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.

Disgrunted!!!! 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

I don't think countries in Northern Europe are very different in terms of food than the Brits. They may have salami, we have ham...It's all just processed meat. The French may have baguette, we may have a white slice...It's all just white bread at the end of the day.

i think it's interesting, am surprised that some of them have 3 or 4 'things in plastic' that one can only assume is shit pretending to be healthy.

Not too dissimilar to what I give mine, lunchboxes are an ongoing battle between DP and I as he puts too much food in for the kids (IMO) and he thinks he should 'treat' them each day. They eat what's before them regardless of who has made it, so in my opinion we should go 'smaller and more healthy' than shit and too large...

They have this processed meat stuff called 'Saturday Sausage' in Finland that smells and feels very processed (and vile) that DD goes nuts for. I'm pretty sure its half water and potato flour with a tiny bit of pork "meat" in there somewhere. They also quite like their head-cheese/brawn, urgh.

Ok, so what is typical for a uk lunch box? I live in Germany and hear about either children's lunch boxes in the uk being policed and them not being allowed a chocolate button/small savory muffin, or people complaining that their children only want cheese strings and Capri suns. Which is it?

I don't think German lunchboxes are, on average, super healthy or super unhealthy. Whatever I read about the uk seems to be one extreme or the other. Is that the case?

More balanced view of health and safety?

I saw a four year old nearly choke to death eating a frankfurter. If it hadn't had been for the fact I'd just the week before down a first aid course she wouldn't be around today. And it was mostly luck i managed to get it out anyway.

My kid is pretty 'free range' but I can still take the 30 seconds it takes to cut up potential choking hazards.

I am in HEAVEN and have taken the pl boxes to the charity shop

You think people would buy your secondhand lunch boxes?

I live in the Netherlands and the school's recommended lunch is a sandwich made with one or two slices of bread. That's it. Dutch people are thin...

Hi back again. @bummymummy77 I have often wondered about the choking hazards presented. Should I pose the question to the mums on the Danish facebook page and let you all know the responses? We could start a cross cultural dialogue

@hoddtastic as far as I can tell the plastic packets are

ostehaps (processed cheese)
frugtstang (dried fruit bars)
yoghurt drinks
muesli bars

UK lunchbox would be a sandwich (meat/cheese/egg, on either brown or white bread, possibly with lettuce, tomato and/or cucumber) OR rice or pasta or pulse-based salad OR something like a slice of quiche, cold home-made pizza, cold meat, eggs etc AND some vegetables (usually one or more of carrot, cucumber, tomato, pepper) AND/OR a piece of fruit. There might also be a packet or crisps and/or something sweet, eg a cereal bar, biscuit etc.

I forgot about yogurts. The sweet thing would often be a yogurt. And there might be some cheese in there. It might be in the form of a cheese string.

Suburban well, I have seen some in my local charity shop!

I meant metaphorically, though I appreciate I didn't say it: misleading....

I actually kept the less tatty one for car snacks at the weekend and recycled the other one, via the dishwasher, for dd's endless craft stuff (good small compartments)

What is so awful about that?
Would landfill be better?

DisgruntledGoat loving this... please put it on FB?

pulse-based salad

Hysterical at the idea of a pulse based salad being the norm in a UK lunch box... Only in the most middle class enclaves will this be the case

Wally - do it! Honestly if it stops one kid choking to death it can't be a bad thing.

And a bit of international beef always goes down well.

Broomstick - that sounds identical to what I give my children here in Germany. They don't have lunch at school, so it is just a snack at around 9:30 (they have an early start at school/kindergarten here).

A totally average day would be

Half a sandwich, brown bread, butter, slice of salami/ham/cheese/bit of pate.
One portion fruit or veg (a banana, apple, berries, satsuma or a few tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sliced pepper, carrots)
One babybel or mini yoghurt.

Dd1 is 7. If she leaves anything, it'll be the yogurt. Dd2 is 4. Is she leaves anything it'll be the bread (but she'll scoff the filling).

It could be better, it could be worse. I think uk and Germany are quite similar.

The vegetarians, vegans and kids from Indian families and North African often have pulse-based lunches at our school, which is pretty diverse in terms of social class.

Psammead it seems to vary pretty wildly, I know DD's friend keeps his lunch box lid closed and takes out one item at a time as it is generally full of crap and if it's spotted it is confiscated and a letter sent home.

DD's lunch yesterday was a ham and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread, a babybel, carton of apple juice and a pot of red and yellow pepper slices and cherry tomatoes. She does tell me that her friends always comment that hers is super healthy, because I don't send in crisps or chocolates. Occasionally I will stick in a barney bear or mini swiss roll, and she swaps out the sandwich for cold chicken goujons or pot of pasta if she doesn't fancy a sandwich.

She has packed lunch probably twice a week and school dinners the rest of the time.

This is fascinating. I live in France, packed lunches are not allowed. Not at any age, they're just not. You have a set lunch at school or you come home. The set lunch is often not to everyone's taste, but it does get children trying things they might not otherwise consider. Though I was part of a campaign last year to offer a veggie option as it's so very meat heavy. It failed

Disgruntled

Jenpet, I read an article on French school lunches. They looked very nice.

What do vegetarians do?

@bummymummy77 ok, just done it in my best danish. Asked

"I hope it is ok that I ask a general question. Is anyone ever worried about the choking hazard presented by giving whole grapes and cocktail sausages to small children? What are your opinions?"

Lots of people posting replies.

Jen - that's interesting. There is no lunch hall at dd's school, it's a pretty small school. So that means every French school has to have a kitchen and a canteen?

What time do they finish in France? Here in Germany at my dd's school, they start at 7:40 and finish at 12:55 and children have a light breakfast and hot lunch at home. Packed snacks are eaten in the first break, just on a bench or at the child's desk, or standing around. They don't sit down all together (which I think is a shame).

My ds takes a space sandwich to school..... yum

Just bread and margarine with nothing in, then bread and margarine the other side god knows what they must think of me. Then she likes an unpeeled whole carrot- whichever crisps happen to be around, niknaks this morning, a frube and whichever fruit she fancies! Usually an orange if dp hasn't eaten them all. The school must hate me

I should post photos of ds2's daily sandwich, cake and sausage roll (do do doo d-do doo)