Tea after school dinners?

[obie49]

Hi,
My daughter is starting reception in September and will be having school dinners. As they are proper meals I was thinking just give her a sandwich at home as if I was swapping dinner and tea around but now I'm thinking this won't be enough, I always remember being starving after school!
Just wondering what other people gave their kids when they have school dinners?
Thanks

Proper meal after school always.

School lunches may be cooked meals but they aren't full tea sized portions.

School meals are a bit crap. I'd probably give her a small plateful of whatever you are having.

My son has always eaten a full normal cooked dinner after school. School portions can be very small. Ok for lunch but they definitely need a proper evening meal as well in my experience.

DS is now in year 4 and has had school dinners from the beginning. He always has a proper cooked meal in the evening too. And a snack at after school club. They use up so much energy at school I don't think two cooked meals is unreasonable.
Take your lead from her I guess. Start off by giving her a proper dinner and if she doesn't eat it all, reduce what you give her down to a wrap/sandwich/soup etc.

My 5yo DD is just finishing reception year. She is always hungry after school. I have to take a snack for pick up, she has another snack at home and then eats her regular tea. She alternates between packed lunch and school dinners and is hungry at tea time regardless.

I always do a snack (eg toast, fruit, cheese) at 3.15 and a normal cooked meal at 6. My DS has got away with mostly eating bread and cake for school dinners, with an occasional yogurt

Dinner after school, a sandwich is never enough for dd then she just wants to eat loads of other snacky bits. It's easier just to cook a family meal

Sometimes I give mine a cold "picky" sandwich tea. Covers all food groups and fills them up, especially in this baking hot weather. We also sometimes do egg/beans on toast.

I also guve a snack at the school gate, though! They wouldn't make it back to the car if I didn't!

I think you might find she's starving after school. School dinners are ok but they are not brilliant.

I do sometimes do snack tea if we're in a rush but it is always followed up by requests for cereal/toast before bedtime.

Tonight's after school snack was ice cream they've just had "pizza toast" (cheese and tomato purée on toast), some cold cooked chicken and ham, cucumber/carrot, crackers, strawberries, blueberries. They will probably have a glass of milk before bed. We do this once or twice a week, with cooked meals the other nights. It depends on what we all fancy.

We normally give them a cooked meal but some days a sandwich is easier.

DS is due to start reception in September and I had been assuming a sandwich would be fine for tea. This thread has panicked me a bit! I can prepare a cooked tea when I'm not working but what do people do when you are? DS will be in after school club until 6pm three days a week and we probably won't be home until 6.30 which seems too late to cook tea.

user1483387861 I would make sure you have frozen meals in the freezer to heat up for your dc in the evenings.

Although every child is different my ds hated school dinners so took sandwiches instead, he then ate a cooked dinner at home. He was never starving hungry when he got home so I would imagine children who have a cooked lunch may well do ok on sandwiches/toasties/beans on toast with a piece of fruit/yoghurt type pudding in the evenings.

Mine have a cooked school meal, but come home really hungry. Will have a snack, then cooked dinner, then cereal for supper!

I think it depends what you mean by a sandwich?
A sandwich would probably not be enough,
but sandwiches with salad, fruit, a lump of cheese and a yoghurt (and maybe some crisps or crackers) would be fine.
Perhaps soup on a cold day.

It's teeny tiny portions she will need a proper dinner. At our school they can choose a sandwich too so I would offer a proper dinner at home also.

Always a proper dinner here. The school meals are pretty small and they tend to not all get eaten anyway because there is too much chattering and excitement going on.

Dd1 is always starving when she comes out of school.

We usually have proper meals at tea time.

DS1 is usually ravenous when he comes out of school.

I try to make sure that we always have something in the freezer that will do for a quick DC meal if we're on the late side getting home.

It's not really a school dinner, it's a lunch. And yes mine also always had a full dinner at night. Most kids are starving when they get home.

Mine always had Tea after school and then dinner later with us. I think growing children need feeding properly.

One of the dinners at dc school is sandwiches
I always do proper dinner and on days when I work it might be something like pasta and tom sauce (which I cook and have in batches in freezer, in true mn style)
Or microwave rice and frozen veg - not that great, but they seem to like it.

Don't panic. Maybe cook double night before and just reheat the whole plate (even if it's sausage and mash - just keep in the fridge in a plate)

Same as others, cooked meal after school, dd almost 5 and in reception and she chooses a baguette most days for school lunch.

In winter I sometimes do cheese toasties with homemade soup to save time but 90% of the time is a proper meal, always a snack after school too

I also wondered this when my son started school. I didn't think he would be hungry after having a school lunch. How wrong was I? He comes home starving so has a meal after school. To be honest, I'm no certain how much he eats at school.

If I didn't cook him a meal after school, he would want to pick at crisps!

Normal meal and have snacks ready for pick up!