Extravagant Pack Lunches

[Diadrie]

I am a TA in a primary school in the middle of a town, real mixed background from families who are mortgage free making well into 6 figures and families living in council homes, earning minimum wage.

As part of my job I supervise the infants half at lunchtime and I have seen the more absurd pack lunches recently from one child. It’s a bento box format, very normal fruit and veg, then greek yogurt and compote, a dip (guacamole/tzatziki/hummus). The main is really star of the show though with: salmon and cream cheese bagel, steak and onion focaccia sandwich, quiche Lorraine etc.

I’m now sat thinking what a totally over the top pack lunches recently for a 5 year old, admittedly the child does finish it, but salmon and steak in children’s pack lunches??

AIBU thinking this is totally over the top, extravagant and slightly absurd.

That’s the kind of thing most chn at my school have. I only see on the way past to the staff room. Lots have pasta in pots and veg sticks etc. Some have flasks with soup or hot pasta. You notice the shockingly bad ones not the ones that have salmon or steak!

PACKED

@Diadrie are you going to return and give a considered view to the comments? You appeared to post during school hours, which is fine, but you are giving TAs a bad rap. As a teaching professional personal opinions should be just that and kept private. Perhaps be more concerned about the children with not enough food going home to less than comfortable homes. Quite what being ‘mortgage free’ has to do with anything baffles me. Professional standards in education really matter

I'm not sure that Smoked salmon is any more luxury than ham? Ingredients all Sold at Aldi.. and salmon and cream cheese bagel is quick and easy to make and easy to transport.

That’s what my child would eat and salmon and cream cheese bagel/ sandwich is definitely a regular here as well as hummus and Greek yoghurt.
We are not well-off as such but don’t eat UPF (no ham or chicken nuggets here) and my child tried and didn’t eat the school lunches (very potato heavy which he doesn’t eat).
Out of curiosity, what do you eat if that is your idea of extravagant? Or do you think we should feed one thing our children, while reserving the steak for grownups only?

Maybe the whole family has the same main dish for lunch. Far better than highly processed rubbish marketed at kids.

A lovely packed lunch
Parents clearly trying to create life time healthy eating habits
Nothing wrong with that.

It makes me really sad that people who are TAs have such bad grammar.
I think you need to look at yourself first before criticizing others.

You sound nasty. I'd hate to think TAs were judging my kids' lunches, never mind posting about it on social media.

Extravagant!? Quiche Lorraine?

I thought i was going to read that the kid was coming in with foie gras, caviar and a little can of M&S Prosecco. 🤣🤣🤣

They make tasty, healthy food for their child. Good on them!!

It’s a chat forum, not a thesis! Doesn’t it make you sadder that TAs earn such a low salary? Why are you expecting perfect grammar from them?

🤣 kid eats better than me i take in a ham sandwich and shove a packet of salt and vinegar crisps on it and think thats a bit fancy.

My DS loves stuffed vine leaves, and physalis, weirdly given he is a beige food lover normally. I could only get them from waitrose - literally the only time i shopped in there was to get them for him. He begged me to put them in his packed lunch a few times a week and i felt such a twat when one of the other mums mentioned that apparently there was always a bit of excitement in the canteen when he shared out the "posh yellow balls that taste like perfume and took in the green rice wrapped up in leaves" 😂

Really OP you should know better. The packed lunch sounds delicious - lucky child! I remember one child's packed lunches from when I was a teacher, nothing but chocolate bars and those pink wafers. Every. Day.

I'd rather go for 'extravagance' than 'zero nutrition' any day!

Are you a little bit jealous?

I used to do those sorts of lunch boxes for my kids - including when they went to secondary. Olive and feta, fruits, all kinds of grain or noodle salads, cream cheese and pastrami bagels, chicken tikka wraps, chicken and stuffing sandwiches (if leftover from Sunday lunch), bacon and fried egg rolls some days (the kids would have to be judicious where they cracked open the egg or they'd be bullied for the fart smell).

I couldn’t bear the thought of sending them with some sad billy bear ham sandwich on cheap white bread with crisps. Nutrition is important.

Sounds amazing; need to ask the parents for the ideas/menus. Can you please start sending the daily menu?

They may buy everything in weekly shopping and pack same for themselves.

I’d bloody love it if mine ate anything like that! I think it’s a great sounding lunch and obviously liked by the kid if they finish it so I can’t see the problem at all.

I think you’ve misjudged this one badly OP.

Why on earth should the children eat crap beige food with few nutrients just so the TA won't judge the lunch provided. I think it's great that families are providing varied and nutritious food. And since when is quiche and dips extravagant, over the top and absurd?

It sounds good to me, a lot healthier than many and if the child eats it, that's great. I'd eat that. It's not extravagant in the sense of being costly, eg salmon isn't expensive nowadays, but it does show care which I think is nice.

I'm amazed you have the time to note what kids have in their lunch boxes, I'm sure that never used to happen.

Sounds perfectly fine to me. My 4 year old starts school next week and will be having school dinners but steak and salmon are two of his favourite foods so he would love that lunch box as a lunch option!

One of my daughters regularly takes avocado on toast with serrano ham, vegetarian sushi, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke, gherkin slices etc. We are an ordinary family with a mortgage, it's an ordinary school, and she is an ordinary girl who just happens to be an adventurous eater/lover of strong flavours. It's not a statement; it's what she likes. My other daughter is a little more traditional in her tastes - chicken sandwich, cherry tomatoes, grapes and strawberries or apple slices, carrot sticks, crisps, yoghurt, mini chocolate bar. Though she took a chicken samosa today and has some fish sushi for tomorrow.

They both like smoked salmon and I've got some in the fridge so they can also take that soon. Shoot me. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I love the responses on this thread!

@Diadrie I hope you return to your thread and read what people say - and learn from it. Take a leaf out of Ted Lasso’s book and be curious, not judgemental.

A child eating a packed lunch that is lovingly made is a looked after child. What more could you possibly want for the children in your care.

How do you know if people are mortgage free? 😵‍💫

Surely the first thing you do after you've spent 25 years paying your mortgage, is run round the school and tell your child's TA?

After you've asked them for a list of acceptable meals of course.