To make ds have school dinners even though he wants to take sandwiches?

[anditwasallyellow]

He's just started reception, won't have his first dinner at school until next week. He says he wants to take sandwiches in a lunchbox. I'd prefer him to have school dinners.

My reasons being; the teachers reckons that most of the children do have school dinners, it's all prepared on site fresh and the menu looks tasty and healthy, I like the idea of him having a full hot meal at school as that's what he's always had at nursery, I work so have less time either end of the day to make an extra packed lunch I'm a lazy cow and would rather spend the extra 10 minutes in bed I can't really be bothered to think of different things to give him each day that are nutritious of a different variety eacxh day and will stay fresh in a lunchbox.

DD is only now just having packed lunch instead of school dinners in year 5 because she's doing them herself. I have told her that I will get some stuff in, provided she warns me when we are running low, but she makes her own sandwich

My DS started reception last week and exactly the same thing. He doesn't have a Ben 10 lunch box, but would like one!

He told me that school lunches were 'boring', although I suspect they are little different to the kind of cooked lunches he's been having at nursery for a couple of years. He says that the reason he wants school lunches is so that he can have things like crisps - he has a friend from nursery who does get crisps and a small chocolate in his packed lunch every day so I guess he wants that too.

Will watch this thread with interest!

My dcs have just started at a school where you can mix and match home packed lunch/school dinner. Many parents apparently run through the cooked meal menu for the following week with their dc and decide which days they will have cooked and which days packed from home. You can then pay weekly for which meals they are going to have.

I have paid for the entire term cooked lunches for them all without canvassing any opinions from those aged under 10 years. I really can't be doing with all that.

Do not want to be judgemental, but will be....! Do people really have the time, energy and interest to go through menu like this? School dinners will be fine, and if they don't eat it'll be teatime in a few hours, they'll hardly starve.

OP - start as you mean to go on - it's a slippery slope!

I told both of mine to have school lunches. They love them now. Saves me a lot of hassle every morning and gives me an excuse to feed them fried egg sandwich for supper.

If you take him a snack for the end of the school day when you pick him up, put that in his lunchbox.

My daughter has finally been allowed a packed lunch, aged 10, when she became old enough to make it herself and be responsible for ensuring it is balanced and healthy. School lunches were not that great: lots of puddings and cakes which she would not have otherwise and "Vegetables you don't need teeth for". However, she has just had to put up with it until she was old enough as I am too busy ( and lazy ) for chopping and changing or making it every day. My sin loves school lunch but is now at High School with a much better choice. I would say he can take it when he can make it himself.

Ha, it takes one minute to make a sandwich and chuck it in a box with a frube, banana and flapjack :)
Just do it when you're waiting for the kettle to boil?

As for Nigella thinking that packed lunches don't have enough calories, how can that be true surely they don't need more than 500-600 calories and that's easy enough to do?

I'm another who cant quite see what the fuss is about making a sandwich and putting it in a box.

Packed lunches are only unhealthy if you put unhealthy stuff in them. A hot meal doesnt mean a healthy meal.

Preferred packed lunches as that way we knew exactly what DCs ate and what they didnt eat (all rubbish came home).

As a mother of 3-
I want packed lunches- (I want a fancy pants lunch box- which i will lose)

I want packed lunches-(My new best friend has packed lunches and I want to sit next to her)

I want packed lunches-(I quite fancy the look of some of the snacks that my friend brings to school)

All of mine had school dinners throughout Lower School- my only concession being in Yrs 3 and 4 where they could have sandwiches for the last half of the summer term (Really can't remember why I invented this rule now)

My issue was never making the sodding things but the thought of constantly running out of the things needed to make them, my lot could eat for England.

That's interesting Aviva, I actually found it efficient to make 3 lots of packed lunch! Also was much more cost effective than school dinners.

I will admit that I loathe school dinners with a passion. My DM was a school cook and quite frankly her cooking was and is awful!

School dinners at DS's school are £2.50 each...my 3 have packed lunches

For me the making sandwiches includes buying the stuff and remembering not to run out of it. I don't keep a constant supply of sandwich fillings, flapjacks, biscuits and bananas in the house.
If I take a sandwich to work it's usually peanut butter or marmite or both together. Still if that's all they got day after day they'd soon stop asking for them I suppose. Plus it's yet another thing to do. Life is full of little things that only take a few minutes. I'd rather just sort out dinner money once a term.

I'd be concerned he wouldn't eat enough. I know dd wouldn't. She's quite fussy. So packed lunch it is, takes about five minutes to prepare the night before and I know she will eat the lot.

Surely having food in for packed lunches is no different to having food in for evening meals? We go through a loaf of bread a day and between 4 and 6 pints of milk so I go to the shop every 2nd day anyway. Checking that there are also things available for the packed lunches isn't much extra.

Yabu and likr Cat98 I disagree that school lunches are healthier...our school goes on about how great the menu is...and it LOOKS good on paper...in reality it's shit and the portions are very small...they always say "Most children have them"

They said that to me too.

My DD has healthy packed lunches and I pack things I know she will eat.

Think it all depends on the quality of the dinners.

Ours are a bit poor quality and very small portions. Not particularly healthy either.

Packed lunch would be brown bread sandwich with a bit of salad in, fruit and a small treat.

School dinner would be jacket potato and cheese or fish and chips followed by sponge and custard. No salad, no fruit.

But a lot easier in the mornings, particularly if you have a few dc.

Same here Mum4041 I find the school bigs up the lunches but when you ask the DC what they had, they say "Noodles, a fishcake and a big cookie"

The trouble is that small kids are allowed to choose their own food...then they pick the bits which just don't go together!

I also hate the fact that they eat of prison-like plastic trays!

DS is starting school in February but has been at preschool 2 days a week this year, so he's used to packed lunches. I think I will keep him on packed lunches as well - I'm not sure he's going to do too well at picking decent stuff from the canteen! He's not allowed to for the first 4 weeks anyway, so I may not bother, just send him in with a packed lunch.

I'm hoping the school is a little less restrictive on what the children are allowed than the preschool though - it would be nice to be able to send DS in with a fruit yoghurt, for e.g. (only plain allowed at pre-school and he doesn't like plain yoghurt)

I made my DS have school dinners this week, but I think he will probably end up having a mix of both as my DH bought him a really coo transformers lunchbox!

He did go to school without breakfast this morning as he was in a foul mood got out the wrong side of bed, so I expect he will be starving by lunchtime and it's roast dinner today which he loves.

Plus I can't get him to eat vegetables at home, but he happily eats them at school!!!