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 did.

Fruit until junior school and then it was a free for all. I usually had crisps! This was in the 90's for me.

Well there you go. I ate at morning break every day. It was called your ‘play piece’ (I’m in Scotland).

I suspect it’s to encourage healthy eating and FOMO.

The vast majority of kids would rather have the bag of Haribo their friend is having rather than the banana and malt loaf. It’s also easier for the school to police,

Our school has a (IMHO) even worse solution to this - they have a fruit break about 10am, and then a late morning tea, and then a late lunch. The constant snacking does not have a good effect on the DC’s teeth and my dentist is appalled that they are snacking every hour or two all morning. It’s terrible for their teeth!

I am sure a carrot or chunk of cucumber would be allowed if your DC won't eat fruit but will eat veg

Compared to a biscuit - yes it is.

Give her a banana.

I'd be ignoring that tbh.

Me too. I wouldn't say my mum gave me healthy snacks though.

Which biscuits?
Tbh they dont sell biscuits here cheaper than an apple or a banana.
But fair enough if you have that on hand.

Malt loaf is more or less pure sugar and not good for a snack.

Apples and pears cheaper

Children dont need to snack all the time. Just give her a more substantial breakfast and /or have it slightly later in the morning.

Fruit is plenty but mine never bothered taking fruit for break, they just waited till lunch

When I was at primary school in 90s we had crisps everyday, but I can’t get upset about them having fruit now. Can’t your child have a babybel or something else protein dense on the way to school?
my four year old is at school in France and the children don’t get snacks at all in their day 8:30-4:30 just a three course lunch. Most parents bring a snack (goûter) for straight from school though.

We are only allowed a “healthy snack” once a week, on a Friday as a treat (a healthy snack that is on the approved list - veggies and hummus dip, a single small cube of cheese (babybels are not allowed) and carrot sticks, fruit or a granola bar but they have to be an approved brand because of the sugars) every other day my son has to take a piece of fruit or vegetables as prescribed by the school - a small apple on a Monday, a small banana Tuesday, they are allowed berries and grapes as a TREAT on a Wednesday and Thursdays they must have cucumber sticks. No exceptions.
It’s expensive, but if you send them in with the wrong fruit on the wrong day or with say an approved granola bar on a Thursday, they have their snack confiscated. If it doesn’t meet “standards” ie; the banana is too large, cheese cube too big, hummus too wet (I don’t know anymore) then their snack gets taken off them and they have to wait for lunch. This is the same across the board, until you reach the final 6 weeks of year 6, when you are allowed to add 1 go ahead bar and 1 yoghurt (must be a frubes type deal) into their weekly rotation. It’s shit.
And so far, all it’s taught my boys is that food is scary and gets you into trouble!

My son doesn't have SEN and wouldn't eat fruit until he was a teenager. Completely refused and just didn't have anything for a snack. I didn't really think about it tbh, he just either had to have the fruit or wait until lunch.
Primary school children have lunch just after 12, especially the lower years. I would give her a banana as they are the most filling.
When I was young we could buy crisps from the tuck shop, but I don't think that's something we need to return to.

I come from a generation that never had snacks at school!

To give some perspective, my 5 year old DD who goes to school in France has never had any morning snack. It’s just not done here. Children have breakfast, then lunch, a gouter around 4 pm and then dinner. School doesn’t finish til 4.45 here so she had her afternoon snack at school. I pick her up from school wraparound at 6 and she eats dinner at 7. This is pretty standard across the country.

So no morning snack isn’t the end of the world.

Probably better to ban certain snacks than narrow down the options to one type of healthy one. No sweets, biscuits, crisps or chocolate is probably enough, with a fact sheet to help parents with alternative ideas. Healthy eating is about education and holistic change. Forcing children to eat fruit or nothing once a day isn't going to make any appreciable difference and seems more an easy way for the school to box tick.

Totally normal rule, although my child’s school will also allow vegetables so my DC often takes carrot sticks. It’s because they get free fruit at break in KS1 so this is deemed a continuation of it. They’re trying to reduce packaging, mess and arguments about whether malt loaf is actually healthy and what makes that different to little Joe’s “healthy” brownie made with avocado and then how that differs to little Tim’s jam doughnut.

I’d aim for a later or more filling breakfast or whatever snack it is you want to send given on the way to school.

We never had snacks, nor did my DD, DS, or more recently, DGD. None of us starved. I will say, I wish I had eaten breakfast more often because I do think it affected me not doing so. I always made sure DD, DS and DGD ate breakfast and had a good lunch.

I think it's generally fine to bring fruit or veg (carrot, cucumber, peppers most commonly) but the majority of children bring fruit. The point is it's a healthy snack and not crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc.

Congratulations?

It seems a bit ott but that's the schools rules. When I worked in primaries some children brought sharing size bags of crisps, chocolate etc so while many parents promote healthy habits some were also at the other extreme

Yes but a banana and a small apple / mandarin costs me under 40p a day less if it’s on special offer. I only buy berries on reduced out of season. It’s 55p for 5 bananas and 69p for six apples in Aldi this week.

I do feel for people who don’t have easy access to cheaper shops though. When dc was in school nursery we used to pay a snack fee for fruit/ milk and crackers/ oatcakes which covered costs.