To send my nearly four year old to school with a flask of soup.

[Byallmeans]

Yes it’s a packed lunch fred!

Dd3 Is a fussy eater and I’m struggling to think what she will have for packed lunches. She won’t eat a sandwich or wrap with any filling but would eat it dry. No dips or cucumbers.

I’m thinking of sending her in with a soup I know she loves with cocktail sausages, pineapple and yogurt. The soup is cauliflower and cheddar. She’s asked for BBQ spare ribs but I’ve said no

I think she’s a little young to be able to take the lid off and deal with any spills.

We always had this as kids, or spaghetti hoops in a flask

Presumably once it’s not hot enough to scald anyone if she spills it there’s no issue.

On a food safety issue, you are not supposed to keep food warm for more than 2 hours.
How about crackers? My middle child is fussy and we do mini bread sticks, crackers, rice cakes, rather than sandwiches and wraps.

My children have a thermos with lunch in regularly

I can imagine the look of horror on the dinner ladies faces at a 3 year old trying to pen a flask of soup

Would she be able to open it and eat it independently? Dinner time is very busy, and the staff supervising won't always notice a child struggling. I would also think closing / sealing the flask to prevent any leftovers making a mess would be difficult for 4 year old.

Cauliflower and cheddar soup will smell quite strong after a few hours in a flask. It would be about as popular as boiled eggs I think.

Could you get an insulated bowl rather than a flask? Seems less likely to spill!

DS has pasta with roasted veg sauce or couscous with paprika chickpea chicken for lunch at nursery quite often, because last time I sent him with a standard packed lunch, sandwich, fruit, yogurt etc he asked for seconds when it came to afternoon snack and tea time (which they still provide) . It's quite common to send in a little Thermos , my only concern with soup would be that if she knocked it over that's a lot for lunch staff to deal with. Does she eat pasta/rice/couscous etc?

I'm a dinner lady, as long as it's not hot enough to burn then I wouldn't care.

The only time I judge is when tiny kids have enough food to feed me for a week. They really don't eat a lot.

Look for the bowl type food flasks and make sure you practice with her lots at home.

My main worry would be that If it got spilt then she’s lost her lunch. I’m just imagining this tiny child sitting at her desk trying to spoon soup out of a flask and can see it going horribly wrong. The other thing could be if it takes her ages to eat (but that might be because my son takes ages to eat anything).
I would maybe try it but send something else as well in case it goes wrong. But I would also expect that she would quite quickly start eating sandwiches if all her classmates are eating the around her. They are very different characters away from their parents.

It depends on the temperature only the older ones in my DC's can bring warm drinks. DD brings tea I'd ask the school.

Don’t do it! For a start she won’t have time to eat it, she’ll have 20 minutes to actually eat 30 minutes max if the midday supervisors are generous/don’t have another year group going into the hall. She will need to sort it out herself and that can be very daunting for a 4 year old.

You need to send her in with things she can generally sort herself most of the time midday supervisors are busy with those having hot meals especially in the first few weeks (as they reception children need teaching of where to sit, any rules about what needs eating before pudding and what to do with their trays/plates and any uneaten foods) and lunchbox children are often left to get on with it.

The other thing to keep in mind is don’t send her with loads of food. Generally they have a snack around 10:30/11 then lunch at 12... so many children then don’t want to eat their lunches!

People on lunch box threads always suggest soup in a flask, sounds incredibly impractical to me, especially for a four year old. What do they eat at home? Can you just adapt that slightly?

Check the school policy - my children’s school didn’t allow hot food to be taken in.

Cam you not just send a plain wrap then the sausages, chunks of cheese etc? My youngest doesn't like sandwiches but will happily eat plain bread, then chunks of cheese.

Keep the soup for her evening meals

Get her to choose. Go to the supermarket with her and look for things she might eat and ask her to pick.
Mine went with odd finger food stuff for a few years till she'd tolerate a sandwich (initially I got her on cutouts from a sandwich with a pastry cutter - dinosaurs and the like ) like cherry tomatoes, carrot batons, mini sweetcorn, mini sausages, chunks of cheese, olives, bread sticks, rice cakes etc

I honestly wouldn't shes not even 4 yet and with the best will in the world she will likely spill it as she tries to eat it. Send her with a dry wrap if thats what she will eat, at least this way she will have food to eat rather than being left with nothing when she inevitably spills it or knocks it off the table one day.

You'll probably find how that she starts wanting to take wraps or sandwiches with stuff inside when she sees her new friends eating them.

My dcs have always taken hot food in flasks in winter. From 5 years though. If your dd is ok opening and closing the flask well, then go for it.
My dd is similar. She only likes bread and butter. No sandwich fillings at all. Hates cheese, cold meat, fish and pasta but loves soup, stews and rice. I’ll be sending that flask in most days.

My kids are older but regularly use a small thermos with things like soup, chilli, rice and chicken, rice and salmon, pasta etc for lunch.

We have some thermos containers like this:

@WhyNotMe40

On a food safety issue, you are not supposed to keep food warm for more than 2 hours. How about crackers? My middle child is fussy and we do mini bread sticks, crackers, rice cakes, rather than sandwiches and wraps.

@WhyNotMe40 what's the basis for the 2 hours?

Please don’t. Even if your dd is a master at not spilling when she opens a flask or while she’s eating, it’s not the same when there’s other kids around.