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.

To be honest lots of our children don't have breakfast unless it is an ice pop or bag of crisps en route so they eat their fruit when they arrive if they are hungry and I do toast and cereal if they are very hungry.

Yes, we have a nurture group for those particular children.

Where we feed them toast and cereal, obviously!

I was once accosted by an angry mum because her daughter had asked for peas after eating them at school

Yes, they usually have milk in KS1.

'I was once accosted by an angry mum because her daughter had asked for peas after eating them at school'

You and your fancy ways!

Opportunities to eat fruit = pudding.

You don't need lots of fruit every day. Veg and salads are healthy too.

DD's school asks you to send in a "healthy snack" but the only restrictions are re chocolate and nuts. So a digestive is perfectly acceptable there.

Makes me wonder where you have been hiding for the past few years if you hadn't noticed any of this in the news.
Have you been in a cave, with your fingers in your ears?

Goblinchild she complained she had to go to the shop to buy a tin and they cost 10p

You should all see the guidance for school cooks [stirring smiley]

So not even exciting and fresh and in a pod?
We have a school garden, it's very lovely watching reception explore and wonder at tomatoes on plants and pulling up carrots.

Stupid bloody policies, my nieces school is the same, I asked if they're allowed grapes ?? Yes, they are allowed grapes which are of course packedd full of sugar.

Why the hell children aren't allowed to take specified plain or chilli oatcakes in is beyond me, we are going to end up raising a generation of misinformed kids with bad teeth and food issues at this rate !

Feenie - fruit on its own is a really bad idea - the sugar stays on teeth (bad), the sugar give children a sugar rush (bad), and quite a lot of children get tummy ache and even the runs from eating raw fruit on its own.

Goblinchild we'd grown our own peas and harvested and ate them but for this child it was the first time she had seen peas and clearly she had enjoyed them.

' we are going to end up raising a generation of misinformed kids with bad teeth and food issues at this rate !'

Unlike their parents who had none of these oppressive restrictions?

Didn't think you were the one with a tin opener mrz.
We grow a lot of small scale food in raised beds and pots, a fantastic and fascinating cross-curricular resource.

when my kids got to early teens, suddenly they were too 'cool' for cornflakes.... i dunno what it was, maybe it was becuase they got an extra 5 mins in bed, but all of a sudden they wouldn't eat breakfast.

so i boought those breakfast bar things for them to eat on the way to school

maybe this is the way forward in the short term?

i have to be honest though op, i think the kid needs to eat breakfast

I think the school years are going to be very long for you OP if you are furious about this !

I give my DD breakfast in bed, to wake her up - solves all problems, IMO.

Where did the recommendation to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg a day come from?
The advice to eat a specific quantity of fruit and veg originally came from the World Health Organization (WHO), which is an agency of the United Nations that specialises in health.

In 1991, the WHO started recommending a minimum intake of 400g fruit and vegetables a day. One portion of fruit and veg is 80g, so five portions add up to 400g.

The WHO advice is based on many different studies. These have shown consistently that populations that have a high intake of fruit and veg have a lower incidence of heart disease, some cancers and other health problems.

The WHO recommendation has been adopted by many national and international expert groups.

In 1994, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA), which advises the UK Government, examined the links between diet and heart disease. COMA concluded that fruit and veg help to protect against heart disease, and that people in the UK should increase the amount they eat to at least five portions a day.

In the UK, we eat an average of just three portions of fruit and veg a day. So we should try to increase the amount of fruit and veg we eat, to help benefit our health.

tuck shop when i was a kid, crunchy puffs 5p, i used to buy two packets and give Julie a packet.

the 10p was for apples that Mrs English sold during break in her classroom also for 5p. but crisps were yummier!