Lunchbox contents fine for school but not holiday club

[TheLunchIsServed]

DD is 7, about to go into year 3 at school.

She doesn’t always have a school hot dinner so takes a packed lunch. Usually she has

• Ham Sandwich
• Cheese string or babybel
• Penguin bar or similar small type biscuit
• Cucumber and carrot sticks
• Apple orange or banana
• Water

Sometimes I swap the cucumber and carrots for a homemade yogurt (fruit and greek yogurt combined). School have never commented negatively on the contents of her lunchbox, only comment I’ve ever had about it was from the headteacher the first time she took a lunchbox and I asked if it was (she’d gone in late for a reason and was taken to class by the HT) who said it sounded fine.

DD is at holiday club while I work and is taking the same packed lunch with her. She’s been before to this holiday club but I had a call to say policy has changed and she’s not allowed the cheese, yogurt (even a homemade one) or the chocolate and that lunch has to contain two portions of vegetables. They’d rather I didn’t send sugary fruit – even though DD tends to eat that at morning snack time rather than with lunch.

They’ve suggested I leave in the sandwich, cucumber and carrots, swap the cheese for another portion of vegetables – they suggested some cooked and cooled sweetcorn or tomatos (which are fruit) neither of which DD likes. They said to leave the chocolate out completely.

It’s nothing to do with hot weather as the lunchbox goes into a coolbag thing when she gets to holiday club and DD says it’s still cold when she eats it (at school I put those iceblocks in when it’s hot to keep it cool and DD says it’s nice there too).

I can’t understand why her lunchbox is fine at school but not holiday club who I was expecting to be more lenient.

So AIBU to think as I’m paying £35 a day for the service they can ignore a bit of cheese and a small chocolate bar? Or AIBU?

And if so can you make suggestions that a 7 year old will actually eat?

Rules are:

• Two Portions of Veg
• No nuts or seeds
• No kiwi
• No tahini/hummus

If they had a child with a dairy allergy they'd also be careful with butter in the sandwiches etc

If you have cheese sandwich is that okay? I feel very defensive of the babybel

I’d be asking them where they got their dietary advice from. Cheese and yogurt are excellent sources of calcium

Have you asked why? Is it an allergy thing? I can’t imagine it is as you day no dairy but you didn’t mention butter.

wtf
Change holiday club or if you can't, tell them your dd's lunchbox isn't their concern unless they can prove there are kids with allergies attending, and that you're concerned the amount of food policing going on is going to leave them short of staff to run the actual activities. Oh and leave a 1-star review on google when your child is no longer attending. Why do people put up with this shit?

Ridiculous. Cheese is important for calcium and can’t see the harm in a small penguin bar. I wouldn’t be changing her lunchbox, sounds healthy and if you’re not allowed to send in nuts or hummus then options are pretty limited.

Because my kids like it? They like biscoff spread too

I would ask for a copy of their lunchbox policy and what specific nutritional guidance it is based on. Until that arrives, no further discussion.

As everyone else has said, the no chocolate rule is the only one that seems reasonable, and even then I've never known this at any other holiday club.

Insane. Cheese and yoghurt are good calcium and protein. Also the cheese will neutralize the acids on the mouth if eaten last so great for the teeth. Sounds like they are making it up as they go.

What is wrong with cheese/yogurt? Why can't they have hummus?
I guess my emergency packed lunch of a sausage roll would be out then? My dc wouldn't last all day with a sandwich and a few pieces of veg. Would she eat maybe a pasta or cous cous salad?

We had one holiday club that turned down a chocolate bar (small Cadbury's bar) as it wasn't guaranteed nut free (even though outwardly not having any nuts). Maybe it's the same with Penguins.?

YANBU thought police gone mad in the UK.

I’d be tempted to tell them some rubbish about how you’d been advised by a dietician she needs a high fat / calorie dense diet, then just continue to send in what you have been.

Cheese and yogurt sounds like someone has severe allergy to dairy. Otherwise it doesn't make sense, it's pretty healthy to include cheese and yogurt. Maybe same for chocolate, most chocolate include milk too.

Hummus has sesame in it so I think comes under the "no nuts" rule.

Yes what on earth is wrong with hummus? If it’s the tahini in it just make your own and leave it out like I do - still delicious.
What a nightmare trying to pack a lunch that will actually fuel your child all day with all these ridiculous restrictions ☹️

Why do people who are not qualified to give nutritional advice feel they have any right to comment on children's diets?

If someone is coming in with a bag of sweets fair enough but they are not qualified to be telling children to cut out entire food groups

Could you put the cheese in the sandwich instead? Surely they wouldn't have a problem with a cheese and ham sandwich?

I’d quietly agree re the penguin. But no cheese or yogurt is absurd and they could get stuffed about the fruit versus vegetables. I understand why these places ban fizzy drinks and sweets but it’s really not their job to get into the minutiae of the merits of different kinds of fruit and vegetables. They’ll be complaining about ham being processed meat next…

I’d want to see their written food policies, including knowing what all the staff were eating (assuming they’re in view of the kids).

And what on earth is wrong with kiwi fruit??

Unreasonable to not tell you of a change of policy weeks ago. It's not as if the school holiday dates were a surprise.

Fook me, I Would be asking the holiday club to supply the packed lunch themselves.

That's crazy!

What if a child is veggie - what can they put in their sandwich if not allowed cheese or hummus?

Could it be worries about the heat, yogurt esp potentially going off even in an insulated lunch box.

We are asked not to put in yogurt or chocolate because they end up in a mess, esp on days out when they have been on a bus.

This is a holiday club that you pay for your child to attend? Unless there's a child there with an allergy, they have absolutely no business in dictating what should or shouldn't be in your child's lunch box.

Are these playgroup leaders shinning beacons of health and fitness with appropriate BMI's, taking appropriate exercise and eating their correct daily nutrients too.

Sounds like a bullying dictatorship.