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

Kiwi I think is an allergy thing - when we had a little girl with a nut allergy at nursery, we also couldn't serve kiwi or strawberrys because of it. (I'm not sure if the science why)

Kiwi fruit likely to be allergy as well, it’s surprisingly common.

I can see why they’d object to chocolate, it just gets people into the habit of daily chocolate consumption.

I had a daily chocolate bar as a child and was an obese teenager, it was a hard habit to shake off.

Cooked sweet corn? Sweet corn is actually a grain not a vegetable.

I think we will end up having children with malnutrition, not due to lack of food, but lack of understanding of food.

Kiwi, tahini etc are all allergies, which is fine

@Fluffycloudland77 its not really their place to comment on the healthiness of a child's diet. They arent the child's parents or the child's doctor.

Wonder how many of the staff members are eating a plain ham sandwich, cucumber and some cold sweetcorn?

Is this because of a child with an allergy?

I can see why no chocolate but most places encourage children to eat dairy in some form as part of a balanced diet.

So they're fine with processed meat and butter/spread but cheese it out? The rules don't say no cheese are they making it up as they go along? And tomatoes are fine but an apple isn't? And they suggested (what will end up being) cold sweetcorn? Who eats that? It also looks like they can eat as many white carbs as they like but no chocolate. What about crisps? They're not covered either.

Their healthy eating policy sounds very poorly thought out. I think a simple no choc, no sweets, no crisps policy would be better. If no one has a nut allergy then there really isn't any need to stop nuts - although I know everywhere is obsessed with it for some reason which is ridiculous when more fatal reactions in children are caused by milk.

They either have a child with some very specific allergies or they are totally ridiculous. Not sure which one, however if it is a child with allergies, the school won't be banning dairy

Unless is due to an allergy, I’d completely ignore it or respond that it’s important that your child gets the calcium and vit D from the dairy.

If there is a child or worker with an allergy, they should have issued a request that people don't bring in food with the allergen before the scheme started or as soon as they found out.

From the list that you provided OP, it does sound like there are children with nut and/or kiwi allergies.

Doesn't mention dairy though.

Holy shit I'd be kicking off about this! My 7 yo is so fussy, I struggle to fill his lunchbox as it is, so can't be dealing with additional rules.

I would ask for their reasoning and then prepare your response. The only restriction we have is no nuts, but seems crazy that they are trying to rule out all dairy as its part of a healthy diet. I can just about get the chocolate, but it's up to parents what kind of food we give to our children.

Personally, I agree with other PPs about telling them to do one. I would go so far to say that you will be sending your child with whatever food you want as you weren't aware of this policy prior to booking the club. You won't be using the club again after this block if it continues to be an issue and you'll be putting it on their social media page about how ridiculous it is.

There cold be 2 things going on here:

-the person monitoring this has gone rogue, and just decided to make their own rules up
-the person/people on the ground, were given guidelines made up by an idiot, they don't know much about nutrition, so just try to implement as best as they can

That feels excessive. I could understand if they wanted the chocolate out but I think they are generally so busy and active at holiday club mine is always starving. I could sort of get the chocolate but still think it’s being a bit arsey for a holiday club. Cheese and yogurt bans seem excessive unless there is an anaphylactic dairy allergy in the room but then they should be telling you about butter and other dairy products so it would seem odd they were only bothered by those two products.

@Secretroses

And what on earth is wrong with kiwi fruit??

I know this is because a child is allergic to it, I know the child as they go to the same school as DD so I know this.

@TheLunchIsServed

I will ask, I wonder if it could be dairy allergy child as they have 3 rooms, one for each age stage as they go up to age 12 but all eat in one room. I hadn't thought it could be that.

They would be telling you not to put butter or cheese in the sandwich if that was the case. And if it’s no nut, nothing sugary and no dairy wtf are you left with for a sandwich? Especially if vegetarian.

I think we do tend to give larger servings of cheese than suggested and it is high in salt so could understand if they were saying not to have it every day. But telling you to swap out the fruit is utterly insane!

@TheTallOakTrees

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.

Bet they are not. Wonder how many biscuits they get through with their coffee each day.

Definitely put the cheese into the same sandwich as the ham.

I always read these lunchbox police threads with interest (and gratitude that my dc school has no policy). What would happen if a child didn’t eat any of the food they allow? Do they have nothing?

I remember when ds1 had hot lunches and had dry bread every day for a term because that’s all they had on offer he’d eat. We now do lunch boxes and it’s full of shite. But at least he’s not going hungry and it’s marginally better than dry bread.

I also echo wtf is wrong with cheese? I’d be delighted if my kids would eat it. I remember a HV once telling me (when the boys were 4 and 2) to limit cheese to twice a week as it was so high in fat but a biscuit every day was allowed (she ate lots of biscuits, but no cheese, so that was convenient!)

Also what on earth is wrong with an apple? They’re on a hiding to nothing trying to remove apples, oranges and bananas. They have gone completely mad.

Unless it’s related to another child with a known allergy, I’d say ‘thanks for the advice’ and completely ignore it.

Popcorn? Would that count?

I overheard a conversation yesterday when picking up Ds from his activity that leads me to believe that one of the children has an egg allergy but hadn't informed the school or asked other families to avoid egg. So perhaps it's similar with the dairy thing?

Having said that, it's ridiculous. DS school lunchboxes are always pretty healthy - sandwich/wrap/baguette with cheese/chicken/ham, a babybel (unless he's got a cheese sandwich), hummus, salad/veg sticks, fruit, yoghurt. He's constantly whinging because he gets no biscuits, no crisps, no chocolate etc. But while he's at his activity, where they are a LOT more active than at school, and it's holidays, he's getting his standard but on top I've added a packet of crisps or a small kitkat or whatever. And I feel not a single second of guilt. Tomorrow I might, gasp, give him an orange juice box as he said he gets super thirsty and water gets a bit boring.

I'd be pretty cheesed off at the holiday club organisers.

Demonising fruit is extremely alarming. I’d assume someone with disordered eating was pushing dangerous nonsense on children.

I understand the "no chocolate", but I am lost at the rest. 7 year olds need calcium.

DD ate A LOT of pesto (wholewheat) pasta with added cheese and cherry tomatoes for packed lunches (but I expect that would be a 'no no' at that club)?

Send her in with hard boiled eggs!

We all grew up with fruit being the ONE thing we were allowed to eat whenever we wanted to with no restriction. If we were hungry, we were sent to the fruit bowl. I really don't understand this demonisation of fresh whole fruit.