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Preteens

Parenting a preteen can be a minefield. Find support here.

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Original poster

How much lunch money for school?

20 replies

Tisfortired · 27/02/2026 15:48

What do you think is a reasonable amount for secondary school lunches per week? DS1 is in year 7 and has just come home in a strop (again) because he’s hungry. I topped up his lunch account on Tuesday when he went back to school with £12 and he’d only left himself 75p for today.

I account for £3 a day - a full lunch is £2 and a slice of pizza is £1.40. This week he has spent most of the money on non lunch things, eg waffles at break (£1) bottles of flavoured water (£1) flavoured milk (£1.10) and cake (£1.20.) To my mind £3 a day is sufficient enough to buy lunch everyday and one other thing, eg a snack at break or a cake.

I have told him time and time again he needs to learn to budget the money he gets and if he runs he will have to take lunch/snacks from home which he doesn’t. He knows we have plenty of fruit/crisps/yoghurts he can take. He also never takes his water bottle with him so will buy water at school which is another bone of contention after spending £40 on the water bottle he was soooo desperate for for his birthday…

Am I being tight? Would you give more? I just feel like at 12.5 years old he needs to learn to organise himself a bit better, expecting him to take his water bottle to school and lunch if he has no money left isn’t too much to ask is it?

OP posts:

BumTroubleTooMuch · 27/02/2026 15:50

He's a growing boy. My son purchases breakfast at school, lunch. And sometimes a snack. Studying and doing sport needs fuel. I wouldn't limit the money. I'd set boundaries on what you're prepared to buy. For example I have told my son no Yazoo's or crisps. If he's making good choices he can eat as much as he needs.

Raccoonswillonedayrevolt · 27/02/2026 15:54

Your plan sounds sensible, the lunch money is for lunch and he is free to take other snacks with him. Next time he tuns out of money, help him/supervise him while he makes a lunch box. It is as good a time as any to learn budgeting and responsibility.

itsthetea · 27/02/2026 15:55

He may be a growing boy - flavoured water wont help that. He needs to learn to budget and if it’s not enough he should take food from home

ThatWildMintSloth · 27/02/2026 15:58

I agree with you, he can take snacks from home to supplement the food he's buying at school. If/when he runs out, he will learn to budget better.

Original poster

Tisfortired · 27/02/2026 15:58

Sorry maybe I should have added - I always make sure he has a good breakfast in the morning. His favourite is porridge so he has that most mornings. So for example this morning he had porridge, a chocolate brioche roll, a yoghurt and a banana. I am a chronic cupboard stuffer (have 3 boys!) so the fridge and cupboards are always full of snacks he can take. My point is that he doesn’t and I am not a bottomless pit of money because he can’t think to take things with him or remember his water bottle.

OP posts:

babylamb4 · 27/02/2026 15:59

My daughter is in yr7 and has breakfast, lunch and a snack most days. I don’t top it up on specific days I just put £50 a time on it and she tells me when it needs topping up again.

ShetlandishMum · 27/02/2026 15:59

We pay £60 a month.
Lunch is £15 a week if you order for 5 days (or £4.5 if ordered on the day) and they can have second servings. I really think it's cheaper than doing packed lunch for us to pay £60 a month for school dinner.

I ask her to bring snacks and water from home. No need to pay a lot for them. It's so much cheaper in a supermarket.

LifeBeginsToday · 27/02/2026 16:00

I don't give mine any money for lunches. She takes a packed lunch. If she wants more food she takes more packed lunch. If everyone in the house, including adults who go to work had lunch out every day that would be far too much money spent on just lunch.

Original poster

Tisfortired · 27/02/2026 16:01

ThatWildMintSloth · 27/02/2026 15:58

I agree with you, he can take snacks from home to supplement the food he's buying at school. If/when he runs out, he will learn to budget better.

Hopefully starving all day today will be the lesson he needs to budget the money better next week!

OP posts:

CeciliaMars · 27/02/2026 16:01

This is a really good teaching moment! Give him £12, allow him to take stuff from home, and when it runs out, it runs out!

FlopsyMopsyCotton · 27/02/2026 16:02

Can you put his snacks in his bag for him and a bottle of water? That way he has snacks if needed. I appreciate he is 12.5 but just to be sure he isn’t hungry.

Original poster

Tisfortired · 27/02/2026 16:04

FlopsyMopsyCotton · 27/02/2026 16:02

Can you put his snacks in his bag for him and a bottle of water? That way he has snacks if needed. I appreciate he is 12.5 but just to be sure he isn’t hungry.

I think this is kind of what it comes down to. I expect him to be able to do this himself (with reminders
from me) but maybe I do need to do it for him to make sure he isn’t going hungry.

OP posts:

FlopsyMopsyCotton · 27/02/2026 16:06

@Tisfortiredits annoying because ideally he needs to take some responsibility, but for the sake of an argument. I’d just pop an apple, cereal bar and a bottle of water (or whatever snacks he likes) in his bag the night before. That way no one forgets!

BringBackTheLight · 27/02/2026 16:07

I'm with you, they need to learn to budget.
My son takes a packed lunch because he won't queue but my daughter gets £10 a week, she takes her own drink and can help herself to snacks.

modgepodge · 27/02/2026 16:08

I think that’s enough money. Have you spelled it out to him? ‘There’s £3 per day. That’s enough for the main meal with £1 left over for a treat each day. If you spend too much early in the week you’ll have to take a packed lunch later in the week.’
I wouldn’t be happy about him going hungry so I’d probably be keeping tabs and insisting he takes a packed lunch on Thursday/Friday if I could see he was running low on funds by then.
He needs to remember his water bottle!

Muchtoomuchtodo · 27/02/2026 16:08

DS takes lunch from home every day and then has £15 on his fob every half term. He eats loads and it costs far too much to fill him up with food from school every day.

Burningbud1981 · 27/02/2026 16:13

I add money for 3 meal deals for the week which is £2.60. I’ve told the kids once the money is done that’s it I won’t add anymore. Hey should take packed lunch for the other 2 days.

DuchessofStaffordshire · 27/02/2026 16:26

Mine takes a packed lunch as all the food at school seems to be junk and of limited nutritional value. It's also ridiculously expensive for what it is.

Bjorkdidit · 27/02/2026 16:46

This is a good time for him to learn that bought lunches can add up to huge amounts of money, usually for rubbish food, so his money will go much further if he mostly takes food from home.

Don't fall into the trap of giving him unlimited money.

Justploddingonandon · 03/03/2026 10:33

I set a limit of £5 a day, but DS is reasonably sensible and I can afford that. That's enough for a main meal and he can choose to have a drink / desert or a snack at break time. Some days he takes a packed lunch and often he doesn't spend all that, so it usually works out £15-£20 a week. The meal deal at his school is £3.20 a day so £3 wouldn't quite cover it. I would draw the line at paying for water, flavoured or otherwise, though I don't mind him buying juice as he has allergies that mean he can't eat a lot of the deserts.

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