Politics of school lunch boxes

[JoshandJamie]

Hi

I'm writing an article for a newsletter at the moment but need some help. I don't have children of school-going age but want to write about school lunch box politics - or if it even exists. I've read a few posts on this site about kids with unhealthy but cool looking food (like luncheables or cheese strings) appearing cooler than kids with home made, wholegrain sandwiches etc.

Does this really exist? Any examples you can give me of how the school playground politics works? Do your children nag for the unhealthy stuff so that they appear cool? Does trading of lunches happen?

Any insight appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hi I think you need to post in here and pay £30 for media requests.

Can't help as mine is not yet at school. I certainly don't remember any competition when I was at school!

my ds gets wholememal bread, fruit and other healthy stuff and he gets stickers from the dinner ladies for always having a healthy lunch.

he commented on a child in his class who had white bread sandwiches, sweets and crisps in her box and he was shocked it was so unhealthy.so doesn't work your way in this house/school i'm afraid.
this sounds like a very sunday times poly filla type thing to write an article about.

I'm not a member of a the media though - just a PR person trying to write up some copy for a client but because I don't have kids going to school, I don't have any real insight into this subject

but you said you were writing an article for a newsletter? which is true?

Newsletter isn't newspaper.

BTW I think it is awful that children are rewarded for their parent's actions.

but still using mumsnet as a source which i think means she should use media requests??

it's part of a whole healthy school/healthy food initiative. they've sent out lots of letters saying whats not allowed for snacks etc.guess it's just a way of reinforcing the message.

militant mum - it is a newsletter which gets sent to my client's small database of customers. it is intended to be a light-hearted piece looking at the politics of school lunches. it is not intended to be an educational sermon. I am simply looking for some views on what actually happens in schools. if it appears that really it's a non-issue, then I'll look for a new topic. But am just investigating this as a possible angle right now. Thanks to those who have given helpful feedback so far.

I think it's an interesting area - I'm very interested in diet/nutrition, especially the importance of childrens' diet and the huge impact it can have on their growing bodies and health in later life.

My DS is starting school in a fortnight and I'll be giving him a packed lunch each day. He'll have a variety of sandwiches, salads etc, with fresh fruit, dried fruit etc. The school offers school dinners but initially I want to know what he's eating and how much before I sign him up for those. The school is having a tasting day to try the food so I want to see the food first hand (and more importantly, what goes into it) before he has school meals.

For the past year he's had lunch once a week at playgroup and I've seen the variety of things that go into lunchboxes. I have to say that I never cease to be amazed at some of the unhealthy foods that well educated people will allow their children to eat on a daily basis. I always think that if you put things like cheese strings on a plate and asked an adult to eat them, they probably wouldn't. So many people seem to reach for foods in packets to go in lunch boxes and even though the ad's may say they're low in fat or sugar or whatever, at the end of the day they're processed and aren't anything as nutritious as say, a banana or apple.

Anyway, that's my take on it and I know other people will think differently but it's an interesting area of debate. Good luck with the piece.