For my children to not have two cooked dinners?

[mrsnw]

So from next week my two, dd 4 and ds6, will be school dinners everyday. Am I being unreasonable to not cook them a dinner in the evening and just give them a sandwich or beans on toast?? What do others serve up?

YABU

Firstly they tend to eat lunch quite early, around 12 noon. We eat at 1ish at home. Whatever they have for lunch at school, they are always STARVING by 3.30pm. Also school portions tend to be quite small, for most children it wouldn't be enough for the main meal of the day.

Just cook whatever you would normally for your family, they can always have a small portion!

I thought the same thing after mine complained about what I'd troubled myself to cook for them. But Dh feels we cant be sure what they will get at school my ds seems to choose spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread most days!

My DS's have school dinners but this doesn't automatically mean they've had a hot meal. My 5 year old chose cheese sandwiches for his lunch all week.

So are you sure they'll even have a hot meal every lunchtime?

I think you're over estimating the quality and content of school meals. Having witnessed them at first hand (have worked in and out of schools for over a 10 year period) most children will be more than ready for their evening meal having had a small 1 or 2 course dinner at 12.30pm. Sometimes the "pudding" is half an apple and the wastage is incredible. Tons of food gets scraped into the bins.

I'm always puzzled at 'beans on toast'. Surely that's just carbs on carbs?

No it isn't carb on carb. Baked beans count as one of your 5 or 7 or 10 a day They should only count as one portion like other pulses, no matter how many you eat, but they still count.

I still don't understand why some food has to be hot? It is a complete puzzle to me. Do those of you who insist on hot food in winter not have central heating or sufficient clothing? I relish the evenings, which are few and far between, when I don't have to cook for the family and I can eat what I like for tea. More often than not it will be something that doesn't need cooking and is cold - even on the coldest days. It doesn't affect my body temperature because the house is warm enough and I have clothes on!

School dinners are regulated by law

Lougle, lots of things in education are regulated by law, but that doesn't mean that's what happens.

Those that think they are adequate, have you actually seen them? I mean seen them on a regular day and not when a special show has been put on for parents?

I remember my son being told he wasn't allowed to have any peas [which was just one breakfast sized bowlful- for the entire school] because they had to save some for the next sitting [ie juniors sitting]
What those nicely printed menus say and what your child actually gets are very often two different things.

What AmberLeaf said. The portion sizes are woeful and many times if your DC is on the "last sitting" they get the dregs of what's left.

I still don't understand why some food has to be hot? It is a complete puzzle to me. Do those of you who insist on hot food in winter not have central heating or sufficient clothing?

That probably has a lot to do with why it is culturally entrenched yes.

That is why I usually do a hot meal!

Beans is not just carb, it is veg really, and a source of protein, yes it has carbs too... A superfood really!

Sometimes my eldest daughter comes home and tells me that they ran out of food by the time she reached the front of the line. So she ended up with an imbalanced meal or not enough.

In her case, I cook a main meal in the evening, so it's not the end of the world. I worry about the kids on school dinners who might really be depending on school dinners.

The trouble is, you don't know for sure what the quality of the school dinner is, and whether your dc actually ate much of it.

Are portion sizes for school meals not regulated ?

Correct Portion sizes are a lot smaller than most of us think are acceptable. Try weighing out 30g of breakfast cereal, most of us will quite happily consume a lot more than is recommended,hence the current obesity crisis !

There really is no need for a child to have two so called "proper" cooked meals a day. Just because something is "cooked from scratch" and hot does not necessarily mean its nutritionally superior.

I try to make sure my DC's eat well 95 % of the time,but I've never encounted so much food snobery than on MN.

Life is far too short to beat yourself up for shoving a white bread cheese butty and packet of pom bears at your child for tea..................

Sample dinners normally are generous portions

But in reality, Primary school dinners are usually quite tiny...just a light lunch really, as that's all they need midday.

I would definitely provide a cooked evening meal, but that's because I know what our school dinners are like.

Worra they are small portions for a 4~6yo yes but none are adequate for Y5~6 children who are clearere bigger and eat more.
My Y5 son eats as mcuh as me (or DH!) and needs more than 2 chicken nuggets, 2 (very) small potatoes and 2 brocoli florets (again small).

That's why at our school children in lower classes are usually having school dinners but the time they are in Y5 or Y6, few still do.

midlands - I would actually consider that I had failed as a parent if that is what I had to put in front of mine for their tea except in some kind of emergency.

People are so weird about cooked meals on here. What on earth is wrong with preparing a nice dinner for your family?

School dinners are grim, by and large. And there is no way of knowing how much your child is eating.
We tried DS1 on school dinners, and he ate next to nothing. When I quizzed him it transpired that various of the veg and extras with the meal were in very short supply and if you weren't at the front of the queue then all you got was whatever the main part of the meal was - but no extra portion to compensate for missing out on all the rest.

Totally bemused though by the poster a couple of pages back who said that she wouldn't do a 'proper' cooked meal, that the children would be fine with some casserole or pasta. Maybe it was a typo?

cleti you are not worried about the quality??? Have your forgotten the story abut horse meat already. The one that sneaked in school dinners?

Same here LID

They serve the exact same size portions to the 4yr olds in Reception class, as they do to the 11yr olds in year 6.

Some of the year 6 kids are taller than the staff.

The school dinners in the school i work in aren't particularly appetising and portions are small i would definitely give my child a decent meal at night

There is nothing wrong with 2 cooked meals a day

There is nothing wrong with one cooked meal and one easy snacky/ sandwich / quick meal

I wouldn't be happy with 2 snacky sandwich Meals a day

See how they go. May fancy something hot and filling as gets colder

Some school dinners are yum. Others rank - varies

I always wondered that Ali - some people's definition of a cooked meal is beyond me. Perhaps they do three courses for a 'proper' meal or something.

I am not sure why I even join these threads because there are some very strange ideas. My two have and have always had, pack lunches except for Christmas lunch. DS1 loved those. DS2 has had one and said never again. Having tried their lunches (and a roast too) I can't say I blame him. I just think it is odd that food is deemed sufficient or insufficient by what temperature it is.

Also, if somebody sends their child for a cooked lunch presumably it is for the sake of convenience more than anything so I don't get why you would cook anyway in the evening - surely the advantage of school lunches are lost then?. If you were going to cook why not send your child with a packed lunch which would be a better choice nutritionally than some of the school dinners seems to be? Then you can all have your hot meal together in the evenings.

midlands - I would actually consider that I had failed as a parent if that is what I had to put in front of mine for their tea except in some kind of emergency

Personally I can think of plenty more ways to fail as a parent than by giving them the occasional cheese sarnie..........

I am still shocked that people would criticise other people for not doing two cooked meals whilst simultaneously allowing their child to eat the nutritionally worthless slop that they know is not good enough and that's why they cook another meal. If they are that bad then don't give it to them and you wouldn't need to make up the shortfall then

I'm not talking about those who have no choice, just the ones who pay for the food then moan about how bad it is and that others are in the wrong by not cooking another meal.

I am another who simply does not get the obsession with hot vs cold food at all, never mind the obsession that anything other than 2 hot meals is not good enough, bordering on neglect. You can be perfectly healthy on no hot food ever, you know!

Well balanced, varied meals of the appropriate portion size is all that matters.

Which is better - waffles and sausage with beans (hot meal) or a cheese and tomato sarnie with fruit, cucumber and pepper sticks, and a flapjack? I know which one I would rather my kids had. I know people who sneer at the "no hot evening meal" families while dishing up nothing but convenience food/junk to theirs!

My DC have packed lunches (as do DH & I most days, sometimes we will grab a pasty or supermarket salad pot). They are generally sandwich based but can also have hummous n veg sticks, crackers and cheese, cold pizza or quiche (both homemade). They have fruit snacks at school and when they get home, and a cooked dinner in the evening. That way I have a realistic idea of what/how much they have eaten.

Our schools dinners are all done in house and are healthier than some, but some parents still have no idea of what was still available when the child got their turn for lunch, how much they were given, or how much they ate.

But whether or not school dinners are any good is beside the point. Whatever the DC had for lunch, they should have a reasonably healthy evening meal. The temperature of the evening meal makes no difference.

Those slagging off school dinners shouldn't be concentrating on what the DC eat in the evening, but on improving what they eat for lunch!

Lady, no I'm not worried about the quality in our area. I know the suppliers and the quality is good. As I said previously its the quantity that does concern me and the fact that they often run out of items by the time the older children have their lunch.