouldn't be giving that up!! She won't eat cereal or plain toast so I'd rather she went in with a full belly.
So you're actually saying you would knowingly risk another kids life because your little precious is a picky eater, what a beautiful soul.
I don't request other kids don't eat nuts for breakfast but I've been humbled by his lovely friends who have had more kindness in them at 5 years old than you have as a grown adult and don't eat nuts or peanuts at home or school so that their friend can sit next to them and stay at school all day. You could learn a lot from them.

Are you being serious? What part of that lunch is an issue. it's very healthy. Are you sure they got the right person? That is a perfectly healthy lunch.

My kid has ham and mayo or tuna or jam sandwich. Cucumber. Pepper. Carrot. (Different ones on different days)
A box of Raisins. An apple. A yoghurt or a flapjack.

I used to really, really fret about lunchboxes (DS has ASD so eats a very restricted diet) until a friend's kid came out with their school-supplied packed lunch one day. (School finishes early on a Friday so kids on school meals take their lunch out and eat it in the park.)

It was a white roll on egg mayo, a doughnut and a carton of sweetened, flavoured milk.

I stopped fretting.

Juice. Its sugary (so bad for this reason and banned), but also incredibly sticky if it leaks which is guaranteed to happen with children.

Check she is not sharing with another child and that they have the right child.

Pot of sliced red grapes.......She is 8 (9 in dec)

I would ignore and carry on sending her in with that lunch, sounds healthy and balanced.

@MachoSavsge undereater ! Definitely not.
Having experience of trying to get children to eat quickly enough in order to get out for play I just imagined that lunch might take forever.
Some parents forget children have a limited time, or maybe all your children go to school where they sit and eat most of lunchtime instead or getting some fresh air.
Today my GD had Vegetable soup and a roll, raisins and a piece of fruit. Breadsticks for break. Water bottle with verrrry diluted juice in it. She also is 8.
Point taken about stuff being left if too much.
I imagine it’s the juice too, it’s supposed to be water here (but we disguise it)
There are some foods though that go against the allergy criteria at her school.

So you're actually saying you would knowingly risk another kids life because your little precious is a picky eater, what a beautiful soul.

Whilst I agree with the thrust of what you're saying, there really is no need to take that snide tone. Your soul doesn't look particularly beautiful with the whole "your little precious is a picky eater" thing.

There are children out there that don't even get breakfast and they are picking up an issue with a child who's mum is ensuring she has a decent lunch.

I would speak to the head tomorrow and be strong and firm with them. Ultimately she's your child and you decide what she eats. Ofcourse chocolate and a box full of sugar isn't ideal. But for goodness sake.

In the 90s we had a cheese and ham sandwich a penguin and a packet of crisps lol.

So glad mine aren't still at primary as i would put in what i wanted plus ds1 had a very restricted diet and would only eat limited things
When ds2 had school meal not always overly healthy especially if they don't eat the veg served up Fair enough you don't want an kid turning up with a can of coke and a mars bar for lunch , but some schools just go to far

I'd tell them to mind their own fucking buisness personally. Perhaps a little more politely than that but that would be the just of things.

*gist

Just wanted to add that those lunches sound brilliant! Hats off to you OP. Mine always had school lunches so I’m always impressed by those who churn out healthy packed lunches day after day!

It sounds like the lady on duty has got the child wrong. Could that be a possibility?? TA thinks it's your daughter but it isn't.

Gee , when I think of the school dinners we used to have . Stodgy stew chips , jam roll poly , spotted dick 😂

I survived .

Just smile and nod and carry on as you are...it all sounds perfectly normal to me. If it happens again ask them to be more specific about what the problem is as you have read the list and to your mind have followed it.

If its the juice point out it counts as one of your five a day. (Unless they are checking your dinner menus the rest of her day is none of their business).

I bet they have the wrong child...lost in messaging I expect.

If it's a choice you are making personally @twobrews then fair enough but a school cannot dictate what you eat for breakfast.

Anyway,I was under the impression that we cannot announce that a school etc is nut, egg free etc because it's not a true representation of the world we live in.

And my dd is not fussy at all, she just doesn't enjoy overly processed foods 👍

Oh FFS.

It's presumably all to do with ensuring that 'underprivileged' children aren't being given complete crap to eat. And so schools are now policing children who take in the ultimate Middle Class Mummy packed lunch.

Bloody ridiculous.

My DC had to have school lunches (they have mostly left school now), so I didn't have to do packed lunches, thank God - but when we went out for picnics when they were junior school aged, it was a sandwich (filled with processed ham or Marmite or, for the really adventurous eater, cheese), on whatever bread I could find,;a bag of crisps, a carton of juice; some chocolatey thing (a Milky Way or some such); and a piece of whatever fruit looked slightly less sad in the fruit bowl. This normally got ignored.

They are all fine and healthy adults who can spell and punctuate (their schools, fortunately, focussed more on education than on policing children's eating habits).