Schools aren't feeding children enough

[Squashpocket]

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?

When my DS started in reception the school had a tradition of inviting a parent in to experience a typical school dinner with their child. I was really shocked by how small the portions were. DS ate everything on his plate and then ate most of mine too.

After a week at school, he complained that he was always hungry after lunch so I sent in a banana for him to have to supplement his school dinner. He was told off for bringing in food from home and I was told not to send food in again as only food from the school kitchen was allowed in the dining room.

Apparently the school policy for reception meals was to offer smaller portions than they did for the older year groups. The problem was that my son was the tallest kid in the whole of the infant school when he started reception year so he needed more fuel. He has never been overweight even though he has a huge appetite. The school were not interested so I had to switch to packed lunches for him.

@budgun

if he’s a healthy weight, it isn’t. And by ‘full’ I assume she means ‘not still hungry’

You make your assumptions and I will make mine 🤷🏻‍♀️

Or we could just ask the poster what she meant . Although it’s impossible to know what a child is feeling when they say they’re ‘full’ so it would just be speculation regardless. So the best thing to go on would be whether he’s a healthy weight or not.

@IonaLeg

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.

that seems an impossibly large amount of food for an 8 month old.

@Spanielstail

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

You do know that overfed children grow taller, not just chubbier?

Christ Almighty, you want to see children's growth stunted as well?

This shit is the sort of 'reasoning' behind why demented bitches such as my mother deliberately restrict kids' meals - because they want to have teeny tiny daughters instead of having 'great lumps' like me. And in her case, also led to her refusing steroids for my arthritis because she didn't want a fat kid - apparently, the risk of having reduced adult height would have been fine, but the prospect of being 'fat'? Nah, be in pain throughout your childhood and adolescence instead.

Portions are small and the waste is probably due to the food not being very nice. Both my children refused school dinners after a while. I remember going for a school dinner tasting session and they raved about their roast dinners, the carrots were still raw and the potatoes rock hard.

going to*

@earthyfire

Portions are small and the waste is probably due to the food not being very nice. Both my children refused school dinners after a while. I remember going for a school dinner tasting session and they raved about their roast dinners, the carrots were still raw and the potatoes rock hard.

On the other hand, I remember DD2 (who loves carrots) having a roast dinner at school and saying she wasn’t too sure what the mushy orange stuff was . She said it couldn’t be carrots because ‘they weren’t solid, they just fell off my fork when I picked them up. Like mush’.

@BiscuitDrama

Ugh to the clean plate award. That’s sending them a really bad message.

This!

@earthyfire

Portions are small and the waste is probably due to the food not being very nice. Both my children refused school dinners after a while. I remember going for a school dinner tasting session and they raved about their roast dinners, the carrots were still raw and the potatoes rock hard.

My dc are great eaters, will eat anything you put in front of them at home but dd1 cannot tolerate school dinners at all. She'd quite happily eat semi raw carrots, it's the over cooked, soggy veg and way over cooked soggy pasta she can't stand. Plus the sauces are flavourless with no seasoning.

I agree, my DS has just completed reception so meals are free, but I think if it's something my DS doesn't like he eats slower and he apparently doesn't have time to finish ( he says) . So I'm not sure how long they give them to eat. I try to send packed lunch when it's something he doesn't like, but they often swap things and change menus last minute. I wish they would offer a packed lunch type option sandwich, cucumber, carrot, fruit. It's all weird meals like bean & chicken noodle followed by a snack type pudding of a plain cupcake or one mini cookie ( size of a standard packet biscuit) He's always hungry.

Wow, that's a huge packed lunch. No wonder he isn't hungry! I'd think a sandwhich, yogurt and drink is a sufficient lunch for a 5 year old. And a fruit added as a snack in-between breakfast and lunch. But the bread sticks, veg sticks, hummus, extra fruit, popcorn and cereal bar on top really does make that a huge lunch.

@Inni632

Wow, that's a huge packed lunch. No wonder he isn't hungry! I'd think a sandwhich, yogurt and drink is a sufficient lunch for a 5 year old. And a fruit added as a snack in-between breakfast and lunch. But the bread sticks, veg sticks, hummus, extra fruit, popcorn and cereal bar on top really does make that a huge lunch.

If he’s a healthy weight, it’s obviously the size of lunch he needs to maintain his healthy weight.

Pp asking what I mean by full... I mean that he eats whatever amount he wants from the food I've given him, but isn't then asking for more food within 30 minutes of finishing his meal or snack.

I think I have a fairly healthy attitude towards food and tbh the way he eats when at school doesn't make me happy at all. Usually he's constantly asking for extra breakfast, more and more after school snacks, extra dinner, extra pudding, supper etc. I would prefer him to eat well at meal times and only snack, lightly e.g. fruit, veg or 1 or 2 plain biscuits in between.

This week that I've provided his lunch has been so much better IMO. He's been eating his breakfast, then a very decent dinner (meat, potatoes, veg) when he gets home. No begging for food in between. I'm assuming it's because normally he gets very little between 9am and 3pm

You do realise that just because he is asking for more food doesn’t mean you need to give it!

I'm assuming it's because normally he gets very little between 9am and 3pm

Or it could be that during school days he eats much earlier than he currently is during holiday club. Like I and others have said lunchtime is usually very early, around 11.30, so by the end of the school day he's ready for more food. However, during holiday club he could be having lunch later, and then snacks before being collected.

@Sirzy

You do realise that just because he is asking for more food doesn’t mean you need to give it!

Why on earth would you refuse food to a child who is saying they’re hungry if they’re a healthy weight? If I did that, my children wouldn’t be a healthy weight for much longer, they’d be underweight. Is that a desirable outcome?

I’m a teacher and I’m always shocked at how tiny the portions are. My DS qualifies for the infant universal meals but I send him with a packed lunch a couple of times per week as school meals are awful.

Because children often say they are hungry when they aren’t, especially if they know they will always get food!

We also need to learn that being a bit hungry isn’t a bad thing. We don’t need to eat as soon as we feel a slight hunger pang.

Cos sometimes kids eat because they are bored ?

Because some food makes you want more if it. Especially processed food. You barely have to chew its easy to eat so there's no rest between bites.

Children sometimes confused being thirsty with being hungry etc

Asking for food doesn't always mean hungry.

@Sirzy

Because children often say they are hungry when they aren’t, especially if they know they will always get food!

We also need to learn that being a bit hungry isn’t a bad thing. We don’t need to eat as soon as we feel a slight hunger pang.

But you have no idea if that’s the case here. The alternative is that he’s actually hungry but his parents don’t give him extra food, so he loses weight. Is that a desirable outcome, if he’s a healthy weight?

Why on earth would you refuse food to a child who is saying they’re hungry if they’re a healthy weight?

It's unlikely a child who finished a meal 30 minutes ago is actually hungry, they could just as easily be thirsty or asking due to boredom.

I don’t think portions are massive, no. And if he’s a growing boy eating reasonably healthily I think it’s still normal to want a giant snack after school!!

If they are getting hungry that often their is either something wrong with what is being fed, a medical issue or more likely the child not understanding hunger cues.

Ps also does he eat the school dinner pudding? Often my son will scoff the first course but turn his nose up at the pudding, which is usually quite filling - I.e. flapjack, cake, muffin, shortbread etc

@Sirzy

If they are getting hungry that often their is either something wrong with what is being fed, a medical issue or more likely the child not understanding hunger cues.

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.