to show you these pictures of Danish children's packed lunches?

[wallyfeatures]

I've followed a few of the lunchbox threads and thought it might be of interest to mumsnet to see what is allowed and typically given to young children here in Denmark in schools and kindergardens. I am a member of a closed facebook group where Danish mothers share ideas on packed lunches. The photos below are a typical sample of what is given to children from 3+ years up. The food shown would be enough for lunch and a mid afternoon snack. Happy to answer questions about what is shown.

I moved from the UK last year and I'm really missing having provided lunches - DS1 would prefer a hot lunch (and often gets a warm one, if the thermos does its job), but the packed lunches they provided at his primary were great - wraps and sandwiches, plenty of bread and fruit - he really enjoyed them.

I fully believe in hot lunches for school kids - I think it teaches them to try things, to eat together, to tidy after themselves, plus of course it's good for them to have a proper meal in the day!

I had school dinners on and off as a child, and apart from a couple of duds (spam fritters you couldn't cut they were so hard, cheesy potato so hot it burned, and that time I was made to eat a disgusting 'profiterole' that I promptly threw up) - it was generally fine, and quite a social event.

I'm wondering how feasible it would be to get some photos of my colleagues lunches just to demonstrate what the average adult is eating. There are maybe between 4 and 10 people in the lunchroom each day. Hmmm, see what I can do but it would be next week before I can get them. It really is mostly rye bread and raw veg.

@HiDBandSIL I could ask that question, but I can pretty much tell you without asking

leverpostej (pate) in varying forms
cream cheese
salami
ham
frikadellar (meatballish burgery things)
chicken slices
mackerek
Sliced loafs of fish eggs
prawns and boiled eggs

etc..... Maybe some thin chocolate slices if the child is very lucky. No jam or honey or the like. And Marmite is unheard of.

Am so grateful for Swedish cooked lunches. My son is nine, and usually has a choice of two dishes. There are vegetarian/specialty options too, but those normally have to be specially signed up for/asked for so the staff can plan for them. Then there is what we in Sweden call a "sallad buffet" which means a table with big tubs of grated carrots, iceberg lettuce, green lentils, chickpeas, sweetcorn etc, as well as hard bread and butter and milk or water to drink.

Scandinavians are pretty similar in many ways but it's completely incomprehensible to Swedes that Norwegians and Danes have just sandwiches for lunch. We all prefer cooked lunches.

Yes MargaretCavendish I'd agree wholeheartedly with that. I did the same at school and learnt very early on to avoid unnecessary conflict over anything food related. The bins at high school where crammed full of untouched food. I don't recall secondary being as bad? Probably because there was supervision and you weren't allowed to chuck anything other than yoghurt pots away. The rest would be slung on the way home.

I have tried a combination of everything humanly imaginable to entice my 11YO son to eat at school. Even post-it notes with "eat me" on, faces drawn on the fruit skins much to his distain (I only did the faces to see if he actually opened his lunch bag?) We go around the supermarket and he has his own basket to choose the items. Still nothing touched...he just plays catch up once home.

I've stopped trying now, as the more emphasis I put on food, the more he digs in his heels. I don't want food to be a HUGE deal or endless battle which it was quickly becoming.

Finns and Swedes are alike in that I guess, its rare to not have a hot lunch here too.

There's no options in DD's daycare without a doctor's note - she gets gluten free, as do two others, everyone else has the normal meal, no vegetarians there (they need a doctor's note too I think)

When my nephew moved to Ireland when he was ten I remember he found it so hard to get used to packed lunches. He really missed a cooked meal.

I only make/made packed lunches once or twice a year, if the class goes on an outing. And they are pathetic because none of my children liked cold things, lol. You'd be laughed at here for suggesting crisps are food fit for a lunch, ditto the idea of sending along little chocolate bars every day. The general Swedish impression of British packed lunches is that they are barely food ( ) and of or Scandinavian brethren that they eat boring sandwiches and are sad.

For a packed lunch here a lot of kids would have cold pancakes, pasta salad, sandwiches ... no crisps, no soft drinks, no sweets (generally speaking). If someone brought that nothing would be said but after a few instances you might be told not to bring that sort of thing because "then everyone wants it and it causes bad feelings in the group".

seafood I know! It just needs a glass of cold Chablis.

At prev school the 'cooked' lunches were awful. Often only bread was left but even if you were quick, it was 'mystery meat' of the lowest kind (turkey twizzlers, anyone?) and partly cooked oven chips, frequently. No salad, hardly any tinned veg, and a few hard bruised apples. 'Pudding'' was custard creams if they had them. Or the peer pressure froot shoot lunchbox stuff. Crisps outside in playground for snack. Scraps between kids who had no snack. My ds used to get his taken off him for years and the school head simply nodded and said (of kid taking the food) 'ah, yes, that child is never sent with food, that family has problems

Now they get a homemade 2 course plus extras hot meal daily.
Snack is eg freshly made pancakes, fruit scones with jam, flapjacks etc. The cook comes into the kids design tech lessons and talks to them about nutritious food / how to cook. They grow veg for the local old folks centre in the school 'kitchen garden'.

During SATS week apparently they do a 'hotel style' cooked breakfast every day for the kids and the staff come in to join them. So the kids take their exams on a full stomach. This is not a Private School, or in an esp deprived area on some sort of scheme. I don't know how they've done it, but they have. Mine are currently on fsm. I am embarrassed. But HUGELY grateful too.

It is SO how it should be, for the future health of Society, I cant quite believe it.

I enjoy seeing the types of lunches people make in other countries. Fascinating.

The very best school lunch I ever saw was in France. The same meal was provided for everybody (no packed lunches) and prepared on the premises: beautiful soup, lovely main course of chicken and vegetables, fresh bread, cheese. I have no idea whether that sort of meal is typical of school lunches in France but it was quite impressive.

surely that is not raw meet in those boxes next to fresh fruit ?

That looks like what I'd give my dc. I limit processed meat to once a week though, and there might be a yo-yo bear thing in there or a chocolate-covered rice cake for a treat. Yogurts are too messy and the spoon goes walkies.
They won't eat sarnies so it's crackers or rice cakes or bread sticks as the main carb.

They get crisps if they're on a school trip and walking a lot.

It'll come back half-eaten whatever I put in.

meat, obvs

My memories of French school dinners as a child is that they were really good in comparison to the ones in the UK. On the other hand, I am allergic to nuts and they once gave me a cake with walnuts in which made me really ill. So on balance, I preferred the less delicious but less deadly UK meals.

surely that is not raw meet in those boxes next to fresh fruit?

No. What do you think it is?

This was today's

seafoodeatit I forgot that French people serve red or green peppers alongside roast meat and gravy. I eat them but to me, it can never be right. I'd eat them either raw or grilled/ roast with grilled meat or fish. The potatoes on that plate are wrong too, but I'd eat them without complaint. Likewise tinned green beans, even though they're slippery and you can hear them squeak when you chew them.

These lunches are shit and smug and won't fill a child up!

Pretty similar to my sons lunchbox most days. I love the Japanese lunches, and the Indian lunches where they eat proper cooked food all portioned out. Fabulous.

@PlayOnWurtz what would fill a child up? There was one for a teenage boy that looked a bit on the small size but the others all looked fine quantity wise. Must be why they are all so skinny over here ... oh wait a minute....

I'm enjoying reading this thread. Don't understand why some people are being so arsey and saying its smug - seems a bit defensive. Anyway, whether the nutritional value matches UK lunches or not is neither here nor there - perhaps something there might occasionally replace the obligatory ham or cheese sandwich, for a bit of variety if nothing else.

@InTheMoodForLove they re crazy over here but raw meat is not on the menu for children's lunchboxes Might be cured meat.

Well, smug just bit me right in the arse.

My kids came home today, 1 of them in tears, telling me their School is to close.

They both have sen. I cant believe it.

Oh fleur oh no! How dreadful

my dd has been in tears.
my ds has been gnawing his fingers
THEY knew before I did
I am just stunned.
They went through ALL this change and upheaval and now they will have to do it again. I'm trying not to cry.
(sorry, off thread now)

I can't believe the school have told the children without letting the parents know first to prewarn/be prepared this eve! How horrible for your DC.