AIBU - restrictive school snack policy, hungry child

[nemoni]

Our children's school (primary) has a policy of only allowing fruit and vegetables for snacks at school. Completely get the rationale - healthy eating, relatively easy to set parameters, no overly complex education needed around it etc.

The only problem is I have an active child - plays sport (on top of PE etc) 5 days a week and generally on the go. He comes home from school ravenously hungry, grumpy and tired. He's also going through a growth spurt. I'd like to be able to give him more carbohydrates, even protein, during the day as snacks, as I do on weekends, particularly on days he goes to after school sports sessions. I'm not asking for crisps/chocolate/jam sandwiches etc.

School so far saying no, no, no.

I think it's a cop out, it means they get to look like they're promoting healthy eating while not really promoting a balanced diet, kids are scoffing loads of dried fruit, and don't have access to a water fountain during school hours except at lunch. And don't get me started on school dinners.

Am I being unreasonable?! What parameters does your school set? How do they promote and support healthy eating? Thoughts welcome before I book a chat with the headteacher :)

[IamFriedSpam]

Reading back I'm also shocked they don't have access to drinking water. That would be my major concern. My DC have a water bottle they keep in the classroom and a drinking fountain outside.

[Redpony1]

I never had snacks at school and i was an active child (i rode my ponies before and after school every day)

My mum always made me a decent breakfast and lunch, and an after school snack to have on the way to evening stables.

[hoddtastic]

the water is an issue.
Is he training for an iron man/marathon? If not he's fine with a bigger breakfast heavy in protein/huge bowl of porridge, banana's are the most amazing snack, and a big lunch.

Mine do lots of training/exercise (a swimming lesson is not exercise- swimming training is iyswim) DD swam competitively / DP runs marathons in good times. We make sure meals are good but aren't massive snackers because there's no real need for them.

Bananas are the answer to almost everything I think you'll find :D

[BiddyPop]

I have a similar DD, but luckily she's allowed carbs etc in her lunch box (no school dinners here) and at the senior end of school, the teachers are less caught up in "healthy food policy" and more into "decent food but keep energy levels up too" (there are some quite militant parents in the junior end of school who are strict and those teachers have to be seen to enforce it, older DCs often have hot food like leftovers from dinner or some pasta/cheese etc, as not all like sandwiches, lots of popcorn, lots of fruit, but also some crisps, chocolate, jellies or home baking - not loads and not everyday, but they know about treats in moderation, and DD's current teacher knows the value of her malteser jar as an incentive! Along with "Good notes" home, and small rubbers, notebooks, temp tattoos etc, but the bribery value of choc is still high at their age).

Anyway, DD has always been a picky child, but can get very hungry and is very very active. So cereal for brekkie never really cut it - she has things like scrambled eggs (2) with tomato, cheese and ham; pancakes with Nutella; toasted sandwiches or tuna melt; sometimes a small fry (a rasher, a sausage and a piece of pudding); we've had mornings of pasta or rice when she was particularly hungry. Often followed up with a cereal bar and/or apple for her walk to school. And then there are periods when less is needed, sometimes then she will have cereal, or fresh fruit, or a croissant/pain au chocolat etc and that might be enough for her.

And she can make herself a snack when she gets in from school - a knorr steam pot or tin of tuna or a mini pizza or a sandwich or loads of cheese. So there's a chance to catch up on heartier food then as well.

[WorraLiberty]

I don't get why kids coming out of school hungry, is such a bad thing?

I know a lot of kids can't handle hunger nowadays, but that's because they're rarely allowed to feel it, no matter how natural it is.

[brasty]

Children need to feel hungry. Constant snacking does not allow that. Feeling hungry allows us to regulate food intake better and stop getting fat.

[Verbena37]

YANBU at all.
I totally agree.
In fact, to have an acid fruit hit at break (say an orange) is not great for teeth....especially if they're not drinking and washing the acid off.
Schools don't realise how bad too much fruit is for children's teeth.

What about packing a pot of seeds and nuts for him?
Could you make little patties of mashed potato and sweet corn? That's veggies but in a much more filling format. I bet there are quite a few types of snacks like that you could make.

Then make him a really protein rich lunch that will take him through.....so cottage cheese pot, chicken salad sandwich, pasta bolognese pot etc. Oh I think you said he has school dinners. In which case, perhaps change to homemade stuff you know the content of.

Also, bananas....a banana for break is pretty much a perfect snack, rather than a couple of carrrot sticks or an apple.
After school, before his sports clubs, I wouldn't worry. They surely wouldn't notice if he had a flapjack or another quick sarnie?

[Annesmyth123]

I can't believe you're actually going to book a chat with the head over this!

[Verbena37]

I guess Worra it's that generally, families eat later than they used to.
It's rare I think for families to eat at bang on five o clock. With clubs and later working hours, sometimes, we don't eat tea until 6:30/7.

Also, in the days when everybody came home for a hot dinner at lunch time, meant that kids had tea pretty much straight out of school....like sandwiches and cake, tinned fruit and toast etc.
I think that it's a lot to ask a child to come back from a school day, having had their lunch at 12/12:30 to then last until 6/7pm with no snack. Yes it's not bad to feel hungry but the behaviour that ensues from low blood sugar isn't great either.

[cantkeepawayforever]

I agree with an earlier poster - the first question should be 'does he eat all of his lunch?'

IME, because many schools have a 'you can go out to play when you're finished' policy, many active boys will have a few bites, throw the rest away and zoom out to play.

My current school makes everyone stay in for long enough that all but the slowest eaters can finish all their lunch, does not allow anyone to throw food from packed lunches away (any uneaten goes home, so parents can see what has been consumed), and anyone trying to throw away unreasonable amounts of a hot meal are sent back to eat some more, with a dinner supervisor specifically supervising the bin area. Behaviour in the afternoon is significantly better than elsewhere i have taught!

[Floggingmolly]

Op hasn't actually clarified that he's banned from taking his own water bottle (that would be so unusual), just that the school haven't provided constant access to a water fountain.
Very different scenarios.

[Sylvannas]

Could you send him in with a smoothie snack? Not necessarily with those artificial protein powders but perhaps blend in protein rich foods in with it.
Or you could put green food colouring on some cheese sticks. (Silly idea thatvone)

Just thinking of ways you can smuggle proteins in the snacks disguised as fruit or veg lol.

I get that if you agree to bend the rules fir one person you would have to let everybody though. It's got to be uniform or it doesn't work.

Perhaps the rules need accommodating for children that are involved in alot of sports. Perhaps it'll be an incentive for kids to do more sports. Do sports - more snack options!

[Verbena37]

Annesmyth why shouldn't she book a chat with the head?
Just for extra info, you should see what children at private school eat in a day!
Any breakfast they like, so cereal, full cooked brekkie or toast (or all of them).
Cakes or snacks for break time, full cooked lunch with pudding, tea and cakes for after school or in the afternoon and then a full on dinner.
Yes it balanced and healthy but they also know that children need energy.

[WorraLiberty]

I get that Verbena but I don't understand why the snack has to be eaten in school.

Even when I was growing up in the 70s, many people ate at 6 or 7pm, so the kids would have a slice of bread and butter or something, to keep them going until then.

The school didn't really come into it.

[cantkeepawayforever]

Also, is he very underweight? We have adjusted snack policies for a few children in this category - specifically those with medical issues that make it hard to keep weight on. They go down to the school office to eat all of their snack, before then going out to play, and specific careful track is kept of whether they eat all their lunch etc.

[ZanyMobster]

I totally see where you're coming from. I have a morning and mid afternoon snack, always protein based. It gives me energy and actually helps me lose/maintain weight. I would say in this situation where you clearly won't get any joy that I would send a banana for him then make sure you are giving him a protein based breakfast and packed lunch as that will fill him up. That should be sufficient until 330ish then he can have another snack of whatever you want to give him.

If he has after school clubs he could probably get away with having something different before that but in reality he shouldn't need it. My boys do 15 hours of sport outside of school each week. They play badminton once a week at school till 5 and they survive on that day. The rest of the time they will have a snack straight from school as they don't tend to have tea till later so from midday it's a long wait.

[Annesmyth123]

We never ate til after 6. It was more like 7. My mum didn't finish work til 5.30/6 and she picked my dad up from work before she got us. When I had mine, I was at work and collecting them at 5.45. They didn't eat til 6.30 most nights.

The school have a perfectly reasonable policy - I wouldn't be running to the head over something so minor but my kids are grown up now so maybe things have changed.

[ZanyMobster]

I understand why people are saying they shouldn't need any snacks at school but there is lots of evidence to suggest that meals should be smaller/more protein based with a couple of snacks thrown in rather than the traditional 3 bigger meals a day.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

What is he actually eating for breakfast and lunch? My Y6 is similarly sporty and walks (runs) a mile or so to school and back. He doesn't even take a snack. He has a good breakfast and lunch though: decent cereal, porridge or something protein on toast for breakfast and a protein and salad wrap or pita, fruit, yoghurt, cheese, homemade cake or kitkat type biscuit and carton of fruit juice for lunch.

[ZanyMobster]

The trouble is, the school's policy is not unreasonable, unfortunately some people are just not sensible about things so there ends up being a blanket ban. When I worked in a pre-school one child's packed lunch was regularly a can of coke, a large sausage roll and a choc mini roll. If things like that didn't happen the schools wouldn't feel the need to police things so much.

[BrutusMcDogface]

Penny- the school hall smells "undesirable", and that stops children eating?

Really?! Unless there are specific sensory issues, I have never come across this!

[countrybump]

My DS is 10 and much the same - sport almost every day and often football at lunchtime too. He sometimes gets hungry but with well planned breakfast and packed lunch and a snack when he gets in from school or on the way to sport he does OK.

He has things like scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast, and he likes skyr, which is high in protein and he can have that in his lunch box or sometimes for breakfast. But, our school don't police the snacks too much - if my son wants a snack at break time he just picks something from his lunchbox. Usually that's fruit or vegetables, but sometimes it will be a few cubes of cheese or something.

Our school is nut free though, so there would never be the option of sending in nuts as a snack.

[MusicToMyEars800]

WorraLiberty mine do..

[00100001]

verbena why shouldn't she book a chat with the head?

Because the head is very busy and a parent coming into moan about a simple and easy to follow policy is a waste of everybody's time. [The Head won't change their mind for this child, when they parents can just provide a bigger lunch and bananas or apples or any amount of fruit and veg.

[carefreeeee]

A cold baked potato is veg and a bit more filling and low in sugar