School dinners - tiny portion sizes

[QueenStarlight]

Can anyone advise what to do? My son and daughter attend different primary schools. Both say that they are hungry at dinner time after their dinners and that they only get a toddler size portion.

They have good breakfasts. A huge bowl of porridge or Weetabix (4 biscuits each) followed by yoghurt with lots of nuts and then a piece of fruit. Dinner is fairly late-ish but they get a snack when they get in from school.

Both are of athletic build.

I have never asked if they have enough, they both independently moan about it. I have spoken to the office of my daughter's school who have confirmed she finishes everything on her plate. I know my ds does as he always has.

I could send them in with an additional packed lunch but that kids of defeats the objective of school dinners (1 I pay for, 1 I don't).

Both offices have said there is bread, but this appears to be rationed also according to my children (as other kids who get it then don't eat their dinner).

I have no idea what to do next.

I am sorry. I don't know if I've done something wrong but whenever I speak to you it seems to end with you seeming cross with me.

A proposal on a list of possibilities is not the same thing as a plan. That's all I'm saying.

I'll bow out.

Sorry if you perceive me as cross ...I'm not!

My son is exactly the same he is in year 5. He is on the 50% percentile for height, 25% for weight. You can see his ribs. He is always complaining that school dinner is too small, problem is he isn't a breakfast person, struggles to eat much in the morning. Takes lots of healthy snacks to school to supplement. He eats more than me for his dinner which is probably correct as he is growing and i am not. I think the panic about obesity has gone a bit mad. If he wanted to eat 4 Weetabix with fruit and milk wouldn't be a problem, mad ideas about dieting for basically sedentary middle aged women ( low carbing, clean eating) is creeping into what is considered normal for children to eat. The real concern is the secondary age children I know who live on take away fried chicken, crisps , sweets ( know its everyday as i see the same kids coming back from the take away) not the ops Weetabix eating child.

We gave up on school dinners for our two. dd was too fussy and ds never got enough. The problem with their school was that the food service wasn't really big enough (or maybe it was the hall) so children had to eat in relays with some being served very little very late. ds's descriptions of what he got to eat never tallied with the shiny menu sheets and as his behaviour really deteriorated with hunger it wasn't at all good. At home his lunch was usually about as big as mine, plus lots of snacks too.

For those that think all hungry children are also a bit on the porky side, ds has been on the 6th centile until very recently (at 16 he's finally filling in a bit). He really really was skinny! All knobbly knees and sticking out ribs. He would never have eaten that breakfast though, takes a while for his metabolism to warm up.

OP if you want to keep going with lunch service becasue of your ds's needs I'd go for a good high protein sandwich for snack time.

Seeing ribs is normal!

Did anyone say otherwise? Personally I detest and never use the word 'skinny' but that seems to be just me.

The NHS advice site offers

Child-size portions

Try to avoid feeding your child over-sized portions.

There's very little official guidance on precisely how much food children require so you'll need to use your own judgement.

A good rule of thumb is to start meals with small servings and let your child ask for more if they are still hungry.

Try not to make your child finish everything on the plate or eat more than they want to. And avoid using adult-size plates for younger children as it encourages them to eat oversized portions.
It may also help if you encourage your child to eat slowly and have set mealtimes. You can use mealtimes as an opportunity to catch up on what's happened during the day.

can I just ask as genuinely curious here.

why do those who's kids get fed so badly or so little do you continue to have the meals.

even if you get them free surely it's still cheaper to send a packed lunch when you can use left over meats from dinners the night before in sandwiches, cook an extra handful of pasta at no extra effort or extra cost.

if you are having to provide bigger breakfasts and dinners and supplementary snacks in order fir them to get enough food it surely negates the money saved by having the school dinner?

it's like buying clothes that don't fit then spending more than they cost on replacing belts and getting alterations done to make them.fit when it's far cheaper and easier to just buy the right size.

I don't get it

Giles you don't need a big meal at every meal time so what if lunch is a bit smaller?

If dc had a sandwich for lunch they'd be 'starving' by dinnertime anyway.

I also cannot be bothered to make packed lunches, school dinners are much easier and she'd still have them if I had to pay.

Mr z that is highly useful from the nhs dont feed your child too much but if they want more then give them more O.....K..... Or just feed them as much healthy food as they want to ensure they have what they need for growth, encourage plenty of exercise and keep half an eye on their weight every 6 months or so.

I use school meals because I work full time and have three children. I don't sit down til after 9pm most nights. Three packed lunches are too much - they are allowed a packed lunch once a week.

I pay for their dinner. I expect them to be adequately fed. And for many children it's the best chance of a decent meal they will have all day.

But peolel are sending in snake and sandwiches anyway so clearly if the meal is that deficient it's less effort and less cost?

if you don't send in any extras fair enough but alot of these people are so what's teh point

I'm not talking about kids who don't get any other meal.

I'm. talking about people paying or taking the KS1 free meals who are unhappy with what's provided who's kids are so hungry they are being sent in with other food anyway or binge eating every mornkng/evening to compensate.

I'm. asking why bother then?

One school I taught in the school meals were a disgrace. Tiny portions of unhealthy shite. Another (much larger school) - great steaming cauldrons of nutritious food. If I was the OP, I would be complaining/sending in packed lunches. I was very active as a child and ate loads anything
Nutrition for children is crazy now. Veering from restricting fat to giving them empty calorie rubbish.

But peolel are sending in snake

Bloody typos

I've never eaten snake. I like to hold them though

Apparently snake tastes like chicken, but not sure the dc would like it.

Mine go in with an apple or a carrot or a biscuit.

That's it.

I haven't a clue what mine eat at school. I give them a healthy breakfast and dinner, and they have some fruit after school. They seem fine.

Surely lunch for most adults even isn't a full on three course meal? I would just have a bowl of soup or similar usually, and main calories from breakfast and dinner. Most people are limited on time at lunch at work as in schools so it should just be a light meal to tide them over between breakfast and dinner.

But fir sone kids there is clearly a knock on effect.

in ops case they are eating like rhinos every morning. and others are eating second lunches on pick up.

Dd was the opposite actually. so full and bloated was she on the free bread and stodgy cake she wouldn't eat dinner. I was paying for the privalage too..of her not eating a revolting meal and then filling up on the extras.she looked like shit. so I took her off them.

I think for me it works well. I work 4 days a week so most days we all eat dinner together which is easier. If however we don't I can just give a sandwich knowing that they've had a cooked lunch already. I can then just clear away, no packed lunches to prepare/ remember the next day. Dd is still in ks1 so gets free fruit, I don't send additional snacks. She'll take an apple next year. I'm of the 'she won't starve' mindset, she does moan that the school dinners are too small, but tbf that's usually when it was something she particularly likes!

If we are looking at healthly and portion size can I ask why kids need pudding for lunch every day? We don't do this at home on a daily basis. I know there's a fruit and yogurt option but most kids will go for the pudding with custard or cookie. I would rather my older DCs had a slightly larger portion of lunch including vegetables if required rather than filling up on cake and extra bread

It's because the puddings are cheap. it's cheaper to give bread and heavy pudding than it is to give more meat/protein to fill them up.