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Original poster

What do you feed your primary-aged DC after school?

33 replies

Whatshallichangemyusernameto · 01/09/2024 16:31

This is going to sound the most stupidest question ever, but exactly as the title asks, really.
DS(4) starts Reception next week and will have a hot lunch each day whilst there. He attended nursery three days a week and ate all meals there (breakfast cereal, hot lunch and something light like sandwiches or wraps for tea). On those days, we’d just feed him snack like fruit, yogurt etc if he was hungry when he got home and DH and I would eat after he’d gone to bed.
However, now I’m not sure what happens from now. He’ll be going to a childminder until 5pm three days a week if that makes any difference. Will he need a ‘big’ meal at teatime? Will just a sandwich/wrap be sufficient? What have you all (fountains of all knowledge) found in your experiences?
Help!

OP posts:

LittleMissNaice · 01/09/2024 16:33

Our childminder always provided a snack after school, but yes they needed a full meal when home.

Mumistiredzzzz · 01/09/2024 16:35

I'm thinking sandwiches for tea a lot of days is fine (we're starting school and having hot lunches next week too). I figure if I was sending packed lunch it would be sandwiches every lunch so it's just swapping the meals around really.

mrssunshinexxx · 01/09/2024 16:37

Will be offering a full meal x

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Wentie · 01/09/2024 16:37

Depends if he anctually eats at school. Mine barely touches her hot lunch, comes out ravenous and hangry and needs a full hot meal as soon as she gets in the door.

WheresMySupportCat · 01/09/2024 16:37

It's been a while now but I used to do a ham and grated cheese wrap which they ate in the car (45 minute drive) and then we would do a dinner or a supper later on. Crumpets and butter and poached eggs and fruit was my favourite supper for them. (They had a two course hot meal at school).

I miss simple suppers. Might re-introduce that. They still get a 2 course hot meal at secondary school- whether they eat it or not is a whole other issue.

WheresMySupportCat · 01/09/2024 16:39

(By the way- there are no stupid questions. I am about to ask about packed snack boxes for DS1 aged 14 and with autism who won't eat anything and which will pass the food police at school. )

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 01/09/2024 16:41

We always had a cooked meal. Your child's portion of a cooked meal doesn't have to be any bigger or more filling than a sandwich and a yoghurt, and it will probably be more nutritious. Anyway, it's good for them to eat what the adults are eating imo.

As for timings, we gave them a snack after school, then ate together at about 6pm and pushed it later as they got a bit older.

tiggergoesbounce · 01/09/2024 16:42

I always offer a full meal at tea time, and it gets eaten. Then snacks, then porridge, toast or similar for supper.

You never actually know what they are getting down them at lunchtime, especially depending how good the MDAs are, and it's a bit of a step up to school, so they may feel they need something more substantial.

tiggergoesbounce · 01/09/2024 16:43

Obviously, if it goes uneaten, step it down, but I do think it's good to start off with more as a habit and drop it down.

RedHub · 01/09/2024 16:46

How about feeding him whatever you're having, or, if it's too early for you, saving him a 'leftovers' portion from your meals for him to have the following day?

LegoHouse274 · 01/09/2024 16:49

Three days a week we offer a typical snack immediately after school and then we eat dinner as a family around 6pm once DH and I are both back from work and DC2 back from nursery.

The other 2 days a week she goes to her DGPs house after school and they give her dinner straight away there. This is always quick simple things like egg and chips, beans on toast, tinned soup and a bread roll, sandwiches and salad etc. On those days I don't typically cook an evening meal for the kids, I offer them both a snack/snacky foods once they are home and DH and eat together later once they're both in bed.

CatamaranViper · 01/09/2024 16:55

Snack as soon as school finishes. When DS was at the childminder we would send a packed lunch/easy tea with him because he'd be there until 6.

He's about to go into yr 3 and some days he only wants a light tea, other days he would eat the house if he could.

Myusername19 · 01/09/2024 17:01

Snack after school then a proper dinner. We eat at the same time. Honestly think its really lazy to just give lunch food instead of dinner because they get hot food at lunch. Its not the best quality and you dont know how much they have ate. Lots of kids mainly eat dessert in the school canteen.

welshweasel · 01/09/2024 17:04

Mine have hot (decent) lunch at school so they have a snack tea - usually sandwich/bagel/wrap, loads of fruit, cucumber and carrot, sausages/chicken pieces, cheese cubes, and a flapjack/cake. Nothing wrong with cold food so long as it's balanced. On the weekend they will have one hot meal and one cold one.

Putmeinsummer · 01/09/2024 17:23

I'd wait and see how much they actually eat at lunch. You can ask the TA to make a note for a few days.

Also ask how much time the children in their year actually get to eat. My DD only gets 10 mins in the lunch hall for example which is to allow all years to rotate through during lunch hour, so she rarely has time to eat the meal provided.

Newuser75 · 01/09/2024 17:29

Mine pretty much always have a hot meal at home. They have a snack when picked up (fruit or something) then a proper meal about 6pm. They are hungry after a day at school.

GameOfJones · 01/09/2024 17:33

DDs are 7 and 5. They also have a hot lunch at school. Three days a week, when they go to after school club they get given a snack there (usually cheese and crackers, or a toasted bagel with butter etc.)

On after school club days (which are the days both DH and I are at work) I have no guilt at all with their dinners being more simple. Often they have a peanut butter sandwich with some fruit or beans on toast, or crumpets with a yoghurt or sometimes just a bowl of Weetabix with berries. DH and I then eat later.

If they have had a hot lunch I don't think it's really necessary for them to have another hot dinner but a couple of times a week they do anyway as I'm not at work those days and no after school club so it's less of a rush. DH and I eat dinner with them on those days as I do think it's nice to eat together. The main thing is I have to pay attention to what they had for school lunch that day as quite a few times I was cooking spaghetti bolognese or sausage and mash or something and they'd already eaten that at school for lunch 🤣

Xmasbaby11 · 01/09/2024 17:38

Snack after school and eat together about 6. They wanted a full meal regardless of what they had for lunch - school meals are very early and very small!

tbh we ate together at 6 when dc were young - about 2 or 3. It’s too much having 2 separate mealtimes in the house!

Rory17384949 · 01/09/2024 17:50

We usually do a snack after school (toast/fruit/yoghurt etc) then eat dinner as a family around 6.30.
Eldest is in secondary school, youngest in primary and gets a hot 2 course meal every day - but it is still ready for a proper dinner in the evening, school lunch is at 12 so quite a long time between lunch and dinner.
We have always done this since they started school, we had dinner more like 5.30 when they were younger.

Holidayissues · 01/09/2024 17:53

Small snack for the way home
Hot meal about 5.30pm

I found mine didn’t eat much at school and was very hungry at dinner time. And very tired!

APurpleSquirrel · 01/09/2024 18:33

It varies - each child is different & a lot will depend on how much they eat at school.
My DC (10 & 6) will have a meal in the evening, but it will depend on what they eat at lunch. We prefer them to have at least one hot meal a day, so if they have a cold lunch, they have a hot dinner & vice versa. Sometimes they eat with us & sometimes they don't, depends on our after school schedule. Sometimes it's a quick easy tea like sausage & chips, other times it paella.
I definitely think my kids don't seem to eat as much as some - they don't need an after school snack for example.

Original poster

Whatshallichangemyusernameto · 01/09/2024 20:09

Thank you everyone - it seems like there’s a real mixed bag! I think I’ll shift our dinner earlier and give him a small portion and see how he gets on. I forgot that school lunches will be quite early. I also think 5 days of being ‘on’ (compared to his previous 3 at nursery) will take its toll on him!

OP posts:

Feverblack · 01/09/2024 20:24

Mine (who admittedly has a big appetite) is starving after school, has a large savoury snack at 4ish when gets home - toast/ veg and then a proper dinner at 5.45. We eat later when kids in bed. They don’t love school food/ have enough time to eat it all plus it is served very early, especially in reception.

RedHub · 02/09/2024 06:24

As mentioned above, the school meals can be very small portions. One of our children was always very hungry after school so we used to provide a snack. Once they were taking a packed lunch they dropped the snack within a couple of weeks, though we'd also brought our family meal a bit earlier, which helped with dropping the snack.

SnapdragonToadflax · 02/09/2024 06:41

Mine is at the childminder until 5.45pm. She gives them a snack after school (usually fruit, occasionally a treat like a small cake) and we usually give him either a sandwich/wrap with some cucumber/carrot for tea, or a small portion of what we're having if it's ready and he likes it. (We sometimes eat later if one of us has been in London as don't get home until 7pm).

We also take a snack with us for the walk home (15 mins) - usually an apple - because he was sometimes so tired it was difficult to motivate him to actually walk. He doesn't always eat it though, and sometimes we drive if he seems tired in the morning.

He seems to eat well at school, and likes the food. I don't think a second hot meal is necessary unless it's easier for you, or he really doesn't seem to be eating much at school.

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