to be annoyed that my dds school has been giving out certificates to children who bring in healthy packed lunches?

[spudmasher]

Today she took in a ham roll, four cherry tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber, some fresh pineapple and a small apple pie.

She was not given a certificate because she had the apple pie in her lunch!

When I was making her lunch tonight she asked me not to put a little cake in because it was unhealthy and she would not get a certificate.

I thought it was unreasonable to reward a child, or deny a reward on the basis of decisions made by the parent.

I also feel that six is too young an age to bear the responsbility of deciding what they should eat. Surely the child should be carefree and just trust the parents to know what is healthy?

I also thought that a little fat and sugar occassionally, will not be harmful to a child.

I also felt that they are encouraging children to deny themselves small pleasures - could lead to eating disorders imo.

Thanks. Feel better now.

Am I over reacting?

Have sent snotty e mail to school........

BOM - that would be banned at ours. Peanut allergies.

Humphrey Cusion, I agree that direct support is also a good thing.

When (and where) I grew up, every school had "teaching kitchens", 3 hours of the curriculum a week was devoted to home economics, it was compulsory. From primary level through to end of secondary, we learnt about healthy eating, food groups, fat, sugar, carbohydrates, balanced eating, cooking, and cleaning up after meals. I still use some of the recipes I learnt in primary school.

Tirmisu perhaps you could suggest a healthy lunch that contains 33% of calories from fat sources that would suit you?

Children NEED more fat than adults! That's a FACT. So yes their diets DO need to be different from their diets as an adult! That's just the way it is.

ORM, why?? Incase she kisses someone???

Guess it'll have to be marmite then, or is that too salty?? or cheese, but does that have to be lowfat??

Sorry Just joshing. Know I probably shouldn't, but isn't it a bit ridiculous???

It also makes more sense to fill children up with fat/calories in the MIDDLE of the school day (when they are running around and burning up energy) rather than at the END of the day

That seem sensible to me

I also think that in principle the concept of acknowledging healthy lunchboxes is a good one because it gives some balance against the pester power for the Quavers, Wotsits, gunky-creamy-artificial cakes, etc etc, BUT it is barking to withold a certificate in respect of an apple pie, when ^school* lunches include sponge and custard, fruit pies, yogurts with sugar, etc etc as puddings!

Could you suggest to the school that certificates are given to children who have balanced lunches, or include fruit and veg????

Although, really, I think the whole 'accrediatation' of food is ott and likely to lead to more problems than it solves. DS refused a piece of his (home made, organic) birthday cake because 'cake is unhealthy.

In my lunch box at school i used to have a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a chocolate biscuit and either a yogurt or a piece of fruit. As did most of the kids in my class. Then at dinner time my mum used to make us a healthy home cooked meal.

As an adult i eat healthy with lots of fruit and vegetables as well as have the odd treats.

Have found Food Standards Agency healthy school lunchbox examples for 5-8 year olds:

Banana sandwich with wholemeal bread
Tomato
Boiled egg (I'm surprised THEY aren't banned! YUCK at festering boiled egg in warm lunchbox)
Low-fat fruit yoghurt
Box of raisins
Semi-skimmed milk

haha this is making me lol. How many 5 year olds would eat this:

3 oatcakes with Red Leicester cheese
Chutney
Reduced-salt ham
Cherry tomatoes
Carrot sticks
Cucumber sticks
Fruit in jelly
Dried apricots
Semi-skimmed milk

Food Standards Agency Suggested Lunchboxes for 5-8 year olds

They recommend pizza though although it's a bit of a meterosexual one, "Tomato, mozzarella and pastrami ciabatta pizza"

I think the school should be focussing on the positive rather than the negative, ie, witholding a reward.

For example, any child who brings in a piece of fruit or vegetable could get a certificate.

ewwww, imagine if the milk went off, I know my dd's lunchbox just sits on a trolley, certainly not in a fridge.
Oh and she would eat the cherry tomatoes and cucumber sticks, perfectly acceptable for a 6yo to have for lunch, really good for concentration I'm sure

Lol @ metrosexual. So my ham, pineapple and sweetcorn one would be substandard, I'm sure.

The reason that schools are being encouraged by the government to introduce such schemes is because childhood obesity is rising at a very alarming rate. As this has very serious consequences not only for the individual but for society as a whole (the increased costs to the NHS (ie us the taxpayers) are estimated in the billions over the next ten years or so). This generation of children are expected to have a lower life expectancy than our own, and that really can't be something that we just say "let them eat cake" about can it? It may be that schools aren't doing it very well, but if such schemes really have the result of reducing the amount of crap that goes into some luchboxes, then is that not worth it. Really? The OP hasn't said what sort of apple pie went into her child's lunch, but if it was a shop bought one then it is highly unlikely to have been healthy, as they are almost all full of the most disgusting things. My children rarely get certificates, and when they do they are very pleased, because it has taken some effort or sacrifice on their part (and often mine or dh's). Eating a healthy lunch is not necessarily more expensive than a crap one (most processed foods are not cheap), and if your dd says she doesn't want cake, then it's not really a disaster for you is it? I agree on the not obsessing, but many people don't have a clue about nutrition, and capturing adults/parents to teach them about things like nutrition is very difficult, whereas children are a fairly captive audience at school, and the messages are clearly (from thsis thread anyway) getting home! I don't think that my children's school have healthy eating certificates (aren't we talking stickers here anyway - a certificate every day seems a a bit labpur/paper intensive), and they probably wouldn't always get them anyway, but I wouldn't be bothered if they asked to have something different to get one. Why should I - it's not as if giving them a healthy lunch could be seen as a "bad" thing is it?

hi spudmasher, just read your thread, and totally agree with all you say. look whats happening to the jamie oliver school dinners, not many kids want them. deny everything and it becomes an obsession.

OK Morning Paper, there are plenty of fat sourcs around that could be used. Nuts, avocado, mackerell, cheese, pate, olives (but they are a bit salty). How about wrap filled with chicken, avocado, tomato, cucumber, some mayo and grated cheese? Add a youghurt and you have fat sugar and calcium.

Plenty of good fat here?

You have to THINK about it, and plan it, and that is where the difficulty is. It is so easy to add some cake.

I dont think cake is bad, but I think it should be in moderation. I for sure dont think a cake desereves a healthy eating certificate.

Spudmasher Perhaps you should tell your school that the Food Standards recommended lunchbox content includes "Stewed apple and blackberry with crumble top"?

at low-fat fruit yoghurt - have you seen the ingredients list of low-fat fruit yogs? As long as your arm usually. And fruit in jelly? Why? Wonder how many preservatives and colours there might be in that.

Mind you this is from the people who listed cheese as a junk food (I think).

I think it's a very good idea.

mercy _ I agree with you. Mine come home every now and again with a sticker because they have fruit for a snack even in yr 4 and 6. I have always beleived that what a child does eat is more important than what they don't eat - if that makes sense

OrmIan you are right - things like Ski yoghurts are CHOC full of crap - MUST better to have a tasty full-fat one without the chemicals

nooka, it was one apple pie, probably eaten in about two mouth fulls, christ I hate to think how many people are going to be ill for malnutrition in years to come for living off salad sticks.
I remember being taught at school about healthy eating and the words that come to mind were
balanced diet I thought it was still the same.

Would rather my children had a slice of cake everyday, than low-fat foods including sweeteners.

From MP's 'oatcake' list DS would eat the cheese, and the ham. Nothing else.

Today he has:
Avocado sandwich (wholemal bread)
little tub of philadlphia and breadsticks
Satsuma
small fromage frais
flapjack
innocent smoothie

Morning paper, just saw your list of lunch box suggestions. That is the kind of stuff my kids have grown up on. Today I sent my youngest to nursery with the following:

Whole meal bread with Jam (the jam is his treat, most days he has ham)
Grapes and strawberries
a youghurt
a banana
Orange juice.

with my oldest I would have added cherry tomaotes or cucumber/carrot sticks

My oldest has shool dinners.