To ask if 15 mins is enough lunch time for kids?

[GottaGoCYa]

My DC is in year 4. Another mum mentioned to me before the holidays that the children only have 15 minutes to sit and eat their lunch, her son hardly ever finishes his and therefore she is switching to home dinners. I had no idea as it's not been mentioned! When I asked DC I was told that yes, they only have 15 minutes to eat and DC said it's not enough as eating fast makes their tummy hurt. I cant imagine many of the children manage to eat properly?

First day back today and I queried this with class teacher. I was told that's how long each year group has (year 3 onwards), and it cannot be changed due to the rota. Not to do with Covid she said. But she admitted she was shocked at the change and feels many children do struggle to eat so quickly. I asked about packed lunch and they also get the same amount of time. I work and therefore can't bring DC home but I'm surprised more parents haven't picked up on this? Many primary aged kids are really slow eaters, the ones I know are anyway. Should I speak to the headteacher?

I think the sense of feeling rushed is worse than the actual time limit. I’ve just eaten my dinner (dal and chapatti) while browsing MN and it didn’t take more than about 10 minutes and I wasn’t rushing.

15 mins once all ch are sitting at tables with food in front of them is fine. But far too short if it also includes handwashing, lining up for food, saying grace etc.

KS2 teacher here and ours have 30 mins to eat (includes all the above) and 20 mins to play after. But tbh, 30 mins is way too long. All but the faffiest children (and I'm sure ds is one of those in his school!) are done by 20 past 12. So 20-25 mins seems about right.

Check on timings though...one school I worked at shortened the lunch hour to 45 mins to cut down on playground issues, but had to put in an additional afternoon break otherwise it was too much teaching time for the ch. (Several years ago though, so things might have changed.)

I can’t eat lunch in 15 minutes… god help a child.

@Iggly

I’m sure that’s why but it will be counter productive, especially for the ones who don’t eat that fast *@Pumperthepumper*

And the lack of play time is disgraceful.

It won’t be why, it’ll be because of staffing, if its true. I suspect that 15 missing minutes will be used for play because the staff will also be missing 15mins if their break.

My school have 45 minutes for lunch from Reception-Year 6 and its still staggered! This doesn't include hand washing time, but does include lining up and then playtime outside. It's roughly split 20 minutes eating and 25 minutes play, but staff manage the children in small groups as and when they finish their food so they don't have fixed times.

Before covid, lunch times used to be 1 hour for all (staff included). Then they got rid of all the MMS so the TAs and SLT man the dinner hall and playground now, whilst is teachers grab a bite to eat and catch up on the morning marking 👍

Many , many children just don't get that they're meant to eat their lunch. Too much talking and eat so very slowly.

Just to illustrate... children (Yr1) would go out to play at 11.45. Brought back into dinner hall at 12.
Back into class at 12.30.

Some children still eating at 12.50, 20 minutes into science or geography.
Still had complaints from parents that their children didn't have enough time to eat!

That's awful. My daughter is in Year 7 and gets 1.25 hours for lunch. They can sit in the hall or eat it outside (the school has very nice grounds)

That all sounds terrible OP, but it’s really depressingly common at both primary and secondary level now - lunch breaks are getting shorter and shorter for a variety of reasons, whether Covid-related, logistical (lack of dining space, inadequate staffing levels) or behavioural.

Wolfing down a sandwich while literally being timed to the minute by a frazzled MSA is really not conducive to instilling a healthy relationship with food into our kids. So different from the more enlightened attitude in many other parts of Europe, where food is enjoyed and savoured and a sociable, convivial approach to mealtimes is promoted.

30 minutes in total to eat and play isn’t long enough imo.

@Crumblinginside

Our son rarely eats his packed lunch due to time constraints. I tend to give him porridge and two slices of toast each morning with a multivitamin.

Same here. He’s 9, a slow eater anyway, and unwilling to waste his precious free time on sandwiches when he could be playing with his friends. I feed him a substantial breakfast and a good snack with some protein in it when he gets home.

@XelaM

That's awful. My daughter is in Year 7 and gets 1.25 hours for lunch. They can sit in the hall or eat it outside (the school has very nice grounds)

Is that a private school Xenia, they usually have longer lunch times?

School day is usually longer possibly?