To think it’s a bit unreasonable that children have to have fruit for school snack.

[MyLittleLove1]

DD’s school have sent a reminder that parents must send their children to school with a fruit snack for morning break. They will not be allowed to have anything else. This is to encourage healthy eating. I do understand this, but my daughter has breakfast at 7 as she is starving when she wakes up, and feel that a piece of fruit isn’t really that substantial for a snack. She would normally have fruit and a snack like some malt loaf. I feel a little against this also because there is so much to having a healthy diet. Many foods are healthy and make a great, filling snack. Why are we being policed on this? Or am I BU?

I don’t know what your school is like but the school dinners at ours aren’t shit and ultra processed. There’s pasta, roast dinner, curry, chicken wrap, baked potatoes and things like that. Last week they had joloff rice and chicken. Once a week there’s either pizza or a burger but they are all made fresh on site so nowhere near a dominos or McDonalds. And a veggi option each day. It’s also worth noting that schools are strict about what they can and can’t feed kids so even when you might see cake or a chocolate brownie, they often have very low sugar, added veg and/ or are extremely small.

Bananas are a fulling fruit, also dried fruits like figs. High fives to the school for encouraging healthy eating - too many British kids are seriously overweight .

Give x 2/3 pieces of fruit.

Life really doesn’t need to be this dramatic.

Our school has the same rule throughout the whole school irrespective of age. Both of mine still get the free KS1 fruit at breaktime. DD6 won't eat it but we just make sure she has something slow releasing such as porridge, sometimes she will have a piece of toast extra just before we leave. I don't feel like she is missing out, it's her choice and she knows she has to go to lunch without anything and just accepts that. I do find though that because she then has a tiny FSM at lunchtime that by dinner she is ravenous and we have better success in her eating a better diet.

DS4 dives into the fruit at school alongside the free milk as he is under 5.

ours allows fruit or veg

I buy the little packets of cut apples that Aldi do as if I cut it , it goes brown

carrots cucumber peppers all quick and easy

even tho out school says fruit and veg only

still get ‘those’ parents who say my kids don’t eat fruit and veg and bring in cakes crisps chocolate bars

I suspect the people who are talking about not snacking and suffering no ill effects are not the same as the current overweight population

I suspect there probably is a fair overlap TBH.

Agree. Children are also their own best spin doctors, and often the things they say are hyperbole.

She's not literally starving is she. She wants more to ease, but if she doesn't have it, she's not going to collapse or be unable to participate in school.

Malt loaf is loaded with sugar anyway, so it will give her a short energy burst and she'll be hungry again. Better choices for snacks possibly.

Why is it when children say they're hungry adults immediately jump to it. Overnight, oats plus a piece of fruit plus a banana, is enough to last until lunchtime, which is quite early at primary school anyway.

I agree fwiw

If I’m properly hungry, fruit is one of the last things I want (I don’t really like anything sweet if I’m hungry). Maybe a banana.

I don’t want something that acidic either.

My DS never took the fruit - he has SEN and didn’t really like to have something of that texture mid morning. He had milk up to the end of primary though.

I think they should allow something like an oat or cereal bar anyway

Anecdotally, I “needed” a snack more when I was young and slim than I do now when I’m older and a bit fatter.

They should alllow … ultra processed food that is known to be harmful ? You want to have schools encouraging harming of children? Really ?

This week:
Monday: mac and cheese
Tuesday: chicken gougons and chips
Wednesday: burger with chips
Thursday: chicken curry
Friday: fish fingers and chips.

There are veggie versions for each day (eg veggie burger) or they can get a baguette instead of one of these meals. But I don't feel with this kind of menu, which is fairly typical, they are in any kind of position to preach about healthy eating. I follow the guidance anyway, but it annoys me!

This is my son.

He needs a low fibre diet due to medical reasons.

What time do they eat lunch? Surely a piece of fruit is enough to keep her going between breakfast and lunch! My kids are older now, but the only time they ever had morning snacks was if for some reason lunch was going to be late.

Our schools the same only whole fruit as a snack at break, healthy food only for a packed lunch , only water for drinks
Its a great idea as some children only eat crap .they should be guided in the right direction at school if the parents dont teach them at home
My daughter has a big breakfast before school, a packed lunch and i take her a snack for the walk home then she has her tea about 5.30pm

Where are you getting this info from? Is there any scientific evidence to show that growing children have better health outcomes if they experience unnecessary hunger? This attitude tells children their own hunger queues are unimportant- you do know this can contribute to eating disorders?

I don't think that poster said unesssecary hunger. Why are you being so dramatic? Children need to learn food cues don't they so feeling a bit peckish before meals is a positive thing.

Well the poster says her child is hungry. Can’t see why someone would say that child should ignore it and doesn’t need to eat. Based on what evidence?

We managed without any snacks in the past, give her a breakfast that keeps her full like porridge.

@godmum56

we had specific arrangements for my dd1 for medical reasons including permission for flapjacks because of extreme low weight

I agree! I also work in a school and some children come to school with no breakfast or have just had ‘ some bread’ Parents don’t give any snacks. By lunchtime they are really hungry and the school lunch isn’t always great. Interestingly during SATs we make flap jacks every day to serve mid morning to keep up the energy and help children concentrate! It really bothers me that adults don’t seem to understand that kids are growing and also usually more active and so have different energy needs.

My son is allergic to a large number of fruit and has a contact reaction.

So we'd definitely challenge this on that basis never mind whether he ate it or not.

Having run scout camps only about a third of kids will eat fruit even if it's the only food available.

It's a bloody stupid rule. It should not be fruit or nothing.

But then I think it's stupid that we have snacks in school at all anyway. It is an unhealthy habit regardless of what you are allowed.

Quite.

How did we ever cope before a third of kids were overweight before the end of primary?

It's quite the mystery.

Yeah that's b* that doesn't encourage any kind of diversity of eating habits, not everyone eats the same things at the same times. as long as lunch boxes aren't consistently full of highly processed, sugary and fatty foods, it should be ok.

I’m a dietitian and I totally disagree with this black and white approach while I wholeheartedly agree with fruit is an excellent snack and had the same issue with my DC school without warning (new head teacher had lost load of weight on some fad diet and had become totally evangelical about diet and nutrition in the extreme - even shaming kids in assembly by scrutinizing the bins for wrappers and checking packed lunches!).

My active child does a lot of sport, wakes early and did over an hour of running around and playing football with chums before school started). They had breakfast at 7 am ish but school lunches were at 12.30ish.

My child also hated eating warm bruised fruit so would not eat any of the fruit I tried to give them! I get it… no one enjoys slimy bananas or a bashed around plum after that’s been knocked around while walking to school - hence refused to eat! This resulted in him being extra hungry at pick up especially if he hadn’t like the school meal that day 🤦‍♀️

I felt strongly that snacks like the plain popcorn or rich tea biscuit, hot cross bun, breadsticks/ rice cakes, while weren’t amazing, were better than no snack at all!
when in infants, they had fruit provided by school which was great but it doesn’t travel well! Even grapes in a pot can be difficult for some children, like mine, who has lots of sensory issues.

Many kids are fussy in primary school (which is often just a stage) and very particular which can be a challenge.

I know they mean well, but as a parent, I knew my child was better off eating something rather than nothing especially as they are growing rapidly and expending a lot of energy.

I think they should put their energy into educating the kids to make good, balanced food choices and educate the parents too. This approach of encouraging them with some examples of healthier snacks including fruit is better in the long run.

some kids don’t like any fruit - which means they don’t eat a snack! Some don’t even need snacks if they had a late, decent breakfast, some kids skip breakfast for a host of reasons and a piece of fruit may not be enough… individual approach is better as the parents are responsible for the majority of the food intake and wellbeing.

I could go on… ! Sorry to waffle!

Short answer is, you are right and I would raise it with school.

fortunately, it was year 6 so we could leave a few months later and his secondary school’s catering and snack choices are the polar opposite but that’s a different story 😩