These playtime snacks are not practical?

[UndertheCedartree]

The school newsletter last week had an article trying to encourage parents to send in healthier snacks for their DC at playtime.

I find this is such a minefield as my DD isn't always hungry at playtime so whatever I send needs to be able to last being in a school bag for a few days and still be edible.

This rules out many of the suggestions such as vegetable sticks and houmous, yogurt and crackers and cheese. These should all be low fat too which I don't buy anyway. Also suggest fruit salad but again, this will go off and many whole pieces of fruit get bruised etc. And then as at many schools, nuts aren't allowed so that rules out sending in whole nuts or naked bars.

Some of the other suggestions I found quite strange such as toast, crumpets and bread.

They used to have a tuck shop selling healthier snacks but it stopped in Covid and now can't start up again because the school is now cashless. I did suggest parents paying in advance for fruit and vegetable snacks like they get in Infants but the school have said logistically this is not practical.

Anyone have any good suggestions for robust healthier snacks? I appreciate what the school are doing but ultimately if my healthy weight and healthy eating DD has a pack of snack a jacks or mini cookies a couple of times a week, I'm not that bothered.

Healthy eating initiative would be fine, IF they had a sodding clue what they're talking about.

kids need full fat, not low fat.

I'd (after rolling my eyes) go with the no biscuits (on the theory that it might help some other kids who do eat too many, but tbh if they do it's more likely the whole packet after school causing the issue than the small snack packet at break) but I'd let her have the so-called healthier snack bars she'll actually eat.

I agree with you, fruit/veg that's been in a bag all day (or several) isn't remotely appealing to eat at a later time! Bleurgh.

Yes, in the UK. Definitely a thing when I was growing up as was buying sweets on the way to and from school. My mum never let me though and I was so jealous!

To be fair schools, they have to follow the NHS advice about healthy eating which is low fat etc!

And yes, warm fruit is never going to be eaten after school!

Just give a piece of fruit or a cheese string or something. You're making it into a bigger problem than it is.

Schools don't have to follow any guidance for snacks (or packed lunches) provided by parents. There is no such guidance.

Children don’t need snacks between breakfast and lunch, and your dc are demonstrating this by regularly not eating what you send.

the mid-morning snack is a marketing wheeze from junk-food manufacturers and coffee outlets for whom it’s profitable to normalise additional eating between meals. Why are so many of our children obese or overweight by Y6? It’s largely not down to the nutrition they get from 3 meals a day plus the healthy after-school snack: it’s because food companies have normalised ‘grazing’ on low-nutrient high-calorie items.

How do you dehydrate them?

We send raisins or babybel/cheese stick or sometimes a couple of malted milk or similar or cheese oat crackers.

It used to be better with tick shop as 10p would buy a pice of toast, so only needed 50p for the week which was plenty to spend on snack.

Small sandwiches, marmalade or peanut butter with banana was the answer to my children. The healthy eating policy was just being introduced.
I told the school to mind their own business. If they didn't like it go to Social Services. Both kids were skinny and neither is overweight now.

You can't take peanut butter anywhere near a school or nursery these days.

Given you have a long walk to school and she's not great at eating breakfast, could you take a snack for her to have as you get near school gate? Even peanut butter on toast or a banana? Would she eat then?

Small box of raisins.

Cashless isn't always a good idea!

A cheese string would be even worse. A melted cheese string would definitely end up in the bin!

What I meant is if the school are going to encourage healthy eating they will base it on NHS guidance for healthy eating.

You've clearly not read the thread. My DD sometimes needs a snack and school ask me to send something as sometimes she gets faint.

When I was at school we all brought a morning snack or bought crisps and biscuits from the tuck shops. Children also often bought sweets on the way to school. At home we always had 'elevenses' in the morning as did my mum when growing up, so a morning snack is nothing new.

Yup we did too.no thought to it either.and we were lots healthier,balanced,less disordered,self hating,active.not forgetting chips most days with lunch!
This age and era and disordered food views has ruined kids and adults and look who's era was healthier.

Two.penguins.timeout.penguins.cheddars.crisps.mini jaffas.jammi dogers.all in and art of a balanced diet.all fine.grown up healthy kids with normal intuitive outlook on food.

A small apple or banana.

so some days dd wants a back and other days not

and some days she doesn’t want a snack at school nor eat it on the way home

so you don’t want it wasted

so she can have it after tea for fruit /pudding

I know. It does make me think we have something wrong now and it isn't giving DC full fat yogurt and cheese.

If it was that easy I would be doing it! She doesn't usually have pudding after dinner. If she does she probably doesn't want the warm bit of fruit that has been sitting in her bag all day!

Can you not put it in the fridge when she gets home then?

It depends what it is but for example some strawberries that go warm in a bag aren't very nice even if put in the fridge.

But I've got lots of new ideas from this thread.

We had a tuck shop too op, and elevenses. I took a snack for playtime, occasionally I had money for the tuck shop instead. Loved it. I was a tiny skinny kid v active.

my youngest two, I have one who eats a great breakfast and one who isn’t a morning person and picks at food if he’ll eat anything at all. I give both playpeice older kids snack (brekkie eater) normally comes back but youngest eats his and has a drink as he’s hungry.
I just give what I think they’ll like and eat. Nothing has been said and they are fed what I choose for all meals and as long as they are balanced, nourishing and healthy I don’t care what school dictates.

That's a good idea, thank you