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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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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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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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supersalstrawberry · 12/08/2009 21:05

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princessmel · 12/08/2009 21:08

Oh and times vary depending on how lazy I am what we're doing that day.

Sometimes it's ready at 5 sometimes not till 6 ish.
If we're all eating it will be nearer to 6ish.

onepieceoflollipop · 12/08/2009 21:09

At her after school club dd1 gets a selection of fruit at 3.30pm, then a snack type meal around 4.30 (typical meals seem to be beans on toast, soup and bread, wraps/pittas with fillings etc) I think that some of the hungrier dcs get fed again on arrival home (wraparound care finishes at 17.45)

Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:09

dp will probably get home between 5pm and 6pm and although I have no real desire to eat early I would rather ds had me eat with him than eat on his own every night. I really can't see dp wanting to eat early though but there is no way I am cooking for him later as well!

Ds currently has a main meal at 11.30ish at nursery and tea at 3/3.30pm so when he gets home he usually has some or all of the following: a bowl of cereal, a yoghurt, some fruit, and a piece of cake/biscuit. I don't cook him a meal as we get in at 5pm and he is upstairs in the bath at about 5.30/5.45pm so there really isn't the time!

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Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:10

I am just starting to realise how much life is going to change in 3 weeks time! Albeit cripplingly expensive nursery has been easy from this point of view.

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Podrick · 12/08/2009 21:12

Always cook for dd at night as she doesn't tend to eat much at school at lunchtime

expatinscotland · 12/08/2009 21:13

Bod what I do is batch bake on Sundays so the snacks are in order.

They get one junk snack, too, when they get home, like a packet of crisps or choccie biscuit.

Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:14

Im the same with ds expat .. he gets one junk snack and the rest have to be reasonably healthy

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Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:15

I haven't got a problem batch cooking but haven't got a clue what I can batch cook that he will eat!

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Hulababy · 12/08/2009 21:15

Geberall yes, as it is easier for me to cook DD the same meal as me and DH in the evening.

DD eats at around 6:30pm with us, always has done. Unless she is at Brownies or has a playdate when she eats earlier.

morocco · 12/08/2009 21:16

you need to discover the joys of the slow cooker - great for when you get home from work late and there's hungry kids to feed asap

Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:19

morocco I have one ... my problem is working out what he will eat that can be cooked in one! He will eat roasts but if he sees an onion or mushroom anywhere in anything else he will leave it without even trying!

He will eat chicken, beef, lamb (all roasts), broccoli, carrots, potato, rice, pasta (though doesn't seem to eat any pasta sauce I cook!), fish fingers, .... just struggling to get some decent meals out of that!

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morocco · 12/08/2009 21:26

sounds like dinner every night at my house lol. chicken with veg, lamb with veg, veg with veg, baked potatoes, pasta with veg and cheese sauce
tadaaaa
a week long menu

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 12/08/2009 21:32

Bodiddly - we eat at 6.30 to 7pm now that our youngest is 7. When they were younger we all ate together at 6pm, which was really a bit early for DH and me, but still a good chance to catch up as a family. We used to end up having cereal or toast at 10.30 though so I'm glad we can now eat a bit later.

Original poster

bodiddly · 12/08/2009 21:33

thanks everyone ..

Morocco - I am glad to hear I am not the only one!

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mellifluouscauliflower · 12/08/2009 21:54

I don't - it's a light meal of soup, sandwich or salads. But then again he's more of a Wotsit than a twiglet.

ABitBatty · 12/08/2009 22:09

Both my DS's have school dinners and then a cooked meal in the evening. Typically around 6.30pm when DP gets home. I am following Slimming World so everything is pretty much cooked from scratch-chilli,curry,cottage pie,salmon stir fry,home made burgers,baked fish. Both of them are always 'starving' when they come home so they might have some sort of snack when they come home at 3.30pm ish, cheese,yoghurt or toast.

slayerette · 12/08/2009 22:19

Bodiddly - I have just one DS who has a cooked meal at lunchtime at school. When he gets home he has a snack and a glass of milk (or if he's in afterschool care, he takes a packed snack and some juice).

Then at 5.30 he has tea - not a full cooked meal but beans or cheese on toast, scrambled or boiled egg with toast, homemade soup (with lots of blended veggies in!)... He is very fond of what we call a 'platter' - bread, crackers, cheese, ham, fruit, salad veg all on a big plate together. But he much prefers these kinds of meals to cooked meals anyway.

I don't really see the need for children to have two cooked meals a day but I would be guided by his preferences and needs. It's not as if a cooked meal is more nutritious or filling than a cold one anyway.

We don't eat with DS at 5.30 - one of us will sit and have a cup of tea and a piece of toast with him while he eats and chat about his day. We eat together at breakfasts and weekends and he doesn't seem too damaged as a result

cat64 · 12/08/2009 22:52

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Message withdrawn

Original poster

bodiddly · 13/08/2009 14:14

thanks everyone .. I like the idea of a platter ... ds loves french bread, will happily eat cucumber, tomato, lumps of cheese etc as well as fruit .. so that could be the way to go for one evening!

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Portofino · 13/08/2009 14:19

At dd's school they have soup mid morning, followed by 2 course lunch and I sent her with fruit and biscuit for afterschool club. I don't cook her another dinner - she'll have a sandwich or beans on toast, crumpets or something. And she likes fruit so I try to squeeze a bit of than in too.

Original poster

bodiddly · 13/08/2009 14:25

wow mid morning soup .. that sounds very glamorous! I would like to go to that school Portofino

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Tamarto · 13/08/2009 14:29

School dinner portions are small ime, so yes i do.

My DCs wont go to dinners for certain days as they are left hungry because of the minimal portion sizes.

Portofino · 13/08/2009 16:05

We're in Belgium - I am very impressed with her school! They decided that proper veg soup was just the thing to give small children to keep their energy levels up - and to cover those that didn't have enough breakfast. And the menu is great too - sole meurniere, chicken curry, all sorts of veggies.

She seems to be happy to eat lots of different things at school but is more fussy at home. She told me one day how she had brocolli and it was "absolutely delicious Mummy!" I give her brocolli - does she eat it - does she feck!

lljkk · 13/08/2009 16:09

Yes, because ime DC don't eat a proper meal at all when they have school hot dinner.
Specifically, they don't touch the vegetables. Instead they eat all the starch, nibble the meat and scoff the biggest portion of pudding they can persuade the dinner lady to give them.

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