Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

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:
Ozanj · 05/08/2021 08:59

I think it’s normal for kids to come home hungry after school dinner. I used to. But surely you give them water first just in case they’ve misunderstood what they feel? We used to drink water as soon as we came home and then after 10 mins if we were still hungry we were allowed cereal. Then supper when the adults were ready to eat. But we grew up poor so no food wastage was allowed

DancesWithTortoises · 05/08/2021 08:59

Would you be prepared to pay more? It's a balancing act between nutrition and economics. Some parents would struggle to pay more.

chocorabbit · 05/08/2021 09:00

@Iamsodonewith2020

I work in a school. I think portions are teeny. Eg curry and rice is 3 small chunks of chicken, lots of sauce and small scoop of rice.
That's what my children have always reported. The head also does not allow children to eat any snacks in the playground either since she took over. When my eldest 2 moved to secondary oh God, DS2 was very happy with their portions!
suspiria777 · 05/08/2021 09:00

Two thirds of adults are overweight or obese, which means two thirds of adults eat too much.

By the end of primary school more than a one third of children are overweight or obese, meaning at least one third of parents feed them too much.

Pretending otherwise is absurd.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 05/08/2021 09:01

and anyway, what is wrong with being hungry? your dc is not genuinely starving

chocorabbit · 05/08/2021 09:01

Basically 2 fish fingers, a few chips, salad for main

chocorabbit · 05/08/2021 09:02

That's the same for reception to Y6

dottiedodah · 05/08/2021 09:04

Many children have big appetites! If he is not overweight then he maybe just has a fast metabolism .At 5 he will be running around at break and needing calories to learn as well! School dinners now are a long way from pink custard and lashings of potatoes ! All healthy eating now .

Feelingmardy · 05/08/2021 09:04

Your DC must have a big appetite if that's what he can eat for lunch at 5. Mine would have had fruit only for a snack, and lunch was sandwich, cereal bar or other snack-type thing and more fruit (one piece). They did not always finish that and we never gave snacks at the end of school (unless they had friends over as so many other kids seemed to expect feeding at that point). If anything my son was a little overweight. And often did not completely finish that lunch. You say your son is not overweight, which is great but I think the issue might be an unusually large appetite rather than school portions really. I guess you can give him a larger mid-morning snack? Is that allowed? Perhaps you can give him a sandwich for that?

Feelingmardy · 05/08/2021 09:06

Basically 2 fish fingers, a few chips, salad for main

In primary school this is what we would have given our kids for a main meal at home. I think expectations about portions have got larger, which is not disconnected from rising levels of obesity (I say this as a woman who is overweight and has just started weight watchers. It's making me really check portion sizes which are basically much smaller than I have been eating).

Spanielstail · 05/08/2021 09:06

This is the amount of food he needs to be full though?

No it's the amount you have taught him to eat.

It sounds like he's generally eating too much if he's have 4/5 meals some days.

LynetteScavo · 05/08/2021 09:07

I think it depends on the school (caterers they use?) and I have seen some tiny meals, - that was pre-free schools meals, but I've also seen huge slabs of cake given to reception children.

FreekStar2 · 05/08/2021 09:07

School dinners at my school are quite small but adequate for 5 year olds. Most kids don’t eat even half of them- they can’t cut, use a knife and fork or stop talking for long enough to make a decent attempt at them. Reception class are on first sitting so go for lunch at 11.45 and are out again playing by 12.00 so by the time that get home from school I would expect them to be ready for something to eat!

AbsolutelyPatsy · 05/08/2021 09:08

how is his weight/height?

Peanutbuttercupisyum · 05/08/2021 09:09

Depends on the school! At our school they teachers do monitor what the children eat and they do have to nearly finish and can only then have their pudding when they are finished or practically finished. And they are allowed second helpings of the main course, so they don’t come back hungry!

FreekStar2 · 05/08/2021 09:10

The only children I know that eat all their school lunch are the ones who are overweight and always have ‘a good appetite’ according parents!

mistermagpie · 05/08/2021 09:10

My DS (just turned 6) doesn't like school meals so I send a packed lunch.

Your DS's packed lunch is way more than mine would eat, I also have a 4 year old and he wouldn't eat all that either so it's not just that my 6 year old isn't a big eater.

It might just be that yours has a big appetite?

MintyGreenDream · 05/08/2021 09:10

I'm a lunchtime supervisor in a primary and they get e.g 2 thin slices of beef,2 roast potatoes,a dollop of mash and 2 veg.Jelly or reduced sugar ice-cream.for pudding.
Or full jacket potato with a ladle of beans,tuna mayo or cheese.
Or a ham or turkey wrap plus salad pot and pudding.

Peanutbuttercupisyum · 05/08/2021 09:11

@FreekStar2

School dinners at my school are quite small but adequate for 5 year olds. Most kids don’t eat even half of them- they can’t cut, use a knife and fork or stop talking for long enough to make a decent attempt at them. Reception class are on first sitting so go for lunch at 11.45 and are out again playing by 12.00 so by the time that get home from school I would expect them to be ready for something to eat!
15 mins is ridiculous!!!! It’s no time to sit and enjoy lunch and eat adequately! At ours they get 30 minutes before being turfed out to play.
Bananarice · 05/08/2021 09:13

Dsis in law had her eyes opened when she started working as a dinner lady. There is not enough time for children to finish eating thier food unless they focus on sitting down as quickly as possible and then eat the food. However, young children get easily distracted and they love talking or looking around. Depending on your child they may only get time to take a few bites.

The amount of food waste is huge, at the schools she had worked in. Ask your ds school how much time they have to actually sit down and eat the food. Not including lining up, getting food and finding somewhere to sit and eat.

ArabellaScott · 05/08/2021 09:16

Also noting that our school dinners used to be fine, both kids had them, they were balanced, adequate food, tasty enough.

There was a sudden change, about a year or 18 months ago, presumably some new council directive. There are now only one or two children taking them up in each class - maybe slightly more for P1-3, who get free meals.

I'm in Scotland, where the gov have made a big deal of 'free meals'.
Next year they're gearing up to give free meals to P1-7, but it seems they're going to counter that by making them uneatable, so the take up is low enough the govt can say 'we offer free meals' but don't actually have to pay for them.

Politics, innit.

StrangeToSee · 05/08/2021 09:16

If you over feed him at home he’ll have become used to needing that amount to feel ‘full’. What’s his BMI? I’d only worry if he’s underweight. If healthy or above I’d gradually reduce his portion sizes at home so he needs less to ‘feel full’.

The packed lunch sounds excessive for a 5 year old even a very active one.

Original poster
Squashpocket · 05/08/2021 09:19

No it's the amount you have taught him to eat.

Well no, as he's not fat (75th centile for weight and height, always has been since birth) he's obviously burning all of these calories. I haven't trained him to eat loads and then magically hide the calories somewhere Hmm

I didn't make him this way - he just is very active. So are all his friends. I guess he's drawn to other active boys like him, but I've yet to meet a 4/5/6 year old boy who spends extended periods sitting. I honestly don't think he's particularly unusual. He's quite bony and muscly but they all seem to be going that way at this age (losing their baby looks iyswim)

OP posts:
IonaLeg · 05/08/2021 09:21

When my daughter was small we had to do some research on portion sizes and portions of weetabix for a toddler were half for a toddler and one for a young child.

Whaaaaaat?! My 8 month old comfortably eats a whole weetabix with milk, a quarter of a banana and a quarter cup of plain yoghurt for breakfast. And he’s EBF and feeds himself so he’s regulating his own appetite.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 05/08/2021 09:24

why does he need to feel full?
that is not a healthy attitude imo

Swipe left for the next trending thread