To be miffed about ds getting 'told off' for the content of his packed lunch

[Squiffie]

DS had a packed lunch consisting of:

A chicken wrap
Banana
Grapes
Rice pudding
A bottle of very dilute squash

In addition to this he had 3 or 4 jelly sweets that I'd popped in with his grapes as a treat, for which he got 'told off' by a member of lunchtime staff. Am I seriously not allowed to choose the contents of his lunch box?!

I'd be inclined to send in a note (possibly in the lunch box) saying, "you concentrate on teaching my child and I will concentrate on being the parent." so fuck off.

largertops when you are self employed all you do is worry about the small things. It takes over your life, you don't just leave work and forget about the job, the buck stops with you. It is worse still when you have employees because it might not matter what you are doing but you then have to worry about ensuring staff are doing as they should be because they always do as they are supposed to cough cough

If I thought the only worry was whether or not I was wearing earrings well that sounds a luxury to me. Everyone wants to be self employed these days because they think it's the nicest option, well the nicest option to me is being able to turn up for work, do my job, go home and not have to think about the job. But the grass is always greener on the other side.

Snazzyenjoyingsummer, no I'm not a specialist but when it comes to nutrition and uniform the school isnt either.

Anyway, this is Mumsnet not Teachernet so I am allowed to hold and express an opinion.

nkf no, I didn't teach on the ark I taught in secondary!

In a school where the kids who didn't have school dinners were usually off down the chippy at lunchtime so they could have a fag on the way!

School dinners could be healthy if they were made from good quality ingredients. Not Tesco value crap, artificial sweeteners, palm oil etc.

Chocolate sauce made from cocoa powder would be great if it didn't also contain sweeteners and dubious veg oil. A piece of dark chocolate is absolutely fine and healthier than the various school dinner dessert options but that is not what is on offer.

Decisions are being made by people with little understanding of nutritional needs of children and developing healthy eating habits.

And no, school pizza is not healthy if based on tomato puree ( high salt, high sugar), a proper home made pizza with real tomato sauce, good quality cheese and a nice dough is healthy. Way too expensive for schools.

No point of snarky note in lunch box as will not be teacher who opens it/ sees it, but lunch staff. Different roles...

Lunch staff following directives from head teacher, following directives from government.

If you disagree with 'no sweets in lunchbox rule' try writing to your MP. They could probably do with a laugh.

In the part of scotland i livein, kids can eatwhatever their parents choose to give them.

Asi foundout when my 4 year old swapped her banana for a can of cola.

I think it has gone too far, not allow squash for goodness sake!

But the way our school is is completly wrong!

If you can guarantee your child will eat the important parts of their lunch and leave the sweets till last I don't see a problem.

But very many children open their lunchboxes and eat their eat their chocolate bars first,then the crisps. Then complain they don't feel hungry anymore when it comes to eating the sandwich or wrap or sausage roll etc, which is the main part of the packed lunch.

Also children do swap stuff (as idiot55 has found out). So isn't it better to leave the sweets etc out?

Jam, no, sweets should not be left to last. That would be very bad for the teeth. Best is to have a small piece of cheese last as this would neutralise acids. Alternatively, thoroughly rinse teeth with water or brush 15-30 minutes after the mean (not straight away). Brushing straight after a meal damages the teeth as enamel softens straight after eating and you'll brush a small layer of enamel away. This does not happen if,you wait min. 15 minutes as the enamel will have hardened by then again. And use toothpaste with 1100 ppm fluoride for six years plus as it helps refluorising the enamel, it can even repair shallow cavities.

Sorry for typos, after the meal ...

DSs school have a long list of things you aren't allowed in lunch boxes -
no crisps, mini cheddars, nutrigrain bars, chocolate, squash, sweets, chocolate biscuits, sugary cakes, fizzy drinks or energy drinks - and they tell the children off for having them.

DDs school say 'please encourage your child to eat a healthy balanced lunch and provide fruit, veg, cheese or yoghurt for morning break.'

The parents at DSs school find ways to get around it and moan, the parents at DDs school provide the same lunch DSs school are asking for but without the moaning, I wonder if other schools phrased the lunch policies differently if they would find the same thing.

Parents should be allowed to be fucking parents. 'Kin 'ell mun. Want all your students to eat wholegrain Ryvita and olives? Become a fucking private school. Grr. A few jellies wont kill anyone.

tomato purée for "school dinner company" pizzas contains tomatoes.... that is all....

my DD has an allergy to certain spices, but likes pizza so I asked to see the pot label (1 gallon of tomato purée anyone!!) and it contained

tomato

I really do not get that pizza is unhealthy, sorry... it is RECOMMENDED by nutritionists as a way of getting fruit, veg and calcium into children,

and tomato purée in itself is particularly recommended due to its protective qualities - it is the major source of lycopene - providing protection against prostate cancer, breast cancer and cardiovascular disease.

FGS the lunchbox thing gets on my nerves. DS is very tall and very active and not fat. He eats A LOT ESP during growth spurts. If he doesn't eat enough, he gets very irritable and meltsdown.

School think I give him too much:
Dairylea sandwich/wrap with houmous
Box raisins
Quarter cucumber
Yogurt
Apple
One of sometimes Cereal bar (mini), pombears or a cheese

It's loads but that's as much as he needs. We don't have massive dinners at home or he diesn't sleep well. I don't expect my judgement to be questioned. It's not a sausage roll, mars bar and can of coke ffs.

When I was at school, it was sandwich, fruit, yogurt, penguin. Now you can't have a penguin! Wtaf. All this fetishisation of sugar is really bad.

I felt a bit miffed about the idea of dictating what parents put in their children's lunch boxes at first, too.

But now I understand why they do it, because really, I think some parents might not realise that the treats they give them at home with no problems actually makes it hard for them to concentrate in a more intensive school environment.

Though I also think that if they're going to ban sugary things in packed lunches they shouldn't do puddings for school meals unless they are healthy, like fruit salad, either.

I tell my DS if anyone says anything to say "My mum makes my lunches."

Mostly it's beaky kids telling him he's got squash and he's not allowed, but he won't drink water, imvho any fluid is better than nothing. There have been one or 2 comments by 'lunchtime assistants'. This all at infant school.

None of this nonsense from junior school now though!

I agree about 'hot dinners' puddings. Always cake/biscuit. So when they sort that out, then they'd have a leg to stand on.

Pizza is a hot cheese and tomato sandwich, chuck some veg and good quality meat or fish on it and its a complete winner. NOT unhealthy!

Zombie thread

at 'beaky kids' though, I know the type!

YANBU, though I sometimes wish our school has lunchbox rules. Ds is always moaning because he doesn't get crisps and chocolate every day like his friends!
This week his lunches have been:
Monday:
Chicken sandwich (whole meal bread)
Raw carrots
Cheese cubes
Apple

Tuesday:
Breadsticks, raw carrots, cucumber, pot of Philadelphia
Raisins
Cheese cubes

Wednesday:
Pot of wholewheat pasta with pesto, peas and grated cheese
Half a bagel with Nutella

Thursday:
A bagel with Philadelphia
Grapes
A yoghurt

And ds moans how his lunches are much 'healthier' than his friends' lunches. I think there are a few compromises in there!
Plus he only has water to drink (mean mummy)

Oh and tomorrow he has a Bourbon biscuit!
In addition to grapes, carrots and an egg sandwich on pumpkin seed bread.

If he moans, ill tell him to post on Aibu

WorrySigh - I think you have every right to want the HT to deal with the major issues in his school as a priority. Uniform and canteen food are important, but if you cannot deal with those at the same time as making sure that the teachers are teaching the syllabus correctly, looking after their pupils' coursework, and entering the right pupils for the right exams, then surely the educational issues are more important, and should be given a higher priority than blazers and clip-on ties?!