Re hot school meal and evening meal?

[rabbitheadlights]

After reading a few threads about evening meals just lately where posted say that if DC's have a hot school meal then they generally do a snack type dinner such as crackers cheese and veg sticks or pot noodles etc.

AIBU to think this is the few and not the many?

My kids all of them healthy weights would be calling child line and declaring starvation if I didn't give them a "proper" cooked meal every night!! By proper I probably mean more substantial I certainly don't cook from scratch every day but I know I could never get away with the above

DD has always had hot lunch at nursery / school plus hot tea at nursery / after school club, and then hot dinner with us too!

Normally yes, although today I forgot to switch the slow cooker on before work so my kids had tomato soup from a can, with crackers, cucumber, ham, strawberries and cheese.

I had no bread either!

I always did a cooked dinner for three DC, after being shocked at a meeting at DS’s infants school, where lots of parents were complaining to hear that the school budgeted on providing no lunch for the last class in - so they knew those children had no lunch all that week!

DD2 also complained in the infants (different school) about how disgusting the lunches were; so I agreed she could take packed lunches and she gained half a stone in the first half term - shows she eating very little of the school lunches!

As it so happened, I sat with the head of catering for schools in the county at WW and she said:

“Oh yes, the lunches went right down at that school after they went over to cook chill (is that the term for chilled food brought in and heated up)!”

We do this but it's mainly because of the hot food they get given at after school club around 5pm. The options there are generally pasta, chicken burger, pizza, hot dog etc, so for us, having crackers and cheese with salad or chicken wraps with sliced pepper,cucumber,tomato etc is a good option. In the winter we often make an omelette or scrambled eggs with veg but if I cook a full meal, it doesn't get eaten!

Trust me, it's not the size of the school dinners that is causing an obesity crisis

It's not just fuel, it's also about eating together as a family. My family all eat our main meal in the evening when everyone's home from work/school.

But you could have snacks / picnic supper, together or not, and have the same togetherness?? Surely...?

Some folk aren't able to eat together because parent/s work full time - in which case - quick snacks for kids, get it over with and then spend quality time playing, snuggling before bed, concentrating on homework that needs parent support, longer bathtime, reading to one another, etc. Parents have a grown up meal after bed time. Way better use of time.

Sitting at a table eating a plate of food has to be one of the least intimate things I do with my loved ones. I'd rather pull snacky bits out of the fridge and see who can make and eat the silliest creation, standing together in the kitchen! Or walk to chippy together, or get a lovely takeaway.

We eat at the table 3-4 times a week. It's really not that great. Not sure why everyone is so obsessed with it tbh.

Trust me, it's not the size of the school dinners that is causing an obesity crisis

DD2 ended up under a consultant endocrinologist for no signs of puberty at 16 - he said was due to low weight; and she was referred to a dietitian with a target of gaining 2 stone in 2 years! It drives me nuts all this stuff about healthy eating in schools, when a child/young person is told to throw healthy eating out the window by a health professional!

School dinner portions are miniscule. I've worked in a school and budgets are so tight they cook the bare minimum of food and use the cheapest of ingredients.

However, regardless of the size of school dinners, I witnessed so much waste as at least half the kids would scrape their whole dinner in the bin and with only 2 dinner ladies supervising 100 children so completely impossible to police.

There were kids eating nothing all day long and I think the parents all assume they are having a nutritious hot meal when that is very rarely the case.

Full dinner here but smaller portion on a school day than she'd have at the weekend.

I find it's great as she's a bit fussy so I can put stuff in her plate anyway knowing that if she refuses it she's already eaten at school and I can just hope her up with toast etc.

Tbh the school portions are not huge so just enough to get her through til dinner time, nothing more! Which is why my 10 year old (who is a mutant giant!) has a packed lunch or she'd be passing out by home time!

We eat at the table 3-4 times a week. It's really not that great. Not sure why everyone is so obsessed with it tbh.

because I think it's important that children learn to eat at meal time, sitting down and taking time to do so. It's not a good habit at all to eat on the go, through the day or worst mindlessly in front of the tv.

Eating bits taken out of the fridge is for me a terrible habit.

People eat badly because they eat too much and too often. That's it, there's not mystery. Having proper sitting down meals is one of the way to avoid that.

I know , someone will have the perfect example of an athlete always eating on the go vs the obese of the month eating at the table, but in general terms it's true.

Mine don't get a hot meal at night after school but they have bread, cheese, (sandwiches if they want) fruit, veggies, yoghurt, cake and usually other undesirable things like crisps.
However the table is set and we all sit down together to eat it.

It bothers me not a jot.

I'm more strict when it comes to breakfast.

at least half the kids would scrape their whole dinner in the bin and with only 2 dinner ladies supervising 100 children so completely impossible to police.

The lunchtime supervisors would have no business policing this if they did have time. No child should be made to eat food after they've had enough.

Our lunch time supervisors do check. The children have to put up their hand to ask if they're allowed to start their dessert. I treated each child as I would my own when I was a supervisor. 'Maybe a couple more bits of meat.' Etc (depending on everything like how long they'd sat there etc). After their dessert they have to put up their hand to ask if they can leave. It works fine tbh.

Instructing children to eat more is inappropriate and can contribute to food issues. They need to learn to listen to their own appetites.

As for asking permission to eat their dessert!

It may work fine for the adults but there's no way it does for all of the children.

Schools really do need to step into the 21st century when it comes to allowing children to take responsibility for deciding when to stop putting food into their own mouths.

Our school dinner portions are so tiny that I actually worry about the older kids getting enough to see them through til dinner.

We are invited in with our nursery kids for lunch as part of their induction and invited to eat with our child. I ordered chicken curry. It came in a tiny little (non-recycleable but that's another thread) pot and had about 3 spoons of white rice, two cubes of chicken and some sauce. I had to come home and eat again. I now send my very skinny boy to school with extra fruit and veg snacks to keep him going.

He will then eat an adult sized portion of dinner.

I'm a school governor and our school meals are fairly big. Two hot courses with quite a lot of calories.

My DC also do lots of activities. DS plays football 3 nights a week and swims once a week plus DH and I work FT so they go to after school
Club most days. So they generally have hot dinners and easy to eat/digest teas (often a packed tea in the car!). So sandwiches, wraps, cheese wedges, crackers, fruit etc. If at home they have beans on toast, home made savoury muffins, pasta with home made tomato sauce etc.

At the weekend I wouldn't give them a hot lunch as we have tea together so I just reverse that in the week.

Goldmandra, I'm not talking about forcing kids to eat when they've decided they've had enough but I've seen whole untouched dinners being scraped into the bin by dozens and dozens of kids each day.

Being privy to information and speaking to the kids, a lot are protesting about the disgusting school dinners and trying to force their parents into letting them have packed lunch. But many parents don't want to have to cook a hot meal in the evening so force their kids to eat school dinners.

Some kids are not eating because they are being called fat at school so they go home making out they've had a lovely hot meal at school so only need a snack, if anything, at home.

I normally cook them a meal but if they ask for sandwiches or say they aren't hungry, then I'll give them that and maybe a bowl of cereal later on.

I’ve skipped to the end but I’m hoping there’s been a load of school staff say how minuscule primary dinners are

The year 3 child I sat next to in the dining hall today had the same amount of roast dinner on his plate as I would serve my DH!

When I have a school dinner I actually ask for a smaller portion because I can’t manage the amount that they give the children.

Also be aware that on days when governors or parents or any visitors are invited in, portions grow.

@Goldmandra
I think you're imagining a dramatic scenario which isn't what happens at all. It's all perfectly fine, and all the parents that I know of love the system. Little Johnny isn't getting food shoved down his throat whilst he's crying. It's a simple, kindly said 'maybe a couple more bites to keep you filled up this afternoon' to a child who's eaten practically nothing. I have never come across any child remotely adversely affected by this; all just say 'ok' and pop a few more forkfuls in, before setting off on their merry way.

Surely you’re cooking for the adults in the evening so you just feed the kids the same? My DH wouldn’t be happy with a pot noodle or scrambled egg when he gets in from work. I cook a meal for him and me, and DS eats the same as we do.

Surely you’re cooking for the adults in the evening so you just feed the kids the same? Works the other way around here. I cook so my DS gets a decent meal with protein and 3 to 4 servings of veg that he will eat. I eat quick foods like scrambled egg on toast with tomato, pepper and spinach on the side when I'm on my own.

Mine has a hot dinner at school but also has a wrap and a yoghurt at after school club. I ask her each night what she wants, sometimes she wants a full hot meal, mostly she's happy with soup, or a sandwich. Don't think there's a right or wrong, depends on the child. To be honest, some nights I don't want a hot meal myself and will have something light.

...or granola with Greek yogurt when I really can't be bothered.