This was the contents of an 8 year olds lunchbox.

[IAm1]

Nutella sandwich
Bar of dairy milk
Pot of joy
2 custard creams
Cheese string.

Dd asked me if she could have a big chocolate bar in her lunch box. I said no so she declared that Chloe gets all of the above.

I didn't believe her at first but when dd said at the school gates ' my mum doesn't believe you get a whole chocolate bar for lunch'
Chloe nodded and showed me the contents. Her mum stood smiling and nodding and I felt embarrassed.

I didn't really know what to say so just laughed and said goodbye to dd then walked off.

Would you feed your dc that?

Notwithstanding SEN or sensory or diet issues (actual, diagnosed ones....) then I sort of think we are probably too soft on kids now. So they won't eat a healthy lunch? Too bad. They go hungry till tea time. What is really worse? Setting them up for a lifetime of unhealthy eating or them being a bit hungry on occasion?

I say that as the parent of one incredibly fussy eater who was never allowed to have packed lunches because she would only have taken about 3 things ever! At least on school lunches she was presented with a range of foods even if she didn't eat them.

Does op know for sure it was Nutella though - has she seen the jar? It could just as easily be a standard chocolate spread. Lots of dc might refer to it as Nutella as a well known brand. Seriously though reporting DD's peers lunch boxes? Whatever next! You know school staff see what the dc are eating and if the spread is an issue the will raise it. If she has it every day it's clearly not!

Surely this can't be standard or acceptable?

That isn't cheap either so it's not a case of parent not being able to afford healthier alternatives.

When I plan my dds lunch, I think about what she needs to get her through the day and replenish her after a busy morning. Who would think a bunch of chocolate would do that?

I'm not militant at all, DD has gone off this morning with a yoghurt, mixed fruit pot, banana, cheese, and small savoury sandwich. Plus a little Soreen loaf as a treat. Plenty of sweet stuff, but just a bunch of chocolate??

I do hope Chloe's Mum is not on here. 😱

In my area lunchboxes are checked and anything deemed unhealthy is taken out and the child gets a school dinner in replacement.

@MyShinyWhiteTeeth we have a child who brings in a cold slice of eggy bread every day, nothing else just that. Another who has cold fried egg and cold chips - the biggest portion you could imagine . One has a cold cheese toastie

The only thing unacceptable here is the bar of dairy milk, it's so boring. Now a nice caramel bar or a double decker, now you're talking.

Nutella is unhealthy, I can't imagine how anyone would have that for lunch - maybe on toast for breakfast if you like chocolate and nuts.
So Nutella is miraculously more nutritious in the morning?

Bullshit.

Nutella? Don’t think so eh?

3/10

My daughter is in year 6band she doesn't have a particularly healthy pack up. She takes no fruit or veg not because she doesn't like them, she eats it at home but because she was picked on for having it.
She took hummus and cucumber in once and 2 of the kids made vomiting noises and refused to sit next to her because they said it stunk.
They comment on her lunch all the time and it made her so anxious to eat she used to come.home with a full lunch box.
Not always the full story with kids and pack ups hey

Of course it's unhealthy, but according to MN the advice is always to ignore and mind your own business, obviously tough shit on the child eh.

Why cant it be each to their own! (obviously excluding nut allergies etc) my daughter is such a fussy eater and will only take lemon curd sandwiches as she doesnt like cheese/ham etc... she has fruit and yogurt and a pack of crisps... at least she is eating!

She is active and sporty and personally i think everyone should just do as they see fit for THEIR child!

This child’s mother is a monster. You are a much better, far superior parent.

Of course it's unhealthy, but according to MN the advice is always to ignore and mind your own business, obviously tough shit on the child eh.

And what exactly is the benefit to the child of another parent coming on a forum to slate her lunch? And what other steps should OP take?

On MN people go to the other extreme and claim their children have vegetable sticks and hummus

Why is that so hard to believe? My dc love vegetable sticks and hummus. Doesn't mean they don't also like bars of chocolate and fizzy drinks. But they don't get those in their packed lunch.

Bullshit. Nutella? Don’t think so eh? 3/10

Are you doubting this because you think all schools have nut bans? They don't. The local comprehensive my dc attend has no nut ban. Dd regularly takes a pot of nuts in as part of her lunch. No Nutella though, because it's mostly just vegetable oil and sugar.

Well that seems an awfully sweet lunch to me! Surely this is an issue for the School though? anniversarywoes The problem is that many people may be on a limited household income ,and send in what their children will eat.Most people (esp on MN!) will know what a healthy diet consists of .However those who rely on this kind of "easy" lunch may be in difficult circumstances ,and these may be known to the School as well .Even if they have taken the family to task ,what kind of measures can they use apart from advice?Unless they have other concerns SS would surely not be interested in a less than healthy lunchbox alone?

Im more concerned that your first thought on a monday is the contents of another childs lunch box..did you toss and turn all night with concern

My DS has real issues over eating with others, especially if they are messy eaters. At primary he never ate any lunch at all as he had to sit with kids who talked with a full mouth, spat food out for fun and dropped it on the floor and trod it in. To try to counter this and to get him to eat anything at all, I’d put in his favourite and easy to nibble on foods. Others would have definitely judged his lunch box. I couldn’t have cared less as it was better for him to eat something than nothing and be lacking in energy by the end of the school day. He eats well at home, so the odd pain au chocolate instead of a sandwich didn’t bother me.

Oh god another mn thread where the pile of of superior posters gets bigger and bigger. All the little Evies and Ella's and noahs with their sliced peppers and hummus and sour dough at age 7.
Jog on op.

Why are so many posters asking why the OP posted or why it's not her business?

It is surely perfectly normal to be concerned that a child is being given food that is likely to store up issues with long term health. And food which is against many recommendations and rules of what schools allow in lunch boxes.

Would people turn a blind eye to a child being given a fag or some alcohol if they were under the legal age? would they still say it was none of anyone's business?

In some areas of the UK children are being taken into care as their parents have allowed them to become obese- it's seen as abuse and neglect.

Okay this lunch box isn't that extreme, but it's along the same lines of not really engaging brain and helping your child to eat a healthy diet.

I doubt anyone would comment at our school. I have seen plenty of worse lunches (especially since the local shop selling sandwiches closed). I suspect the school pick their battles. At least they are being sent in with some kind of lunch, some don't even get that. I have been on school trips where staff have had to share their lunch because kids have announced they have no lunch with them.

I've never known a bar of dairy milk being allowed in packed lunches, even in the '70s when no one gave a shit about healthy eating. It was always a sandwich, a packet of crisps, and a penguin or piece of cake. Same thing when my kids went to school.

Yes, it’s a bad lunch of mainly chocolate. Quite how badly unhealthy it is depends on what the child eats at home. Fresh fruit, carrots and cucumber all tend to look pretty rank by lunchtime, so are much better eaten freshly washed and cut up at home (along with the nuts the kids weren’t allowed in school!). School packed lunch, for those who have balanced diets at home, are just required to keep kids going until they get home and can have something nice and fresh to eat. Several types of chocolate and a couple of biscuits are not the best way to achieve this, as that’s all too much of a sudden sugar rush. In all honesty, though, the parents who pack lots of nicely chopped fruit and veg for their children don’t seem to realise how slimy or droopy it can look by lunchtime, and how much of it ends up being dropped on the floor where other kids then tread on it. Basically, there is not a huge amount of time to eat the food, children are clumsy with it and not good at dealing with fiddly little pots and compartments, and they don’t want to be left behind when everyone else has already finished eating.

People are doubting the Nutella but at ds primary school Nutella wasn't banned

@lazylinguist

On MN people go to the other extreme and claim their children have vegetable sticks and hummus

Why is that so hard to believe? My dc love vegetable sticks and hummus. Doesn't mean they don't also like bars of chocolate and fizzy drinks. But they don't get those in their packed lunch.

Bullshit. Nutella? Don’t think so eh? 3/10

Are you doubting this because you think all schools have nut bans? They don't. The local comprehensive my dc attend has no nut ban. Dd regularly takes a pot of nuts in as part of her lunch. No Nutella though, because it's mostly just vegetable oil and sugar.

Op says in her comment her dc's school is a nut free school. So, yes, it's a bullshit.