Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Schools aren't feeding children enough

371 replies

Squashpocket · 05/08/2021 07:33

DS (5 years) has always come home from school ravenous. We have had to give him a 2 course breakfast and full meal sized 'snack' after school to get him through to dinner time. Then sometimes supper before bed as well.

I just thought 'oh well, he's busy at school', but now I'm wondering exactly how small are the portions of food at school?!?

I have sent him off to a (very active, sports based) holiday club this week with a normal packed lunch (popcorn and fruit for snack, sandwich, yoghurt, fruit, veg sticks, breadsticks and hummus and a cereal bar for lunch) and he has come home full and able to wait for his dinner. Breakfast this morning has just been a bowl of fruit and Greek yoghurt and he's fine.

So, AIBU or is school obviously not providing enough food? I'm shocked because this is not how I (fondly) remember my school dinners at all! It was all massive portions of mashed potato and puddings with custard (those were the days...). Does anyone else find this?

OP posts:
Sirzy · 05/08/2021 12:04

But if he is being fed properly at home he wouldn’t be constantly asking at home. He is asking at home because he knows he will get!

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:05

And if he’s not putting weight on when the OP gives him the food he’s asking for, surely it means it is the right amount of food to maintain his healthy weight?

Original poster
Squashpocket · 05/08/2021 12:06

And that’s exactly the point of the OP isn’t it? That there’s a problem with what he’s being fed. The school dinner. As when he’s fed a packed lunch he isn’t complaining he’s hungry all the time.

Exactly.

Also, are we just ignoring all the teachers on this thread saying the portions are tiny...

OP posts:
RuthW · 05/08/2021 12:06

I think he just has a huge appetite. I have about a quarter of that for my lunch.

Whinge · 05/08/2021 12:07

Also, are we just ignoring all the teachers on this thread saying the portions are tiny...

Not all teachers are saying they're tiny. I think they're plenty for children in KS1, providing they eat it all. However, I agree the portion sizes should be bigger for KS2 children.

liveforsummer · 05/08/2021 12:09

Also, are we just ignoring all the teachers on this thread saying the portions are tiny...

I mentioned this and also said that when the portion sizes were increased because we raised it, few dc ate it. The food isn't nice generally so the dc tend to not eat it. Plus the rush and the timing of meals are a factor. Dc aren't hungry enough for a full lunch at 11.45 after a snack but will then end up starving by 3 as a result

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:09

@Sirzy

But if he is being fed properly at home he wouldn’t be constantly asking at home. He is asking at home because he knows he will get!
Surely he’s asking for food at home when he gets back from school as he hasn’t eaten enough at school? Which is why when he has a packed lunch he doesn’t ask for food at home.
budgun · 05/08/2021 12:11

Also, are we just ignoring all the teachers on this thread saying the portions are tiny...

Yes. Teachers are not nutritionists. What expertise do teachers have regarding portions for children? None. So yes. The opinion of a teacher is no more valid than that of you or I.

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:11

If he’s asking for food out of boredom/inability to regulate his own appetite, why does he only do that on days he has a school dinner and not on days he has a packed lunch? That would make no sense.

Whatwouldscullydo · 05/08/2021 12:11

Yy live was gonna say that I don't see how a double portion of unseasoned rice, mushy pasta or how 5 chunks of cheap chicken with a high water content will be any better than the three.

The problem is the quality. Not the quantity

ancientgran · 05/08/2021 12:12

@RuthW

I think he just has a huge appetite. I have about a quarter of that for my lunch.
So a quarter of a sandwich with the crusts cut off, a quarter of a child's yogurt, quarter of a teaspoon of hummus with a bit of fruit/veg stick/quarter of a child's size cereal bar? Are you sure you are eating enough for an adult.
Hemingwaycat · 05/08/2021 12:13

My Mum teaches in a primary school and she has had various complaints over the years from Mum’s about their children coming home from school hungry. She says it’s nothing to do with the amount they’re fed at lunch (which is definitely adequate) but just completely normal after a long day at school flexing their brain muscles! She always says my brother and I were the same at that age and she knows we ate enough.

So going from her lengthy experience as a teacher and also actually having my own DC, I’d say it’s normal for them to leave hungry. I’ve sent mine in with huge packed lunches throughout KS2 and they always leave ‘staaarrrvingg’ so I know to always bring them a banana or whatever.

ancientgran · 05/08/2021 12:13

@budgun

Also, are we just ignoring all the teachers on this thread saying the portions are tiny...

Yes. Teachers are not nutritionists. What expertise do teachers have regarding portions for children? None. So yes. The opinion of a teacher is no more valid than that of you or I.

Well it's more valid than mine as I have no idea what they are serving to kids.
Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:13

So a quarter of a sandwich with the crusts cut off, a quarter of a child's yogurt, quarter of a teaspoon of hummus with a bit of fruit/veg stick/quarter of a child's size cereal bar? Are you sure you are eating enough for an adult

There are many competitive under eaters on MN threads!

RantyAunty · 05/08/2021 12:17

They might be more thirsty than hungry so maybe start with a glass of water when they get home.

It does take a while for the body to not feel hungry after eating.
Eating until full just leads to overeating.
If they eat what they have and wait 20 minutes or so, they might not even feel hungry anymore.

I'm shocked at all the constant snacking. It's like a person can't go an hour without having something in their mouth these days.

I just remember having 3 meals a day as a child. No snacks during weekdays.
There might have been 2 overweight kids in the entire school.
All this extra food is a learned habit.

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:19

I just remember having 3 meals a day as a child. No snacks during weekdays.
There might have been 2 overweight kids in the entire school.
All this extra food is a learned habit.

But the OP’s child isn’t overweight.

Whatwouldscullydo · 05/08/2021 12:25

You don't have to be overweight to be unhealthy.

Skinny people still have internal fat in places where it can cause problems like the arteries.

Not saying this is the case here. But u can be skinny with all the internal affects of eving overweight if you have a particularly unhealthy diet

budgun · 05/08/2021 12:27

OP child isn't overweight, no. But having them eat until they are 'full' as opposed to giving them what they actually need is creating a child who will grow into an adult who also eats until they are full and inevitably will put on weight. It's not all about now, we should be creating healthy eating for life.

Bodgers · 05/08/2021 12:32

@Squashpocket I totally agree with you! I have a very sporty DS and the packed lunch you describe is what would fill him. Maybe a controversial view, but in our desire to avoid our DC becoming obese I think we run the risk of malnourishing our children. The UK is massively lagging behind other European countries in terms of progress in the height of our children due to diet. Of course we should avoid giving unhealthy food to our children but if our children are hungry, imho we should feed them until they are no longer hungry so they can reach their full potential, especially if they are on the active side.

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:34

@budgun

OP child isn't overweight, no. But having them eat until they are 'full' as opposed to giving them what they actually need is creating a child who will grow into an adult who also eats until they are full and inevitably will put on weight. It's not all about now, we should be creating healthy eating for life.
I know I’m giving my children what they need, as they are maintaining their healthy weight. Some days they have a bigger appetite than others. Some days they are more active than others, so that makes sense. As an adult I have more of an appetite some days than others. If they’re hungry, I feed them. If I’m hungry, I eat. I am also a healthy weight. I don’t refuse them food on the basis that I don’t want to give them ‘bad habits’, and as they have maintained their healthy weight for years I will continue with that approach.
Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:35

@Whatwouldscullydo

You don't have to be overweight to be unhealthy.

Skinny people still have internal fat in places where it can cause problems like the arteries.

Not saying this is the case here. But u can be skinny with all the internal affects of eving overweight if you have a particularly unhealthy diet

Of course. But this child doesn’t have a ‘particularly unhealthy diet’ either.
Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:37

Anyway the point is that on the days the OP’s child has school dinners he comes home hungry. On the days he doesn’t, he doesn’t come home hungry and is able to wait for his dinner. The OP was questioning whether the school dinner therefore wasn’t enough for her child. Nothing controversial there.
My children take packed lunches for this very reason.

DoAnythingILIke · 05/08/2021 12:37

My 7 year old exists off a school dinner only on school days, she literally asks for nothing else.

In holidays she's constantly eating, some of it I think is boredom, she's an only child and although we see other children outside from school, cousins etc. I suspect she gets bored.

So it might not be that he needs to eat, he might be bored.

Neverrains · 05/08/2021 12:38

@DoAnythingILIke

My 7 year old exists off a school dinner only on school days, she literally asks for nothing else.

In holidays she's constantly eating, some of it I think is boredom, she's an only child and although we see other children outside from school, cousins etc. I suspect she gets bored.

So it might not be that he needs to eat, he might be bored.

Only bored on the days he has school dinners? Not on the days he has a packed lunch?
Whinge · 05/08/2021 12:40

@Neverrains

Anyway the point is that on the days the OP’s child has school dinners he comes home hungry. On the days he doesn’t, he doesn’t come home hungry and is able to wait for his dinner. The OP was questioning whether the school dinner therefore wasn’t enough for her child. Nothing controversial there. My children take packed lunches for this very reason.
But it could simply be that lunchtime / snack times at holiday club are later than they would be during a regular school day. If he usually eats his dinner at 11.30 and holiday club is 12.30 with snack later in the day he's going to be less hungry when collected by the OP.