Anyone elses school sent a "contract" home for parents of children who have packed lunches

[neverforget]

cause ours just have! Never heard of anything like this before.

eh? I work in a primary school and have never heard of anything like this before!

What does it say?

dd's school did talk about something similar, this one was to get all parents to agree to only send in lunches that were allergy safe, no nuts etc. it didn't go ahead in the end though. what is your contract for?

Theres loads of blurb so I have not copied it all and theres a bit you have to sign and return but it says school name so not put that on.

Where, when and to whom the policy applies:To all pupils and parents providing packed lunches to be consumed within school or on school trips during normal school hours beginning form October 2008.

At least on portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables every day. (portion = a handful)
Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (eg ham, tuna peanut butter) every day.
Oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks.
A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes or other type of cereals every day.
Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard everyday.
Water, still or sparkling, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt or mild drinks and smoothies.

not to include;

Snacks such as crisps. Instead, include seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added salt, sugar or fat). Savoury crackers or breadsticks served with fruit, vegetables or dairy food are also a good choice.
Chocolate bars, chocolate-coated biscuits and sweets. Cakes and biscuits are allowed but encourage your child to eat these only as part of a balanced meal.

Im not saying the food they have listed is a bad idea but surely I am 30 years old am old enough to chose what to put in my childs lunch box!

Surely the people who will bother signing it are the ones who usually try and provide a healthy lunchbox anyway?

That's great if you are able to provide a healthy nutritious lunch for you dc with no helful guidance.

Obviously judging from the crap I have seen in some children's lunch boxes that is not the necessarily the case with all parents.

Providing these guidelines can only benefit a child. IMO only a fool would resent it. If you're doing it anyway then like I say that's fab - and if you're not then you should be and hey - it's only one meal a day - you can always fill them up on coke crisps chocolate and sweets on the other ones if that is your choice.

Oh god what happens if your child will only eat crackers and raisins.

I might trade my dd in for a new telly in that case.

I would be totally insulted if I was sent this and would refuse to sign and return. What will they do if parents wont sign?

What happens if you don't sign it?

Well, I would challenge them to get ds1 to eat such a lunch. He is very fussy, verging on phobic I would say, nothing I can do about it - he would rather make himself ill through hunger (and he has done) than eat something he 'doesn't like'.

So - looking at the guidelines with reference to ds1....
At least on portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables every day. (portion = a handful)

I can put a handful of grapes in. They will come home again. He has a fruit smoothie, which counts as 1 portion.

Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (eg ham, tuna peanut butter) every day.

Ds1 doesn't eat any meat, other than mince or fish fingers - not overly suitable for a packed lunch. Detests peanut butter. The only non-dairy protein I could use would be Nutella chocolate spread...not what they were intending...

Oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks.

Complete non-starter here.

So their 'guidelines' would equal a very hungry child.

A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes or other type of cereals every day.

He has bread every day.

Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard everyday.

He will eat cheese, has school milk, won't eat any other dairy.

Water, still or sparkling, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt or mild drinks and smoothies.

He will drink a smoothie.

Am trying to work out how you send oily fish in a lunchbox without repulsing all their friends...

Well I provide a healthy lunchbox every day but my problem is how are they going to enfore this, isnt it just more work for the teachers/taching assistants who supervise at lunch?

it was this bit that worried me lol "Oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks" as dd wont touch any kind of fish, are they going to have some kind of list oh dc hasnt had fish since blah date, so i guess im going on a bad parent list lol

How are they going to check that your child has had oliy fish

'at least once every three weeks.'

is there to be a tick list????

What happens if you don't sign? Wondering how to pack oily fish as well!!!

By mrz on Thu 11-Sep-08 19:02:42
Today I had a child who's lunchbox contained
2 packets of crisps
2 fun sized chocolate bars
1 packet of skittles
2 bottles of blue pop

sorry but we gave him a school dinner instead

(From a similar thread in this section)

Rubberduck I was thinking the same and seeing they have no fridges for storage and its in a warm room all day as most parents dont use ice packs im sure it would be lovely by lunchtime as well.

What happens if the dc either dislikes fish or is allergic?

MsPontipine thats shocking! BUT what im saying is I bet his parents wouldnt sign the contract anyhow and the people who will, will likely already provide a healthy lunch.

not sure what happens if you dont sign it although something was mentioned about notes home inside lunchboxes

I do a proper lunch but I'd never sign something like this.

It would make it very difficult for me if our school issued a contract like this. DS1 has a lunch very similar to the guidelines, but DS2, who is autistic with many food allergies, has the same lunch every day - hummus sandwich on gluten free white bread, packet of plain crisps, banana or apple, sometimes two rice cakes with Flora and apricot jam. I just about cover the oily fish, protein and veg requirements in his cooked meals, but packed lunches are very difficult.

Really really hope they don't adopt this.

Apart from the oily fish (which I think is pretty unrealistic for a lunch box - it'll be in a very sorry state by lunch time) this doesn't seem too constraining - it's what I would do anyway.

I think the problem is more with the form than the content.

neverfort - what about notes to school in the lunch box.

Big brother is watching you and what you eat...

I'd stick it up their arse, why is the school not nut free?

How is treating parents like schoolchildren going to help children's diets. As several people have said, the people who do this will carry on giving their children healthy food.

As for those who don't, how is this approach going to make them give a monkeys? They're just going to feel patronised and dictated to and chuck it in the bin.

very true ivykate