What do your dc have for tea if they have school dinners?

[llynnnn]

I'm new to school dinners as my dd's have always had packed lunch but this term we are giving it a try. I was imagining they'd just need a light tea - soup, sandwich, boiled egg etc but they've both come home starving tonight! Dd2 said she didn't eat much of her potato or veg either!

So, do you give them a full meal for their tea? I'm worried that they will end up missing out on veggies etc if they're not eating them at school and I'm not giving them at tea!

We do proper meals for tea regardless of what they've had at school, they're always hungry!

I've always given them a full cooked meal for tea. I don't think a school dinner is necessarily any more filling or nutritious than a packed lunch. However - soup and sandwich is not necessarily less filling and nutritious than a cooked meal! The reason for giving them a full cooked meal is more because we all eat together in the evening and that's what we all want to eat! Plus it introduces them to a wider range of foods.

Thanks, me and dh eat our meal later (as he works until 7pm) so I'm only ever preparing the dc's meals at tea time.

Same here - first day of school lunches for us too. We will just carry on as before and all eat dinner together in the evening. My skinny active daughter has a huge appetite. There is no way she would do without a proper dinner in the evening.

Also, I doubt that school lunch is more nutritious than her packed lunch which would usually have been granary bread jam sandwich, yoghurt, pear, apple juice, a carrot, smoothie and a bourbon biscuit. She would devour all of it plus fruit morning and afternoon at school too! Always hungry.

My two are both 5 and they mostly want a full dinner too regardless of whether they have had school dinners or packed lunches, occasionally they ask for a snack type tea but not very often. Hope they enjoy have school dinners :)

To me, the great thing about school lunch is that it gives me more flexibility in the evening. So I can give them a sandwich / beans on toast etc if I want to (and not worry about having bread twice in a day) or a proper meal (and hope it's not the same as they've had for lunch!). never bother to check the printed menu stuck to the fridge

Thanks for all the replies. Will see how it goes but thinking I'll be leaning towards a cooked meal as normal as most of you do (They are currently demolishing omelette, potatoes and veg! )

Antartic, good thinking about it giving more flexibility. Will definitely have benefits on brownie and swimming evenings when I can give something quicker without feeling too bad!

I'm still making proper meals for tea as my DCs are always hungry after school.

Hi OP.
We are giving school dinners a try this term also. He has been back to school since Tuesday (Y2) and has so far loved the school dinners.

Tuesday - At school he had backed potato and beans etc. At home he had chicken, bacon and mushroom risotto.
Wednesday - At school he had chicken pie, veg and potatoes etc. At home he had a beef stew and dumplings.

Today - At school he had sausage, potatoes and beans. At home he had puff pastry pizza with cucumber.

Therefore, I do still do hot meals once he is home but I wouldn't feel guilty if I was to make him a sandwich, yogurt, fruit etc or scrambled egg on toast. I would never have dreamt of doing that while having packed lunches last school year.

I have also noticed that I am saving money not doing DS a packed lunch.

Three days a week my DCs get a "proper" cooked meal for tea. One of those will be a "freezer tea" of the oven-pizza/fishfinger variety.

On the two evenings where we have after-school clubs, it's either a sandwich or tinned spaghetti/beans on toast.

I try to check the menu to see if it's something they like, and I can now predict the "hungry" days a bit better.

Agree with the flexibility.

I make dinner every night. Dcs eat as much or as little as they need, dh and I need to eat so it seems a bit pointless to make them something else....apart from that they'd feel short changed.

We make dinner every night. We don't eat as a family until 7 or 8 pm anyway.

Sapat do your doc wait until 7-8 to eat too? How old are they? Mine need feeding by 5 or there's trouble! Ha!

I tend to do a full evening meal for the DCs too. School lunches are lovely at dcs school, but they are not generous. In fact the only time I've made packed lunches was when DS was in yr 5 and 6 in primary as the lunches were just too small. He went back on school lunches ( very happily, he prefers them) as soon as he started secondary. My DCs need feeding by 5pm too, or there is much moaning!

When mine were at school and having dinners I always just cooked again in the evening .