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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think school dinners are too much (food wise)?

227 replies

DragonPies · 27/02/2017 10:33

There's always something like fish & chips, pie & mash, etc. and then a desert!

DD then has a dinner (around 6pm) and I feel like it's way too much. She's even getting a bit chubby.

I appreciate that I can stop school dinners (which I will be doing) but they shouldn't be giving kids stuff that could make them put on weight, surely?

OP posts:
Original poster
DragonPies · 27/02/2017 10:57

She is around 128cm and about 5 st.

OP posts:
Vegansnake · 27/02/2017 10:58

Also why give her another cooked meal at 6 pm..if it's a full cooked meal at school,sandwich and fruit is fine at 6 pm.no one needs 2 full cooked meals with dessert a day..

BarbaraofSeville · 27/02/2017 10:58

Why are people recommending sandwiches at home if the OP wants her DD to eat less?

Sandwiches usually contain more calories and carbs than a lot of cooked meals made mostly from lean meat or fish and veg.

The point about the school meal being the best food of a day for some children is reason alone for the school lunch to be 'big'. Also not everyone prefers to eat their main meal in the evening. A main meal at lunchtime suits some people better.

Original poster
DragonPies · 27/02/2017 10:59

That's my point. No one does need 2 cooked meals a day. However, I'm giving her a 'normal' dinner... They should give a 'normal' lunch!

OP posts:
Kiroro · 27/02/2017 10:59

Too much for a 4 year old. Not enough for an 11 year old.

Can't cater perfectly for everyone!

StewieGMum · 27/02/2017 10:59

She's 9. Weight gain at the age due to puberty isn't uncommon. As everyone says, it's incredibly unlikely rhevweight gain is due to 5 meals out of 7 days.

Freddorika · 27/02/2017 11:03

Pie and mash (and veggies presumably) is a normal lunch.

128cm and 5 stone is a healthy weight according to the bmi calculator

If she's getting fat she's eating other stuff somewhere

Meluzyna · 27/02/2017 11:04

I'm in France. Here school dinners involve a starter (usually some kind of vegetable salad), meat and veg, green salad, cheese or yoghurt and a piece of fruit or dessert. Accompanied by as much bread as the child wants. Generally the pupils are not overweight and they learn what a balanced meal looks like. Evening meals are traditionally soup and something lighter - often cheese or yoghurt and fruit to make sure they are getting their calcium intake.

I really think you need to take a long hard look at what you are feeding her at home - and anything else she might be eating between meals.

expatinscotland · 27/02/2017 11:04

She's not exercising enough. DD gets school dinners. She's a rake and always has been and now she is 11. She swims 2x/week, plays football 2x/week, cycles to and from school and into town (5 miles return). I give her a big snack, too, and we have a cooked tea.

bigearsthethird · 27/02/2017 11:04

portion sizes here at tiny. Mine usually takes packed lunch but on the odd time he has a dinner he always says its not enough!

For her evening meal what type of food do you generally serve up? Could it be the portions you give at home are too big? I saw something useful once about how big a portion should be based on hand size or something - sorry not very helpful but you could google it.

if shes active every evening and is just a bit 'chubby' it could just be her age. At 9 she could be starting to go into puberty which can sometimes see kids gain a little weight right at the start. It soon falls off again though.

I think its good that you're thinking of what to do for her now before she gets 'fat' I think its so horrid when parents just ignore that and then the kids end up fat through no fault of their own.

NoSquirrels · 27/02/2017 11:05

What's a "normal" lunch? You're just being silly now, OP. If you don't want her having 2 cooked meals a day, then either send sandwiches at lunchtime, or serve sandwiches at dinner time.

Are you sure it's not just the onset of puberty, as PP have mentioned? Changes in body, laying down a bit of extra fat stores in early puberty is quite natural and common.

budgiegirl · 27/02/2017 11:05

No one does need 2 cooked meals a day. However, I'm giving her a 'normal' dinner... They should give a 'normal' lunch!

Then don't let her have two cooked meals a day. If she wants a school dinner, give her a lighter snack type meal in the evening.

For some children, their school dinner is the main meal of the day. I don't think it's fair to change this because you don't want to change your evening meal. Send her in with a packed lunch if you don't agree with the school dinner choices.

Notso · 27/02/2017 11:06

I do agree about the daily puddings not being needed although they are usually very low sugar. The cookies taste like sugar free rusks.

Other than that the portions are tiny. Is she having seconds? Apparently at my kids primary those who help tidy the canteen get offered leftovers which some parents are annoyed by.

WorraLiberty · 27/02/2017 11:07

When was the last time you ate a school dinner, OP?

They're very small in size - a light lunch, just as they should be considering many kids will then go straight out to run around/do PE.

If you're child is gaining weight and you're concerned, you'll need to look into what you as a parent can do about that, rather than making it about her light school lunch.

Kids have eaten school dinners since the year dot and yet it's only in recent years, that we've had an obesity epidemic.

Babycurls · 27/02/2017 11:07

According to NHS bmi thingy at that height and weight she's a little overweight but not massively, so you're doing the right thing by addressing it now.

My almost 9 year old boy has a school meal and a cooked meal again at home, but I know his school meals are small and I only then give him a small portion at home.

We are all different shapes and sizes and some people are more prone to weight gain.

By all means send her in with lunch then you know what she's having. If I were you I'd just keep an eye on the weight over the next few months.

Pinkheart5915 · 27/02/2017 11:07

No one does need 2 cooked meals a day

Really? My ds (17 months) will have cooked poached eggs on toast with carrot, cucumber and pepper sticks at lunch then at dinner he will have salmon, sweet potatoe mash and broccoli

My 6 month dd will have cooked omelette at lunch and will pick at sweet potatoe mash and veg for dinner

I will have cooked Poached eggs on toast at lunch and then veg stir fry for dinner

No weight problems here!

Sirzy · 27/02/2017 11:08

I don't understand why "cooked" is seen as being a bigger/better option - cold meals can be equally as calorific

Original poster
DragonPies · 27/02/2017 11:08

expatinscotland - I've already said she has an activity every night... I think she may actually be doing more than your DD.

OP posts:
Babycurls · 27/02/2017 11:09

Oh no sorry it says she's a healthy weight. I put 125 cm in by mistake.

She might just be due a growth spurt in height.

lottieandmia · 27/02/2017 11:11

I agree with Hulababy - my older dd's put on a little weight at 9 and I'm sure it was puberty related.

Original poster
DragonPies · 27/02/2017 11:11

Babycurls - yeah, but she's at the very top. She used to be in the middle.

OP posts:
purplecollar · 27/02/2017 11:13

Our school dinners are minuscule. Particularly if you have a dc nearing secondary school age. The menu would suggest otherwise. But realistically they get half a small potato with a roast dinner, the French bread always available is a two mm slice. My dc don't put on weight with them and come home half starved. Without the desert it just wouldn't be enough food for them. Mine don't eat much generally and they find it ok. But some of their friends have moved to packed lunches because of the small portions at school.

lottieandmia · 27/02/2017 11:13

You'll probably find that she'll grow upwards. Please don't show her that you are concerned.

BarbaraofSeville · 27/02/2017 11:13

Some people are weird about 'cooked' food as if it's some sort of ridiculous greedy indulgence that is guaranteed to lead to obesity if you eat cooked food more than once a day.

Hot cooked food isn't necessarily more filling, 'bigger' or more calorific than cold food. It could be very similar nutritionally and is only bigger if you put more food on the plate.

Something like a cheese sandwich is never going to be lighter than a lot of hot meals like vegetable soup or meat/fish and veg.

Freddorika · 27/02/2017 11:14

Dd is just 10 and she's definitely got a bit stronger looking over the last few months

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