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Original poster

If your dcs have school dinners do you still give them a main meal at home as well?

64 replies

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 20:37

Just wondering really .. ds is starting school in September and will start with school dinners. He is pretty fussy and I am not convinced he will really eat much. Do most of you cook yours dcs another meal when they get home?

Also, those of you with one dc ... do you cook for them on their own of an evening or do you eat early so as to eat with them?

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princessmel · 12/08/2009 20:42

yes

Ds is skin and bones, plus if the choices are not somethng he loves he may not have eaten much.

Sometimes we all eat together and sometimes dh and I eat later. I have 2 (and a half) dc's.

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 20:44

what sort of thing do you cook for them? ds has become quite fussy of late so I am concerned I will struggle to find different things every day to feed him. He is at nursery full time at the moment and eats things there that he won't even consider at home!

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morocco · 12/08/2009 20:45

we all eat a main meal together in the evening. they also eat like they are starved when they get in from school - so stock up!

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 20:46

he is in bed by 6.30pm and I don't think I will be able to persuade dp to eat at that time. The first term I will be home to pick him up from school so can cook but after that he will be at after school club until 5pm when I get back from work!

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bigchris · 12/08/2009 20:49

no I don't
I posted on here about it before that I didn't think dcs needed 2 main meals a day and that I couldn't see the point in patying for school dinners and then coooking thema main meal
No one agreed with me
I found it very odd

StewieGriffinsMom · 12/08/2009 20:51

This reply has been deleted

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Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 20:52

bigchris .. do your dcs eat their school dinners though? I am not sure if ds will .. or if I will even know if he does or not! He is pretty skinny and I would rather he had 2 meals than miss out.

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princessmel · 12/08/2009 20:56

All sorts of things.

Together we'll eat curry, lasagne, spag bol, pasta, roast type meals, chicken chasseur (from a mix), chilli, sausage casserole, sausages etc etc

The dc's eat a lot of pasta with various sauces, or just with butter/cheese/ham.
Fish fingers, nuggets with pasta or rice. pizza, tortilla wraps with chicken and cheese ,and cucumber in.

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 20:56

The meals are meant to be fairly good as the school has opted out from the LEA scheme and use the funding to cater for themselves. That doesnt mean that ds will like it or eat it though I suppose! I guess I am going to have to come in at 5 and cook and eat with him every evening and then send him straight up to bed! It will be bizarre eating at 5.30pm though!

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muggglewump · 12/08/2009 20:57

I do.
DD is always starving when she gets home so she has something then and then we eat at 6-6.30pm together.

princessmel · 12/08/2009 20:58

Oh and they have a snack when they get in. Usually fruit, or cereal bars, fruit bars, cheese, maybe a yoghurt.

onepieceoflollipop · 12/08/2009 20:59

I agree with bigchris; however my dd1 (5) is a big eater and polishes off a school dinner with no difficulty. In our case cooking another main meal would just give her extra calories etc that she doesn't need (she is a little overweight confirmed by the school nurse)

Perhaps people in my position would be happy just to give a sandwich-type tea in the evening? (fruit, sandwich, yogurt etc)

If I was to cook an extra main meal, it would be something very simple such as a baked potato or pasta.

On "normal" work nights it isn't practical for dh and I to eat with the dcs.

Poledra · 12/08/2009 20:59

Yes. I'm cooking for me and DH, so might as well. Mine are late bedders though, so we eat at about 6:30pm, then they go to bed at 7:15-7:30ish.

The menu's a lot like Princessmel's - my pasta recipe book is my best friend . I also prepare things the previous evening, like fish pie, and reheat the next day. A slow cooker is also on my list of Things I Might Find Useful for the Winter.

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:00

thanks princessmel ... ds' favourite food is roast dinner which we try and do every Sunday if we are in. I obviously cant cook a roast during the week by that time of evening. He likes sausages, fish fingers etc and used to eat spag bol and pasta but will now only eat them at nursery! He loves rice ... guess I will just have to try and expand his palette!

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LadyGlencoraPalliser · 12/08/2009 21:00

We always have our main meal in the evenings with DC. School dinner portions are pretty small IME although the food is good quality in our local area.

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:01

oops please excuse my spelling .. I obviously didn't mean he had an artist's palette!

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onepieceoflollipop · 12/08/2009 21:01

bodiddly I have to give dd2 a main type meal in the evening as she has a packed lunch at the cm. I don't eat with her as such (but I do sit with her and have a coffee and some fruit or similar)

I rarely cook from scratch for her, often it is a reheated portion of home made chilli, or failing that a speedy pasta dish or similar. (even fish fingers with a selection of fresh veggies)

Lizzylou · 12/08/2009 21:02

DS1 does have a meal at around 5pm, he also has a flapjack/piece(s) of fruit when he gets in at 3.15pm. I am reliably informed that he eats every morsel of his school lunch and is always the first to finish
BUT he eats loads, DS2 eats nowhere near as much, so don't know what will happen when he starts school in just over a year.
Funny really as DS1 is skinny and DS2 a plump 3 yr old.

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:03

do you eat early then LadyGP?

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thesouthsbelle · 12/08/2009 21:03

yes DS has a 'main meal' in nursery (all home cooked) ie cottage pie, roast, chilli, veg soup, etc plus a pudding, and i'd say 85% of the time he'll eat a proper meal at home with me as well, plus snacks, plus milk!

I had intended for him to eat in nursery & me just give him a snack, ie beans on toast/dippy eggs, but apparently my boy has hollow legs!

HuwEdwards · 12/08/2009 21:03

yes I do, because mine go to after school, so they eat at 12-ish and then apart from a snack at after-school, they don't eat till around 6.

Ask him, go by how hungry he is.

thesouthsbelle · 12/08/2009 21:04

(he's 3.5 btw - i'm dreading him starting school!)

Original poster
bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:04

I have no objection to ds having fish fingers etc with veg but just not ALL the time. I think I need to find some extra meals that can be put together quickly when I get in.

Do most after school clubs let you take a snack in?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 12/08/2009 21:05

DD1 is having school dinners.

We'll still be eating our main meal in the evenings once DH is home.

Both she and DD2 also want a snack when they get home.

They are both twigletts, so the more they eat, the better.

Lizzylou · 12/08/2009 21:05

Oh, and the boys eat at 5pm so more often than not they eat together then I eat with DH once they're in bed (7pm ish), DH gets home 6-.30pm so too late for my boys as they go to bed at 7pm. If DH is going to be late or going out then I eat with them