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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

its only a frigging £1

110 replies

PepperPigsPorkScratchings · 11/09/2011 15:31

a few of the mums think its unreasonable for the school to ask us to pay £1 a week for the children to have some fresh fruit everyday.

am i the only one who thinks you'd be hard pushed to buy fresh fruit for your child for a whole week for under £1?

tight arses

OP posts:
worraliberty · 11/09/2011 15:33

Depends really

If you have say 4 kids at the school...that's £16 per month

If you already buy a lot of fruit at home, that's going to hurt some budgets.

Lisatheonewhoeatsdrytoast · 11/09/2011 15:33

YANBU a £1 seems reasonable for me, for fresh fruit for a week!

freesiaLiliy · 11/09/2011 15:33

sounds like a bargain to me, better than paying more to give them biscuits and crisps, all the schools where I live run a similar scheme and the kids sit down and eat it as a social event before break. even kids whose parents insist they won't eat it actually do and find they like it!

eaglewings · 11/09/2011 15:33

Fine if you only have one child and can already pay all your bills.
Yet another stress if you have less money coming in than going out

itisnearlysummer · 11/09/2011 15:34

What age are the children? KS1 children get fruit provided free of charge anyway.

So presuming the school aren't charging them for this fruit, YANBU.

gillybean2 · 11/09/2011 15:35

We had this at ds's primary school. And it's usually the ones who can afford it (who have the weekly takeaways and forign holidays) who refuse to pay and let the PTA pick up the tab.

Ask them what they think is a reasonable amount to pay then if they think £1 is unreasonable. It's better for them to make some contribution to the cost than none at all...

Original poster
PepperPigsPorkScratchings · 11/09/2011 15:35

yeh i suppose, but most of the ones complaining it is their only child in school!

i suppose the ones with older children are just used to paying?
still not enough to tantrum over lol :)

OP posts:
Crosshair · 11/09/2011 15:35

Yanbu but some people have money worries and paying out for extra stuff can seem like a never ending thing.

slartybartfast · 11/09/2011 15:36

surely they can/shoudl bring their own fruit it, i probably would complain also.

freesiaLiliy · 11/09/2011 15:36

could school let parents who don't want to pay provide their own fruit then if they are buying it already at home as worraliberty suggests

gillybean2 · 11/09/2011 15:37

itisnearlysummer - At ds's school the KS1 dc did get it free. It was felt that it was of great benefit and the KS2 dc wanted to continue with it. KS2 is not free.

EVEn if you do have 4 dc at the school it is unlikely you will be paying for all 4 alt the same time as it's only KS2 that would be paying.

itisnearlysummer · 11/09/2011 15:37

DS got known as the twenty-quid-kid for a while as every letter home from school seemed to require a £20 response!

Oh how we long for those days now when the letters are for £900 skiing trips!

worraliberty · 11/09/2011 15:38

Perhaps it's the fact a lot of parents get tired of paying out for...

Sponsorship forms
Non uniform days
Raffle tickets
Tickets just to see their own child in the school concert
Etc...

There seems (in some schools) to be a never ending list of things to pay out for.

troisgarcons · 11/09/2011 15:38

It's provided by the government. I hate it when schools try and tap parents for short falls in their budgets.

Im sulking because we've been asked to pay for swimming lessons. Again its curriculum compulsory. Actually, I think it's bloody outrageous (and I never swear)

gillybean2 · 11/09/2011 15:39

slartybartfast if the dc bring their own fruit they:

  1. get very upset if it gets forgotten or not provided
  2. parents don't want the hassle of remembering it every day
  3. there is a huge difference in what each family will provide so in some way it is better they all have the same. - think watermelon, strawberries, mango re yet another apple
  4. They try different things at school that they would turn their nose up too at home (ds did at any rate)
deemented · 11/09/2011 15:39

DS2, aged 7 and in Yr2 pays £1 a week for fruit.

DD, aged 3 and in Nursery pays 65p a week for fruit.

Original poster
PepperPigsPorkScratchings · 11/09/2011 15:39

my DS is 4 so KS1 and we have to pay! but i dont mind :) prob be a diff story if i had more in the school! i gotta go for an hour as my brother has just turned up :)

OP posts:
slartybartfast · 11/09/2011 15:40

plus its also the finding that elusive pound coin, every monday morning, i shoudl imagine.

itisnearlysummer · 11/09/2011 15:40

I don't think £1 a week for fruit in ks2 sounds too bad at all. I'd be happy to pay, but then I've only got 1 in primary.

eaglewings · 11/09/2011 15:40

Only free in KS1

Cocoflower · 11/09/2011 15:41

Believe or not maybe that £1 really does count for some people who need to budget to the last penny

Maybe the are dreading the guilt factor of not being able to pay or the stress of rejigging their budget

gillybean2 · 11/09/2011 15:41

freesiaLiliy - it causes far less problems if everyone has the same item and the school still have to provide for those who's parents forget (genuinely or deliberatly)

deemented · 11/09/2011 15:41

Oh, and it's not a whole piece of fruit either - it's a choice between half an apple or half a banana.

deemented · 11/09/2011 15:43

And another thing!

If fruit money is not in on Monday morning, then the child does not have fruit for the entire week.

troisgarcons · 11/09/2011 15:43

If I wanted my salary paid in pound coins to dole out on spurious excuses every five minutes I'd ask for it.

The swimming thing has to be £2, cash, every week - no cheque in advance etc etc because they can't be bothered to account for that. I have more important things to do than rifling round for £2 in coins on a Wednesday night AND rifling for 3 lots of dinner money - oh and there will be other incidentals.

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