My ravenous child is only allowed fruit at snack time. I am furious.

[Avocadoes]

My 4 year old DD started Reception class last week. She seems very happy but also very hungry. She is not a great breakfast eater, no matter how hard I try, so at home she used to get a mid morning plate of toast to boost her energy. At school her mid morning snack must be fruit and nothing else. Is that normal?

On her first day I sent her in with sliced apple and raisens. She ate them all, ate all her lunch, but still came home at 3.30pm starving. She then consumed two slices of toast and ate three large plates of spag bol at dinner time.

The next day I put dry cereal (Raisen Wheats) in her snack box to give her some carbs. She came home and told me the teacher had told her she wasn't allowed to eat it. She was very embarrassed about this.

When I dropped her off on the third day I asked the teacher what I could give her to fill her up mid morning. The teacher said it had to be fresh fruit or veg.

AIBU to think a growing child should be allowed a proper energy boost mid morning? I am not suggesting chocolate or crisps, but a health bar, or crackers, or dry cereal should surely be allowed.

It is quite common for reception classes to have access to a kitchen and a toaster more so if they operate as a FSU.
I bought a toaster for my Y2 class and buy extra bread when I do my weekly shop (occasionally I buy crumpets or scotch pancakes) I also provide butter and choice of toppings usually as requested

Having only fruit for snack is not a new thing- I was only allowed fruit in 1979.

The view that kids need constant refuelling every hour with toast is new.

When my dd started pre-school I was shocked that she was allowed to sit and eat as much jam smothered toast/crumpets/crackers as she pleased, alongside fruit and milk. Children were allowed to self- limit . I couldn't understand why they felt she needed a second breakfast when she had been given breakfast at home. A small snack of fruit/and or a smal biscuit would have been enough for a 2.5 yr old.

No wonder she refused her lunch each day...

I am bemused at how this thread has developed: from a simple query about snack food to the wider issue of school policies .

Much as I am sure that everybody is now aware that fruit and veg are A Good Thing as part of a varied diet, of course no policy will always suit everybody. But since when was that considered the necessary?? Surely like with lots of other things (curriculum/bus time tables/banking opening hours etc etc ad nauseam) a good policy/guideline should aim to suit a majority most of the time, non??

I get really cheesed off at how our children are brought up as precious individuals and all sense of solidarity and of them growing up as members of wider society gets lost. And no, I am not a teacher. And I wouldn't be one, as I think they have a very very hard job without parents getting huffy about their little darlings' foibles.

I agree with everything PacificDogwood says

Could you send a couple of bananas and some dried apricots?

Phew

I was beginning to think I had rendered everybody speechless and killed the thread with my superior logic and razorsharp rhetoric .

And, it is of course nice to have somebody agree with me - doesn't happen v often in this house...

"Feenie Sun 09-Jan-11 10:57:42
All you fruit disapprovers - when would you like your children to eat fruit then?

No one has answered my question!"

fruit should be eaten before or with a meal and not as a snack - dental advice not nutritional

also for Feenie

"Diet Dangers, Do's 'n Don'ts
Remember, it pretty much doesn't matter what you have with breakfast lunch and dinner from a tooth point of view. It's the snacking between meals that does all the damage. Of course from a health point of view it is very important, but we're just talking teeth here.

Lets look at common in-between meal snacks and rate them:

Really Bad Foods

Soft drinks... They're all bad
Sports Drinks... Save them for the big race, no other time
Fruit Juice... Juice is sugar water. A big health con in my book
Candy... Pretty obvious
Cough drops... Not so obvious
Dried Fruit... All the sugar is concentrated
Sugared Coffee And tea

Fairly Bad Foods

Fruit: Sorry, fruit is a poor in-between meal snack. That includes apples (I have no idea why people think apples are good for your teeth)
Bread... The better it tastes, the worse it is L

Good Foods (Things you can have between meals)

Water -Water is cool.
Milk -Plain, not flavored.
Cheese -Cheese is the best snack
Yogurt -The plain stuff, not the ones with fruit
Vegetables -All veggies are great snacks

If your snacks are teeth-friendly, your teeth will be you-friendly"

My goodness, I don't know how I have made it to being an adult with no fillings as I have grown up with fruit being a snack. In fact, I'm surprised I was able to get through my schooling or my degree due to the outrageous diet my parents and school inflicted in me as I was growing up.
I also eat dried fruit...

Also, my understanding is the snack proved for reception and KS1 is fruit and veg, not just fruit.

3 large plates of spag bol and 2 slices of toast for dinner Wow, is it just me or that a huge amount of food? I couldn't eat all that. Children do not need as many calories as active adults unless they are very, very active.

Conflicting advice from the British Dental Health Foundation Admissions

What is dental erosion?
Answer:
Dental erosion is the loss of tooth enamel caused by acid attacks. Enamel is the hard, protective coating of the tooth. If it is worn away the dentine underneath is exposed and your teeth can look discoloured and become sensitive.

Drink up

Acidic foods and drinks and fizzy drinks cause dental erosion.

Still water and milk are the best things to drink. Tea without sugar is also good for teeth as it contains fluoride.

Drink fruit juice at mealtimes. If you want to drink fruit juices between meals, try diluting them with water.

Snack attacks

Avoid sugary snacks. If you need to eat between meals try these foods instead:

• plain popcorn

• nuts

• cheese

• breadsticks

• plain yoghurt

• rice cakes

• cheese scones

• unsweetened cereal

• crumpets

• plain bagels

• fresh soup

• raw vegetable pieces

• fresh fruit

Every child I knew in primary school had a packet of crisps at morning break. Lots got dropped, the birds on the playground after playtime were a sight to behold.

bung in a kitkat in her pocket

mrz Sun 09-Jan-11 15:37:05

Conflicting advice from the British Dental Health Foundation Admissions

sorry that popped up from a word document and I didn't notice - I need to learn to multi task on windows 7

I agree with the policy but worry about it being good for all children.

I have 3 dc :-

Dtwin 2( 7) interestingly my fussy eater is fine. He eats a huge breakfast and loves bananas(also other fruit and carrots),is a good size. No problem,love the policy for him as I don't get nagged for crap,he fills up on bananas and has had a huge breakfast anyway.

Dtwin 1(7) is a fab eater but under weight and thin(like his dad). Hates early eating(like his dad) on school mornings which we have to do to get to school on time.He hates bananas and always has done. Basically he's starving before lunch and it keeps him underweight,I think it affects his concentration. I've tried croissants,anything but he just can't eat vast amounts of breakfast,just a few nibbles of dry cereal(hates milk) and toast. He really needs a mid morning snack of cheese and oatcakes.

DD (6) fab eater too is a grazer(like me). She has my exact body,high metabolism and I have very low blood pressure and need to graze which I do on healthy stuff.If my bp dips I get wobbly.I'm convinced dd is the same as she gets tearful if she goes too long between meals. Unfortunately she also can't stomach early eating and hates bananas and milk.

So what to do???? Any ideas. Re dtwin 1 I'm considering a dcs note but can't see the school allowing oatcakes(although I know a couple of SEN kids do). Will cause major probs with his twin as it won't seem fair.

Really stumped and as an ex teacher I support the policy but really I think cheese,oatcakes and rice cakes should be on the list.

Most cereal bars are little better than choc bars,rammed full of sugar(in the guise of honey/fructose) and additives with very little healthy stuff and really don't aid concentration imvho.

Was talking about Christmas dinner with a tweeny washing my hair and sympathised with her dislike of turkey, and asked what she was having instead? Beef? Chicken? No, apparently turkey drummers in crumbs.

Imo, I feel sorry for schools having to make up for perceived parental deficiencies in failing to feed their children properly. MN is made up of informed parents so maybe it does feel patronising to most, but dcs' teachers, one of whom I know well, says that some children in reception really do get their first tastes of fruit and veg in their class and I'm fine about it being pedaled at my dcs.

Having to go from 9 - 12 with only a piece of fruit? How will these children survive? 3 whole hours with only a banana?

She'll soon learn to eat breakfast if she's hungry. And i'd say that she's probably learned not wanting to eat breakfast from you, if you don't eat anything early in the morning. FWIW I don't like eating first thing either, but I do, becasuse otherwise I know I'll be hungry later.

And to those who say the schools are being too hard on the children, well children obviously need to learn about rules and "fitting-in" with everyone else, rather than the philosophy of "do whatever you like, whenever you like and sod everyone else". Far too much emphasis on little princesses and princes methinks.

Go my dp is 45 and still can't eat breakfast. He cycles to work for an hour on a banana. My dc are 7 and 6 and the 2 in question still haven't "learnt". They just can't,I've tried forcing and it doesn't work. I've also tried less healthy breakfasts eg chocolate croissants and zilch.

They're kids and being starving all morning isn't something I'm happy about,physically we're all different. I'm very worried it effects their concentration.

They eat a huge late breakfast at the weekend.

I am rather bemused at how spidookly equates a DC being offered a piece of fruit in the morning to forcing a DC to stay up until 11pm!
If a DC won't eat breakfast, then it is up to them to take the consequences.

take this and show teacher? It is at least produced by BDA and they should have a clue what they are talking about

can't say I like being told what I can and can't give my dc's for snack, like a lot of mum's I make sure they have a balanced diet (and am on principle put-out by school because I don't like being told what to do , or the inconsistencies they sometimes have about what is "healthy")but I follow the rules, and off they go with their tubs of fruit and/or nuts (which is what I'd give them anyway to be honest, but still). And, maybe this seems a contridiction, but I actually think children need to learn what being a little hungry feels like (I don't mean starving obviously),listen to their body, pace their food intake, eat at regular times and not end up another childhood obesity statistic from overeating the wrong things, being encouraged to eat a healthy snack is all part of that journey. As a few have said earlier, maybe this will encourage OP's dd to eat a more substantial breakfast, she will adjust, it just takes time.

OP - will your dc drink in the morning? A banana wizzed up with half a dozen ice cubes and porridge oats added will make a filling drink, which may help your dc last a little longer

ivykaty it may surprise you but teachers do know what they are talking about have a

No at playtime though, oh no.

And no either!