Lunchtime supervisor wants to know: how should I approach getting your dc to eat their sandwiches?

[treadonthecracks]

I am a lunchtime supervisor and have a class of 20 + children eating their packed lunch with me for half an hour each day. They are 7, 8 and 9 yo.

I get various complaints from the DC:

Mummy used the ham I don't like
The bread is hard
These grapes taste funny and so on...

Usually the child has the item they are complaining about often and I know they do "like" it.

I usually try to persuade them, say they'll be hungry this afternoon, get them to eat half, just have one more bite and so.

It occurred to me today though (from the thread about fussy eaters I think), many parents don't try to persuade them, for good reasons - which I understand. I am actually pressuring them to eat up.

So I wondered WWYD / What would you like your DC's dinner lady to do?

another MTA here, generally with 6& 7 yr old pack lunch eaters. One big advantage to working with the same year group regularly is that you get to know whos parents give them a small lunch ( and expect it all eaten) and whos given masses and expected to "chose". I also get to talk to their teacher and can raise concerns with them , sometimes over teh scantness or other wise of a lunch box, sometimes over behaviour while eating.

I will generally ask what they Have eaten as well as seeing what they have left. .
I don't like this sandwich is normally met with - well take the filling out and eat the bread or - eat half of them.
I don't like these crisps ( rare) will be met with, OK, leave them but eat the rest of your lunch.
I have a pretty good idea of who will try and ignore food or rush out to play , and by now in the year the children know I know. and don't protest when I don't let them out to play after 5 minutes and one small yoghurt only.
I also insist on tidiness, and those who leave a mess get to clean it up. I'm getting good at tutoring on the use of dust pan and brush. This is probably more practical in an eating in classroom setting than in a school hall.

What annoys me is my children having to ask to eat pudding and lunchtime supervisors deciding what is and isn't pudding. I put a variety of healthy(ish) food in their lunchbags, I don't esp mind which food they eat as I know that I will give them a home cooked meal in the evening. I just don't want them to be hungry and grumpy when I collect them from school.

If I choose to tell them to eat some cheese at the end of the meal to neutralise acid in their mouths and stop teeth decay then I don't want a lunchtime supervisor telling them to eat it before they can have a fructose laden bit of fruit/fruit puree. A note in the lunch bag seems too help a bit. Most children in this country are more at risk of obesity than wasting away, so unless the parent has expressed concerns, or it is an ongoing problem I would probably leave them to it.

MrsM - I wish........ :)
I am an LT and have roughly 100 kids to supervise - no sitting down or chatting involved! I have nightmares involving 100 frubes and innocent smoothies boxes........ argghhhhh....... every alternate one is always at opposite ends of a 40 foot long lunch hall tooo.... argghhhhh....

Gosh, what a tricky job, judging from the breadth of replies. My 8 year old was still not eating his lunch last year and would come home grey-faced and in a filthy temper most days. I don't know how he learned anything in the afternoons, let alone did sport. I never really got to the bottom of the problem - he didn't like the noise and crowdedness of the lunch room but that didn't really seem enough of an explanation. Always claimed he "ran out of time" possibly through chatting, although I doubt that given his social skills. I suspect he spent much of the alloted time in the loo.

Was one of the most frustrating aspects of my year, seeing packed lunches coming home virtually untouched again and again.

I think you are doing fine, if parents are annoyed it is probably with the situation (its frustrating when kids dont eat) and the child, not you.

I wouldn't touch a child's food, in the way moonmother describes, but you could suggest they do those things themselves if needed.

I would like my dinner lady to say 'eat your sandwiches up, all of them (I only give 2 quarters for my pre-schooler) and then no yoghurt/ pud if they leave sandwiches! That would be consistent with home . The problem is knowing the rules at home will all vary, some parents are more strict about eating than others. The incosistencies at school make it difficult for the child to see that they will be hungry and mine go to a childminder. If I pick them up and they want snack then they don't get a treat unless lunch is finished/ drinks empty. If not they have to eat what is left. The childminder doesn't check their boxes so it isn't consistent.

Blimey! I should think it's a minefield. Easier when I were a lass and we were all just old to eat up because waste was a sin! (Iwent to convent school). It's all so much more complex now.

I sit and have an apple and some oatcakes with them. If I ate a full meal I'd get indigestion.

They come to me and get me to open things, have got covered in yogurt more than once, learn to open them away from me.

Happily I don't have to make them eat in any order, I am just supposed to make sure they have eaten enough. As lots of people point out that varies, but I am getting an idea of who eats how much.

Thanks for all the replies, very interesting.