Lunchbox police

[Homealone2015]

Dd is in reception and has a lunch box most days as she's quite fussy. A TA sits with them at lunchtime and constantly tells dd that "mummy gives you too much chocolate" "you need more fruit".

Her lunch currently consists of a ham sandwich, half a bag of quavers, a mini choc chip cake, a yogurt and a penguin choc bar. She will eat most of this. It's been trial and error trying to find things she will eat at lunch. She won't eat fruit/veg at lunch time, it's always still there when we get home. She's only just started eating fruit at snack time.

Yesterday dd came home upset as this ta "keeps telling her off" over something she has no control over, shouldn't the ta be talking to me? As the person who makes her lunch if she has a problem??

Dd has constipation issues and is taking regular logical so I know how important eating the right food is, but I'd rather she ate something at school than nothing .

This is interesting.

The school have a healthy eating policy which a parent ignores.

The TA talks to the child who brings the concern home and it effects the parent as they don't like their child having it pointed out. Then change the packed lunch to stop it happening again.

May be this is the only way to make parents change habits.

I can see why you don't like it but it's caused you to give her a healthier lunch.

The TA is right. Suck it up and sort it out - far easier to tackle crap eating habits when they are young and active enough to burn off calories than when they are teenagers glued to their phones.

Your daughter can't eat for lunch what isn't in her lunch box.

The TA has been suggesting your DD ask you for healthy choices, which has worked because you are hearing about it from your DD.

Don't complain! Jump on this and start packing your DD's favourite fruit in there. It doesn't matter if she doesn't eat it straight away, looking at a healthy lunch box e ery day is a massive help to the likelihood of her actually eating it.

I have had a kid with a very restricted diet. I still made sure I sent him with a balance of food. Have a snack ready for after school if you're concerned about not eating enough - less junk overall and a much better chance that they eat a balanced lunch and develop healthy habits.

If you are struggling to get your daughter to eat food that isn't junk at lunch i don't understand why you would be upset at intervention from the the TA. Maybe the TA might be able to encourage your child to eat more healthy balanced food.

Why not use their intervention to your advantage

Maybe the TA wants to Make sure that your DD knows it’s bad? She might think that might encourage her to eat better or at the very least will prevent her forming bad habits.

she is right.

Bloody hell. It really isn't that bad. Ignore all the posters giving you unasked for advice about what should be in the lunchbox. The staff member should not be pestering your dd. If they want to discuss it they should talk to you.

I'd put a note in her lunch box to give the TA.

Dear TA, my daughter has constipation issues, the chocolate is a laxative. If you have any concerns you can contact me directly.

BUT I also agree there is a lot of sugar and fat in her lunch box. Could you swap the cake for a home made muffin? If so you could make courgette and chocolate muffins or carrot cake, that way she is having some veg even if she doesn't know it.

Sorry, the TA isn't right. It's not her job to tell children that what's in their lunch is 'bad'! She's there to oversee and encourage eating in a pleasant way, not to nag a child and induce anxiety and stress when the poor child has no control over the lunch

Lunch halls are noisy and chaotic and not places of education, not from a TA anyway. It's down to parents/teachers (in the classroom) and families round the child.

The OP is right on this point, even if the lunch she gives is not the best.

To be succinct- it's none of the TA's business.

Chocolate as a laxative? I’ve heard it all now!

I absolutely adore fruit, but if I had three other sugary items in my lunchbox (choc cake, choc biscuit, yogurt) I would bring my fruit home uneaten as well.

Add the fruit and take out the chocolate and you have a much better lunchbox

I agree that the TA shouldn’t be saying this to your DD; she should address it with you if she’s worried about the lunch.

That example, the one the ta commented on, was on the day I had to go shopping. So she got what she got. She takes an apple in for snack daily and has only started eating that recently.

She loves cucumber and will eat it non stop. But will not touch it if it's in her lunch box. Any fruit in her lunch box comes home untouched. I have been making her lunch box since September so I'm not new to this.

She had an unhealthy lunchbox this week, the ta commented on it and now dd thinks she's naughty.

It's school dinner day today thankfully. Fish fingers and chips

She shouldn't be saying anything to your daughter.

I hate busy bodies who like to interfere. My son had ASD and is an extremely fussy eater as a result. He has the exact same lunch everyday. If a person had said to him what the TA has said to your daughter he would probably interpret that as he shouldn't be eating the contents and stop which would cause a nightmare for me.
Staff should always talk to parents not the children.

Also she has 4/5 things in her lunch box. I swap things around. She doesn't normally have cake and chocolate and crisps.

She doesn't normally have cake and chocolate and crisps.

If she doesn't usually have it then I cant see why you've already had to speak to the school, or why you say she constantly tells dd that "mummy gives you too much chocolate" "you need more fruit".

I'd love to be a fly in the wall. 'Constantly' 'haranguing' 'humiliating' 'shaming'. She probably mentioned it once.

Interesting that a TA obviously has no expertise in nutrition but teachers do according to some posters but be aware that TAs teach more often than not now due to budget cuts. If the thought of a lowly TA passing on her non-knowledge is abhorrent to you, you need to be writing to your MP. It will only get worse!

Who has told you that the TA is "constantly" nagging your daughter? If it's just your daughter's word, I would take it with a pinch of salt perhaps? Small children are not always the most accurate at retelling unbiased stories

She doesn't, but sometimes when I have no other food in the house I have no choice.

You had a choice not to send two bars of chocolate surely?

And now your story has changed again to the reason for the unhealthy lunchbox being you being unorganised.

Could she not have school dinners instead?

Love a good lunchbox froth thread. Waiting the parenting experts to tell us that their kid has a full bag of rocket, half a boiled egg, 3 nuts and some mackerel.

I've always disliked the lunchbox police.

I don't care what was in the lunchbox, schools shouldn't do this. It is just irritating and unnecessary.

If she has a reasonably good breakfast and a balanced meal in the evening then she is getting everything she needs. She eats fruit and vegetables at home, so that's fine.

I was so relieved when my youngest finally went to secondary school and this sort of in-your-face bullshit stopped.

How rude and pathetic would anyone be to do this.

How rude and pathetic would an adult be to upset a child about things they can't control.

Nothing wrong with ham sandwhiches, Nothing wrong with a handful of quavers and nothing wrong with a penguin bar.

In fact generally there is nothing wrong with any food, the only wrong you can do with food is eat too much. Portion control is everything. Single sarnie, a few crisps and a chocolate bar as part of a balanced and we'll rounded diet is perfectly fine and has been the lunchbox of kid for decades.

Funny how kids are getting fatter these days when all these paid 'experts' are forcing their versions of healthy diets onto everyone. Almost like people, government employees and companies have a vested interest in terrifying parents into feeding their kids all manner of 'healthy' stuff.

The op has already acknowledged that this is the best lunch her issue is the ta. Wish people would answer the question and not use any excuse to flame someone.

The ta shouldn't be mentioning the lunch to your dd she could give her a complex. She should have brought it to the teachers attention who then in turn could mention ot to you. Then you could make changes etc based on the observations made by the ta eg adding fruit