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?

This is what we'd have to do with my son. He has a low fibre diet for medical reasons.

Universal free milk was scrapped by MT, milk was available after that but you had to pay. I think I paid £10 a year for milk in infants school...
Milk remained free for like income families and free school meal children.

I am glad the school are sensible. I wonder if the other children understand why your son can have different rules.

Ditto. I've been that child who felt weak, stomach pains, so hungry I could cry and certainly wasn't at my best for concentrating in lessons. I was never more than a size 8 until peri and always ate exactly what I wanted as an adult. I've never dieted and never lived on dust and seeds. It's only at perimenopause that I seem to require less food.

My daughter is the same, a size 6 at 16 and I can see that glazed look when we just need to put food in front of her quickly. When we're out together for the day, it's most apparent how quickly she burns through what she eats.

You know we are just talking about a bit of cake at school playtime. No child withered away with hunger because they didn't have a bit of malt loaf !

Fortunately, your child is not 'starving' A banana is perfectly adequate and will encourage her to eat healthily throughout her life. If you can't cope with this move her to another school.

YANBU OP. My DC regularly goes the whole school day without eating as he won't touch fruit at school, hates school dinners and the rules for packed lunches are so restrictive.

70’s primary school child in Kent. We definitely had no mid-morning snack. We did have free milk which was great in the winter, vile and boaksome in the summer. We were too busy charging about at morning break to miss a snack. The school dinner was nowhere near as considered as lunches have to be today. We definitely had no snack on arrival when we were handed to our parents at home time. I can remember practically fainting with envy on being invited home for a play date and seeing a crisp cupboard.

The kids in our KS1 get free fruit and it’s the carrots, satsuma, bananas and tomato days that get the best results.

Frankly, even the word “snack” irritates the shit out of me, but since it’s become ubiquitous that children must eat mid-morning or fade away, I can’t see why continuing to provide fruit or veg for playtime is the end of the world.

For me, the real challenge is watching very many primary school kids being given a grab bag size Doritos on the way into school. Given that costs at least a quid a day, I simply can’t see an affordability argument against even toast for breakfast and a banana for break.

My DC got fruit or yoghurt as a mid mornong snack at home. I don't see the issue.

In the winter I sent them to school with a warm breakfast in their tummies. Scrambled eggs, beans on toast, cheese and tomatoes on toast, cheese and bean or cheese and tomato toastie. They wouldn't touch porridge.

It's just one of those things.It's what you allow your children to make of it.

Imagine said in whiny voice .... muuuuum im staaaaarving.... Parents play up to it instantly worried their child is going to slip down the plug hole.They re so malnourished.

But if parents actually said, oh, come on, you can wait another hour until lunch. You might get push back and some more whining, but ultimately, they d be fine.

Honestly, you just don't take this stuff.So seriously. A slice of malt loaf an hour before lunch isn't going to make the difference between starvation and not, they ll be absolutely fine.

@Sgreenpy excellent info ta!
I “think” at my school morning milk carried on as you’ve described for a type at or so and then was stopped for all or all but the littlest because it wasn’t a thing by the time I was in the equivalent of year 2.

I have no idea. It's a reason why I don't like rules like that, it can make children with allergies/medical needs etc stick out and they often feel different enough as it is already.

Thats what I was thinking. It can't help if some children are excused the rule and others are not.

Malt loaf healthy? Also how old because I've known no schools to allow food

F**k 'em go vegan

Me too. And things like grapes you can't buy in small quantities.

@ToffeePennie could you suggest the school provide the snack and the parents pay? Or at least have that as an option.

I think what annoys some parents is that school dinners always had a sweet pudding so cake. Biscuit. Sponge. Flapjack etc

so if they are having that for lunch , why can’t they have the same at break time

same for birthday cakes. Mini blondes always wants to give out cakes on her birthday after school

school always says I can’t on the school grounds due to health reasons and unhealthy yet again 3hrs earlier for lunch cake was given

I get many kids say they don’t like fruit If something better on offer and yes some kids really don’t like fruit - but most will eat it

I prefer it in ks1 where they gave the fruit

I would be happy to pay extra so ks2 gets fruit there rather then bring in a bag each day

That's a daft argument though. If they're having cake for pudding they really don't need it at break as well. Cake once a day isn't justification for cake 3 times a day.

I don’t know about your school but at ours all the puddings are made by them and they are relatively low sugar and use substitutes. So not the same as your average flapjack or cake etc

Not sure if Low sugar but tastes nice. We got to try at a parents evening

My child’s school started doing this because of allergies. We had children bringing in cereal bars with nuts and countless other things around children with very serious allergies and snack food isn’t monitored as rigorously as lunch food. It’s just easier to say fruit or vegetable snacks only.

He won’t starve because he doesn’t have a mid morning snack - saying it’s fruit or starvation is completely OTT

SEN and other medical needs should be considered though. He might not starve if he doesn't get a morning snack but he shouldn't be excluded either.

Alternatives should be allowed in that situation.

Considered how?

As I said, alternatives should be allowed.