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?

We called it "lunch". The utterly disgusting meal served at noon was "dinner", I remember being given 2 plain biscuits wrapped in greaseproof paper. Other children had crisps and sweets of which I was jealous. This was around 1970.

Snacks is such a modern concept. Kids really don't need snacks at all. Break used to be just running around and grabbing your warm bottle of milk....Yum.

Having said that if snacks are allowed, just fruit is very restrictive. At least allow bread sticks or rice cakes etc

To everyone thinking it's ott giving kids snacks often they obviously don't have kids with anorexia or autism with severe food issues. My son is like a skeleton despite me constantly giving him snacks and trying to get him to eat. If his school added restrictions I'd have to remove him. Also my daughter has to be made to eat snacks as she would happily starve herself. The eating disorder service drum into her that there are no bad foods, just foods that are not as healthy as others but she should still have " treat" foods every day

Give her two pieces of fruit?!

How old are you because I'm 60 and we had morning tuck shop at our village primary back in the days where 5p would get you 2 bags of crisps.

I am 40 and all we ever had mid-morning was an apple. Malt loaf is basically cake! As a university rower we ate it after long distance races. A child doesn't need a high sugar snack after two hours at school when they've got lunch coming.

That sounds like a tactic to get someone with an ED to eat in a healthier way, blood sugar should not be dipping after 2 hours.

@Nosleepforthismum my DDs are the same. Snacks in this house are fruit, cheese or oatcakes. If they are genuinely hungry they will happily eat one of those items but often they're asking for snacks because they're bored or they want junk.

I do think children's diets in this country are so messed up and we're not doing them any favours. Even OP's example of malt loaf.... there is zero difference between that and giving your child a slice of cake for a snack. It's still full of sugar and the dried fruit isn't great for your teeth anyway. No child will starve if given a decent, filling breakfast, a piece of fruit as a snack which at least is natural and not UPF and then lunch. As a PP's example showed.....the children of France are not starving because they have to wait until lunchtime to eat something.

The problem is that countless children in this country will be eating some crappy, refined cereal with added sugar for breakfast. No wonder it doesn't fill them up.

Absolutely. It’s the primary school. Since they won the eco award they have implemented an “easy to follow regime that allows us to have the best impact on our environment and our bodies” according to the leaflet we got.
Basically because banana skins rot away, along with apple cores, there’s no plastic so the waste can be put into the schools compost heap. The berries and grapes are harder, but we have been asked to put them in recyclable cardboard containers and same for cucumbers….its mental. The wrappers of the granola bars are cardboard type ones too, so it’s all recyclable and part of the schools eco ethos…

Because they're only allowed fruit as a snack? That is mental.

I agree. When I was a child we never had snacks at all.
When my kids were little (and they’re only 18 & 19 now) also didn’t have snacks at school. It was breakfast, lunch (depending on the year group was as early as 11.30am) and then wait until 4.30pm for evening meal. They’d be really hungry then. They would sometimes save something from their packed lunch for afternoon break but that was their decision.

The eating disorder service is part of East Kent hospitals. The staff are fully qualified

A banana is a filling and healthy snack

we never had snacks at school until 6th form when a tuck shop was installled

malt loaf is high in salt and sugar and seems to be a UPF so not healthy

if you cut the UPF from her diet she may find she gets less starving

although I was always hungry I somehow survived and thrived

Give her a bigger breakfast. Include some protein such as an egg. Give her a protein flapjack bar to eat on way to school. Large banana for school snack at break time.

people don’t need to eat every 2hrs - it may be different with someone who has an eating disorder in which case you can talk to the school

sugars will surge and drop rapidly with poor diet however so be a little careful with breakfast

Our primary has had a 10am fruit snack for years though this year they have implemented a quarter of a bagel for kids that can't bring in fruit. It's never been an issue for us but I can see why it would be for some.

This. Breakfast at 7. The stodgy snack in the car just before going into school. Banana for breaktime.

That should be plenty for any person, child or adult until 12.30ish.

Fruit is mainly sugar and so is malt loaf so would suggest finding an alternative

Our school let you give fruit, veg, or crackers. I quite often give the DC a packet of mini breadsticks. They usually have breakfast around 6.30 at home, then go to breakfast club but don't always eat again.

I'd pack her a really big banana I your shoes.

Malt loaf is basically cake though - if you look at Soreen the second ingredient is sugar. Why would you give cake everyday as a snack?

Give her a bigger breakfast or snack on way. Makes sense to keep it to fruit.

Trust me, the militant snacks are not the reason I am trying to remove them!

We seem to have half the adults in country having to take injections to put limits on themselves. I blame the UPF manufacturers for this. Having a few healthy limits as a kid doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. I’m sure they would count things like carrots sticks and red peppers if you wanted to stick a few of them in too?

I was going to say the same thing. Im not a fruit person, never had been. But I was the child that got excited when I saw we had sprouts. I love veg.

Fruit sugars are fine for kids inside whole fruit for some reason

We only ever had a carton of room temp milk in primary, tuck shop full of shite at middle and secondary!

Op, what is your DD having for breakfast? She really shouldn't be feeling ravenous before lunch.