To think the school has a point about packed lunches

[Rebeccaslicker]

I'm not sure about banning parents from the premises, but is it a bad thing to say no chocolate, sugary drinks etc in a primary school lunch?? (My DD is only 2, so I haven't had the lunchbox decisions yet, v interested in people's views!)

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/now-mum-48-banned-school-1108690.amp

It's fine Mummy. My DS1 is very extreme. I know i would have judged me to be a shit mum if i hadn't known my DS. If i saw his lunchbox i'd roll my eyes and think what a lazy half arsed effort. But i know I love him. I am sure everyone loves their kids and everyone wants the best for them. I can't imagine people not caring about their childrens health. I'm so glad the school dinners are there for those who will eat it. I'd love mine to eat it too.

Water tastes like water. Which is generally nice and cold and wet and of nothing much else.

See, I would agree, but according to pretty much everyone else in my town the water tastes of chlorine. They all agree on which date it started tasting bad, and the water company agree that they started treating the water with chlorine around that time.

So I conclude that maybe other people taste things differently to how I do.

Oddly mummy Ds would live off grapes, apples, carrots, peas, sweet corn & green beans. (The veg only cooked though so not suitable for packed lunch)

But those foods will not sustain him so in the day it has to be bread & butter, protein chocolate milkshakes (he will drink normal milk but not UHT so again not for packed lunch) dairylea dippers, cereal bars & crisps (school treated his high protein lentil crisps the same as a pack of walkers)

All would be banned

I’m a school cook in a primary school. I can’t comment on other schools but as an Academy run school I have strict guidelines provided by the school food trust that I must adhere to. It’s a fine line between providing the children with a meal that you know they will eat, but trying to work within the guidelines too. So for example, there must be a fruit based pudding at least 3 times a week, oily fish once every 3 weeks, diary must be included everyday. There must be a variety of vegetables served throughout the week and at least 2 portions of fruit/veg a day. So whilst it may look like your children are getting cakes and biscuits, they will have been made with the minimum of sugar, probably have oats and whole meal flour in them and fruit too. I can’t add salt to food and ketchup has to be in small sachets. For some children it is the only meal they get a day. And yes, I serve food like pizza and wedges but there has to be a bit of give and take, the kids love our “take away”fridays and look forward to their treats, but don’t we all?

trinity

I drink water from a tap. It tastes shit. It tastes horrible in every one of the 9 houses I have lived in. It tastes horrible in holiday houses, hotels, my friends and families houses. I have never noticed a different i taste in these places, though some people seem to.
It tastes particularly horrible out of mineral/spring water bottles. I can notice the difference there.
It is tastier warm than cold, and a hot cup of water is not that bad.

3 of my 4 kids drink water. One likes it best. DH drinks water as his cold drink preference.

Some people on this thread don't seem to think that adcults can dislike water. Well some of us don't. It tastes like water. I don't like that taste. I was responding to those posters.

I drink it. But only if that's the only choice.
I don't like it. Sorry.

I also dont like wine. DH doesn't like courgette. Maybe that shocks you too?

I don't see what's wrong with diluted sugar free squash or flavoured water.

Flavoured water has the same amount of sugar as coke.

I do think you have to take the healthiness of school dinners with a pinch of salt. Because what they offer or give to kids is not necessarily the same as what the child will eat.

So it's irrelevant having a healthy balanced meal offered if a particular child will only eat plain bread and pudding, and none of the fruit, veg or protein offered.

Our school will put things on the kids plates even if they say they don't want them. Which makes it look like they have a good amount of food, however, again it is pointless and wasteful if they won't eat it. My son is not particularly fussy but absolutely will not eat potatoes. The dinner ladies put them on his plate every lunchtime. I told him to tell them he doesn't eat potatoes but he said they say he has to have them on his plate even if he isn't going to eat them. I hate food waste so was actually tempted to write in and say he is allergic to them and can they stop giving him them. I would rather he had more space on his plate for things he will actually eat.

sassh not the sugar free sort.....

In the spirit of avoiding hypocrisy and promoting equality, the 'rules' for packed lunches and school dinners should be the same. Children can 'smell' hypocrisy!

Also 'rules' for adults and children should be the same - only water means no tea or coffee or Diet Coke for staff. Again, children can 'smell' hypocrisy and will go hell for leather once control is reduced.

Maybe staff and children could eat together and eat and drink the same things - how better to be a role model? This is what frequently happens at home - why not at school?

Some basic food science would be good (and also an eye opener for some staff/adults who would be classified as overweight) - how proteins are carbohydrates are metabolised for instance.

Obviously health/sensory processing issues (often well documented) take priority. I have two autistic sons and am well used to food restriction. Health professionals were never concerned as the food groups and intake (however unusual) was basically OK.

Alexander
It must be equally soul destroying to have a child, who wants to only want fruit and veg. I can imagine you’d love your ds to go to dds School where lunch boxes aren’t policed. I am baffled your ds isn’t allowed the dairylea dippers, cereal bars and crisps. They’re preventing him from eating what might not be the best food but a relatively balanced diet. Chocolate I get.

Bonbon
My dd won’t eat potatoes. I agree with what you’re saying but it doesn’t happen at dds School either.
Sugar free flavoured water for me is almost sugar free lemonade but without the bubbles.

He's changed schools now mummy.

Good

MrsKoala
I hope your ds will grow out of this. It must be very stressful.

I would really worry about giving all the sweeteners in sugar free squash to a child though.

And who has the time to infuse water with natural flavours themselves??!

And who has the time to infuse water with natural flavours themselves??!

Hmm? Chop fruit, place in water. Some you'd need to leave overnight but that's not hard. There's not much to it.

I love water so I'd never bother with adding fruit myself, but it's very doable.

DD squeezes lemon slices into water to flavour it sometimes, doesn't take long at all (tastes nasty to me though with no sugar but she likes it)

I definitely agree with fizzy drinks. Chocolate bars shouldn’t be allowed but a cake bar or something that should be allowed as long as it’s not every day. Since schools can serve cakes and custard etc also pizza and fish and chips etc. If schools can serve that once a week or more then packed lunches should be able to contain the occasional cake. My son tends to take salad or pasta salad instead of a sandwich then a piece of fruit and a cheese string or similar and then some days he has a yogurt (which are also full of sugar) or a cake or cereal bar. Depending on the day.

I never understand why they don't ban crisps as well - absolutely no nutritional value at all.
I give mine a little cake or chocolate biscuit to eat, if they eat everything else, including their fruit - but never crisps. They might as well eat the wrapper!

Really wrinkle? Potassium for a start in potato crisps. Baked crisps are much better than normal ones of course due to the fat & ive found Ds will even eat high protein lentil ones.

I agree with Steeley113. While kids don’t NEED chocolate and sweeties, a lot of schools won’t let you pack treats for your kids but then have them available for school dinners at break time and charge more for chocolate bars etc knowing the kids will buy them because you haven’t given them any to take from home.
If a child has been sent to school with nothing but sugary food then yes they probably should say something, but I think a treat with their lunch along with fruit and a sandwich isn’t a big deal. I do think some school faculty have a weird power trip thing and like to tell parents what to do.

But you wouldn't know a child had special needs regarding food. Mine didn't look different, and I didn't go around telling people her medical history.

DS1 has become much fussier with food since he started school. We pick his school lunches with him and the choices are generally really boring and bland. He’s also decided he doesn’t like x vegetables or y fruits because so many kids in his class don’t eat fruit and veg - peer pressure and annoying to us

At home he’ll eat anything - squid, fish curry, octopus, rare steak, salad, Stilton, his own body weight in fruit...because he eats what he’s given, and we don’t have crap like cheese strings and processed chicken nuggets in the house (because they’re mingling)

He doesn’t drink enough at school as he’s too busy but has a cup of milk with breakfast and with school snack, water with lunch and water when he gets home and when he has dinner. He doesn’t like juice

For those who find plastic water bottles grim - try a metal one. The water tastes better and stays cooler. Add a couple of ice cubes and a squeeze of lemon instead of squash. No one will notice a squeeze of lemon in a water bottle and it’s not full of sweeteners and artificial colours

She’s carrying sugary Vimto not flavoured water, she may think that’s all it it is but it’s not! Sorry doesn’t take a lot to figure what the bmi of the off springs will Be like 30 years time with no other nutritional guidance! They should feel sorry for the kids being forced to live on junk when their children have the option to have fruit and veg and be healthy, not feel sorry for her kids who can’t stuff themselves with junk!

Stupid people in this country are poisoning their kids with plastic food and excess sugar which is turning them into unhealthy little fatties!

If the school doesn't do something they'll have diabetes by the time they're 30.

I think this policing of school lunches is quite cheeky. I blame that Jamie Oliver. Sausages are full of chemicals and preservatives. Not very healthy at all.