is breakfast cereal an adequate school lunch?

[Oneborneverydecade]

DD is in year 3. She's a fussy eater and it seemed like a good idea. School have said it's not adequate. I appreciate breakfast cereal is often quite high in sugar but the only sandwich fillings she will eat are sweet.
There's no SEN and yes I accept full responsibility for having a fussy child. It would be great if she wasn't, and actually she's getting better but mostly at teatime, but I needed a solution for right now

I moderation I don't think rice crispies, cornflakes or shredded wheat are bad dipswimswoosh but very often people say 'cereal' and mean a sugary cereal of which there are many, often targeted at children.

The OP, IIRC, was talking about honey cheerios for example.

A decent portion of porridge with banana would be more nutritious and probably filling than a ham sandwich and a yoghurt. Warm in a flask it could be lovely actually.

If she's absolutely not likely to eat owt else then yes why not cereal tbh, but not too sugary - it's so bad for their teeth if nothing else at least at breakfast they can give them a scrub after.

I remember I also never used to eat my lunchbox, I just wasn't hungry that "soon" after breakfast. I'd have honey toast or a jam sandwich at 3pm when I got home from school, then a dinner at 6 or 7.

Even now I can't feel hungry til around 11 and have something small then a big dinner in the evening. Luckily my mum was fairly relaxed about it and I don't think I've ended up with any disorders and I consequently only eat when I'm actually hungry.

Actually, white bread does not have much going for it, except the calories!

Don’t you remember the fuss a doctor made, when his father (also a doctor) was given a white egg mayonnaise sandwich, after surgery:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8020721/NHS-slammed-Harley-Street-consultant-serving-father-junk-food-surgery.html

@Oneborneverydecade

DD is in year 3. She's a fussy eater and it seemed like a good idea. School have said it's not adequate. I appreciate breakfast cereal is often quite high in sugar but the only sandwich fillings she will eat are sweet. There's no SEN and yes I accept full responsibility for having a fussy child. It would be great if she wasn't, and actually she's getting better but mostly at teatime, but I needed a solution for right now

Ask them would it be more suitable if she starved? Advise them they are there to educate her, not question the sustenance that will fill her until home time. Tell them if they dislike it, don't watch her eat it.

Is she drinking enough?

Make a packed lunch -and- put the cereal in. She will leave the packed lunch and eat the cereal, then the school can get down off their ignorant power trip.

I would also try taking your daughter shopping and let her pick stuff she has never tried before....even in the Polish section, or some other exotic food.

You may find that if you pack some other foods with her cereal (yoghurt pouch, apple or satsuma, tiny cheese or ham sandwiches etc) every day, she may eventually start to eat a bit of them, when she sees her schoolfriends eating their lunches. Don’t underestimate the power of wanting to copy and fit in with peers. You may have to wait days or weeks, but it will almost certainly work.
I work with this age group, I’ve seen this over and over.

We switched to a buttered roll which often got left.

That implies it was sometimes eaten. If so, and this is on her list of food she will eat (even if only occasionally) I would send her in with this and an apple etc. See how that goes down for a couple of weeks and take it from there.

Some kids just are fussy. Don’t feel you need to take responsibility or have done something wrong.

Depends on the cereal but if she is having a decent non cereal breakfast at home of say beans on toast or egg or porridge with fruit and yog or similar then I think they have to look at th whole picture not just the lunch in isolation

I think I can kind if understand why lots of children seem to prefer jam or chocolate spread in packed lunches, but will happily eat savoury foods at home, it doesn’t smell when you open the box, I remember eating lunch in our school hall and the combined smells of everyones packed lunches used to make me gag!

Given what she will willingly eat for teas I think saying she is fussy is not quite right. I would give her what I know she would eat, school rules allowing and concentrate on breakfast and evening meal. Mainly because sounds like she eats really well when you are about. Seems silly to have a battle about packed lunch.

Yoghurt and granola an option?
If you like baking then maybe some sugarless fruity muffins?
Fruit salad, rice cakes with sweet spread, homemade fruit roll ups

What about a bento box style lunch. My DD is a fussy eater and she’s finally making progress. I’ve decided to make her lunchbox feel a bit ‘fancy’. You can buy a whole range of things to make their lunchbox exciting. Sandwich cutouts, playful food picks. Amazon offers lots of different options. I’ve just started writing a note in my little girl’s. Some encouraging words or a badly drawn picture. It makes her smile and makes lunchtime positive.

Jam, Marmite, chocolate spread are surely allowed if that is all a child will eat on sandwiches.

If she is happy eating hot food can she not just go to school dinners?

My other option would be to bring her home if possible.

@Jack80

Nutella isn’t an option at all if it’s against the school policy.
Some children are seriously allergic to nuts and they’re banned in many schools

I've not read the thread sorry but wondered if she's been having school dinners up until now? I found my very first eater eats all sorts of things at school they won't eat at home!

I also think you should approach the school and ask what the problem is. There are lots of vitamins and minerals in most cereals. What do they suggest and what help are they prepared to offer?

Fussy not first.

@Jack80

Jam, Marmite, chocolate spread are surely allowed if that is all a child will eat on sandwiches.

Are the sandwiches checked anyway?

I also thought about school dinners, there's usually something on the menu a child will eat. It's possible the school hasn't got back to doing proper dinners yet though.

Does she like cherry tomatoes, bread sticks and a dip, a cooked chicken breast cut up, cocktail sausages, quich, cheese chunks, yogarts or peperami sticks that could supplement her apple and satsuma?

YANBU. It's not an ideal lunch but schools need to stop being the lunchbox police.

It's not so bad if she had something different for her actual breakfast. Not great if it's cereal twice.

Its hard, some kids are just fussy. Could you get a bento style lunch box and put the cereal in a few spots and other stuff she might eat in the other spots. Its fine to send cereal if that's what she eats. You might have to get creative in ways to make her lunch pass the teacher test, if you can't send cereal at all look for a lunch box with different compartments that close, and try to hide it.

My 6 year old gets lots of little portions of different foods in a bento box style lunchbox.
Today’s was:
A small jam sandwich, cheese tuiles (baked low fat cheese until it’s crispy like crackers), salami, chopped fruit/berries, veggie sticks (she likes cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots or capsicums), yogurt in a reuseable squashy thing and a mini carrot muffin.

Swap the veggies for a snacky cereal?

Banana sandwich on wholemeal bread.

No, not at all adequate.

I can picture my DS being similar in a few years-like your DD, he eats a good range of foods but has a strong preference for hot, cooked meals. While I'm glad he likes them, it can be a real pain that he won't eat anything convenient if we're in a rush. As PP mentioned, could you switch her to school dinners? Thermos sounds like a great idea if the school will allow.

I sort of understand why the school raised it but if you explain that she eats well at home but just doesn't like 'packed lunch' foods and you'd rather she eats something than nothing, I think they should back off. Could you pad the lunch out a bit by sending cereal but also the fruit she will eat and something carby and a yoghurt? Would she eat cheese crackers?

Or cheese straws? I sometimes spread tomato purée and some grated cheese on a shop bought puff pastry sheet, roll it up, slice it and bake to make pinwheels. They're meant to be eaten cold. Sorry if I'm making useless suggestions, it must be hard.

Mum of 2 adult kids and been down the fussy eater route with both. No cereal is not a good lunch. Your DD is young enough that the rule of 15 still applies, give a child something 15 times and it becomes normal food. So when you all have a meal in the evening you put the same thing on the plate as yours and clear away whether she eats it or not. Eventually, and I promise this, she will try it. My adult daughter has said many times how grateful she is that I brought her up on a wide variety of foods as she can eat anything anywhere, even if she does not particularly like it! Son is a slightly different story as he has multidisciplinary special needs and is very fussy regarding packed lunches. He would wolf down a chilli, curry or traditional meat and veg no problem, but the refectory is no open! So for packed lunch presently I make chicken and tomato sandwiches (he eats the meat and leaves the bread) tuna and sweetcorn, cheese and ham. He prefers a soft cheese like Gouda or Edam or grated mozzerella - wondering if this might work if your daughter prefers melted cheese OP if its a texture issue? I make the sandwiches small triangles, mini bagels or bridge rolls, sometimes a wrap cut into 3. The small size makes the sandwiches less daunting. I always put in a couple of apples or a banana and a small bag of carrot sticks. Also a Frube when I can get them. We discuss what is left when he comes home, but I don't make a fuss. If its the fruit left, I just say, "ok you can have that tomorrow". if its the carrot, I just send fresh next day etc. I do not ever discuss what he is having before hand. If I gave him a choice I would not get anywhere. Also if he asks what he is having for lunch and turns his nose up, I just say "sorry, that's all I have". He grumbles but just accepts that as fact. For me the important thing is that my DS is the right weight for his height, he is not starving and I know he will eat if he is hungry. Please remember what it was like when you were at school. No choice, you ate it reluctantly or you didn't... and you survived :) Best of luck.