Packed lunch in secondary

[sadsack987]

Dds have their first day at secondary tomorrow and are having packed lunch at least at first.

I have dialled down the lunch boxes - nothing pink, as small as is practical etc. Not being a baby is obviously of primary importance to them and they don't want to stick out.

Debate has now started about the content of their lunchbox. I have done the same as usual - sandwich, bit of fruit, few veg sticks. They used to have a frube which is now too babyish and a babybel which had also been deemed beyond the pale. So they have a cheese portion and a cereal bar for break.

I guess this is pretty usual and they won't stick out? I am not giving them stuff like crisps/chocolate as standard (although am under no illusion they will buy these). I am not thrilled about the cereal bar tbh but it's a compromise.

Seems like a really stupid thing to even be thinking about but also they are a bit wibbly so am hoping an easy thing to be able to put their mind at rest over.

Mine made their own pack up. This means they can take charge as they would in the canteen.

Mine took/take:

• sandwich or crackers & cheese, or sometimes a slice of pizza or samosa
• something sweet (they bake these themselves)
• fruit
• veg
• something else if they want

I don't think you should worry about 'standing out' - let them choose and they will work it out.

Mine have sandwich, cheese (sometimes babybell) , cherry tomatoes, sometimes a frube (easy to eat!), fruit and something like small packet of cookies. Seems fairly standard. Good luck to them, and you !

Sandwich, crisps, fruit, biscuit, veg sticks, a frube or babybel or cheesestring if not a cheese sandwich and a drink here. Yours sounds fine.

mine do their own lunch.
they usually take

• sandwich
• decanted tub of yoghurt (I buy liter containers)
• half an apple & some berries
• cereal bar or biscuit bar or piece of cheese

Mine have sandwich, 2 types of fruit, and some sort of biscuit item. He saves crisps for after school

Fab thank you. I shall reassure Dd1 that she will not be laughed out of school!

Now to convince them that they don't need to set out at 8.15 for a 10 minute walk and a 8.50 start.....(to be fair they are picking up a tribe of mates so they can all go in together)

My youngest had her first day on Friday - she took cheese and crackers, grapes, crisps and a cake bar thing. No frubes, no fruit winder, no babybel thing. Bottle of juice rather than carton (which I would prefer as she has no option but to drink it all - I get them to bring their rubbish home so I know they're eating).

Dd1 is going into y10. She takes bare minimum because they don't have lockers - sandwich/wrap/sausage roll, crisps, cake, water bottle.

I leave them to it for the most part & usually we bake together but none of us cba this weekend 🤷‍♀️.

@sadsack987

Fab thank you. I shall reassure Dd1 that she will not be laughed out of school!

Now to convince them that they don't need to set out at 8.15 for a 10 minute walk and a 8.50 start.....(to be fair they are picking up a tribe of mates so they can all go in together)

Mine all left weirdly early too - this is partly to avoid the last-minute crush.

Mine have never had the urge to get up early to go to school. I have to drag then out of bed!

Let them leave early too - mine leave at 7:30 for a 15 minute walk (at most) & 8:30am start 🙄 they like to meet their mates & talk about randomness its better than them baffling my brain with it

Mine have:

Wholemeal ham & cucumber sandwich
Carrot sticks
Apple
Crisps
Cereal bar
A pouch yoghurt (the kind of square pouches from Lidl)

It's probably going to be a combination of this every day with different fruit and salad sticks and different sandwich fillings.

Mine takes a sandwich, crisps, fruit, veg, yoghurt, maybe some cheese, and something sweet.
I buy lunchbox packets of mini Oreos, party rings, biscoff, that sort of thing. Oh, and a drink, normally a carton of mango juice. She never eats the whole lot.

It might be that DD’s school is atypical but no one has said anything about her pink lunchbox or her munch bunch - she only had comments about some, err, unusual combinations she eats sometimes, common stuff in my home country but not the UK.

Chicken satay sticks if no peanut ban
Slices of quiche
Mini pizzas
Sandwiches
Chorizo, cheese & crackers
Individual mini cheeses

He's just going into Y11.

DS mostly has school lunches, not many take packed lunches, but occasionally he'll take leftover stew/pasta/whatever he thinks tasted nice at tea time in a Chilly's hot pot.

At the end of the day, she's 11 and will be eating with a lot of other 11 year olds. They might be in a different school and a different uniform, but they're only a month older than they were at the end of primary. They haven't grown up in the slightest and nobody will bat an eyelid at a frube or babybel. Please don't worry!

Mine has a sandwich, Kit Kat, crisps, cheddars, carrot, mini sausages. I know it’s not the healthiest but I just have to fill up the box with enough of what he eats to fill him up, it’s a long hungry day.

My son still had frubes through to 6th form. He wasn't bothered at all, he loved them

Mine would literally have Ella’s pouches in their lunchboxes every day if they weren’t so expensive so I think the worries about things being babyish or not will fade quickly :)

Mind has card for cafeteria - none of his friends have packed lunches and he likes being able to choose & have hot food.

He gets up at 6 for the 6:45 bus -so he can get to school by 07:30 where he meets friends before school and have (free) breakfast - the next bus is too tight for school start time if it runs late and he doesn't like being late

Mine in yr 13 takes a sandwich or cob in a cardboard sandwich box, crisps bar of chocolate or similar and OJ in a reusable bottle

He’s on meds that reduce his appetite and is underweight so I focus on food he can and will eat. We try to use recyclable or reusable packaging