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.

OP - you are coming up against what will be the norm until your child leaves school.

Of course an oatcake or a chunk of cheese would be healthy, but schools operate in broad brush strokes, and unfortunately one parents oat / cereal bar would quickly become another parents Toffee crisp ("but it has rice crispies!"). What they are saying is 'no snacks, but if you must, fruit and veg only'.

I felt the same when DS started reception, and it was worse because at that stage he would rather faint with huinger than eat any raw / cold fruit or veg but your dd will adapt quickly. It is also normal for them to be v hungry when they finish school.

If she's happy at school and enjoying it, that's fantastic and the most important thing.

'Am I the only one who thinks that fruit and veg for break is good?'

No, I think it is a great idea. I don't think that DCs have a problem with it, it is just the norm, in the way that no snacks was the norm when I went to school. It is the parents who get upset as if people should never feel hungry!
I think it is much healthier to have a good meal and eat again when you are really hungry, not through habit because you constantly graze and your stomach never knows if it is hungry or not!

" quite a lot of children get tummy ache and even the runs from eating raw fruit on its own."

Not any of the children I've seen eating it over the last two decades!

Blu - did your child start eating fruit because of this school rule?

Goblinchild the school has two large allotments with a greenhouse and raised beds in each playground where the children love working.

Exactly, it's gone too far the other way and won't solve anything long term.

My two have porridge topped with frozen raspberries each morning, ds will usually grab a banana before he leaves, they have school lunches which include at least 2 portions of fruit/veg for tea and I always cook a tea with at least 2 or 3 portions of veg because that's what they like, the dcs favourite pudding is baked apple and custard, it's not difficult to get what they need into the need without pouring more down their necks at breaktime, bearing in mind fruit isn't really a filling snack, except maybe bananas.

Luckily the school my dcs attend is a bit more sensible, and accept that children become hungry and fruit dosen't always cut it. My two take in oatcakes topped with peanut butter and a banana.

People and children have been eating raw fruit and veg for thousands of years and I've never heard anyone say it was the cause of the runs before. Of course fruit and veg contain fibre that's why it's good for us.

But that's just your children, Apocalypse - they get lots of fruit, evidently. Lots of our children don't.

I prefer my children eat fruit when they are inclined to eat fruit.

The idea that there is a special time for eating fruit is deranged.

I hope to fuck my children never have to be taught by someone with such rigid ideas about how things must be and such poor critical ability.

Opportunity to eat fruit :o

I agree with Feenie Apocalypse, not all your children's classmates will have the same sensible approach to eating at home and an extra piece at school (since they like it) can only be a bonus.
For lots of our children the only fruit and veg they see is what they get at school and many say they don't like certain foods when in fact they mean they have never tried it before.

mrz - in vast quantities, the vitamin C in fruit and veg can cause diarrhea. I think that is what people are referring to - not going to happen with a fruit snack mid-morning though.

They aren't really big fruit eaters tbh, they like bananas, raspberries and apples, maybe plums if they're ripe enough, tbh I think the real offenders with the lazy ass parents won't buy their dcs fruit whatever the schools says, they'll just send them with no snack but I do think there needs to be choice.

spidookly you are coming across as pretty rigid yourself

spidookly - are you aware that a lot of your chosen language is abelist?

Wot?

I can't believe the arguments people will put up so that their DCs won't eat fruit!

I'm not sure at what point fruit became the spawn of the devil like most things it really isn't that black and white as not all fruit are created equal eg hard fruits grown in temperate climates much better in terms of fruit sugars.

Eating fruit as a snack is encouraged because they are full of fibre, water, vitamins and some minerals and are one of the healthier ways of getting them (in the absence of taking a pile of vegetables in for a snack). Most cracker type snacks even the so called "healthy" ones are really appalling. High GI hungry soon after, full of simple carbs and little goodness and almost as bad for your teeth.

The vast majority of tooth decay in childrne is not caused by the enormous amount of fruit snacks that British children eat .

Get up earlier, eat some protein at breakfast, take a protein based snack to give her when you pick her up from school. Being hungry at the end of the school day isn't (IMVHO) a big deal.

A really good healthy eating policy is a problme in most schools because it would either need to be very detialed or rely on parents to be well informed, both of which IME are a bit of a problem.

earwicga it isn't what bonsoir said " quite a lot of children get tummy ache and even the runs from eating raw fruit on its own." and one small satsuma or apple at school can hardly be construed as vast quantities

Apocalypse you have hit the nail on the head schools are increasingly seen by the government as the place to compensate for bad home conditions unfortunately the compensation policy is applied to all families as it is easier to impose a blanket policy on all schools/pupils when perhaps they should be employing more health visitors to work in the homes

I do vaguely remember feeling anxious when my dds started nursery/school that they would faint, starve, cry, or just be miserable without their usual mid-morning toast or whatever. They were both used to something mid-morning, more than fruit.

But of course, they've both adapted perfectly. dd2, who is just 4 and in pre-school attached to school, is hungry when she comes out at 11.45 but they have a big bowl of extra fruit in the lobby that kids can pick from, and I give her some milk while I get lunch ready, to keep her going.

If a child has a (rare) health problem with fruit, surely they can be an exception and it can be discussed with their teacher like any other allergy/health issue? I agree that many many kids don't get enough fruit/raw carrots or whatever - its a good opportunity for them, and dds can have a biscuit/toast/cake at home!

Its so not a problem, IMO, and am slightly by the strong feelings on this thread.

I'm really confused about fruit juices now though as more than one dentist has said to me that they are as bad as coca-cola for teeth.

"It is also normal for them to be v hungry when they finish school." hadn't noticed this... hurrah someone who agrees with me. It is quite normal to get hungry when your next meal is due. I havemoved DS's tea earlier when he started full days last week for exactly this reason.

So because some children's parents feed them crap all children must be taught damaging lies about "healthy eating"?

Eating well has nothing to do with "this is the time you must eat fruit".

Children are people. The way you lot want them coralled and to have their eating habits standardised treats them like livestock.

"it's your opportunity to eat silage Daisy"

I suppose this is what happens when you treat your teachers so badly that nobody with a brain in their head wants to do it.

I was always ravenous when I got home from school, I don't see what is wrong with it.My mother didn't start telling the school that I should have a snack, she just found me something to eat!

can't believe some of the attitudes on this thread.

Let's be honest - the reason why so many schools have to introduce these policies is because of the types of parents on this thread who would far rather give in to little tarquen's demands for mars bars than ever think to go against their the poor little darling and actually try to get him to eat healthily.

The reason why so many children are suck little brats these days and grow into delinquents is because parents seemingly have lost the ability to tell them "no" and even if the school does it the parents don't support them because of what of the poor litttle diddem's need for chocolate.

Surely it's very simple - this is what's on offer for snack, you can choose to eat that and gain some energy/vitamins/goodness from it, or you can choose to go hungry. Or are those objecting to children having only fruit at snack time also the types of parents who cook several different meals a day to accommodate the pickyness desires of their precious children.

spidookly who is teaching them lies?