How long should children get to eat their lunch?

[fedupofthis]

I'm not sure if this is standard and I'm just overreacting, or if I am right to be a little concerned.

My main problem with my 5yo daughter's school is that there are no kitchen facilities and so the children are only able to eat a packed lunch. I'm not happy about this and did not realise this was the case before we applied, however there's not much I can do about it now.

But the problem now is that my daughter never seems to eat enough of her lunch; I know she wouldn't finish all of it, but sometimes she hardly eats anything. Now DD is a slow eater and I just presumed she sat there talking all through lunchtime, forgetting to eat.

When I ask her why she never finishes her lunch, she says its because "Miss says we only have 5 minutes to eat it"- well, tbh, coming from a 5 year old, I didn't believe her and assumed she was exaggerating.

But another parent, who has kicked up a big fuss and has gotten nowhere, informed me yesterday that the last fifteen minutes of lunchtime (so 45 minutes playing outside) they go into the hall to eat lunch. And the reason this is, is because there is a lack of staff.

Now I don't think 15 minutes is long enough to sit down, eat lunch, pack away and be back in the classroom.

I just wondered if anyone had any info on this, whether there are any government guidelines or recommendations? When I was at school you'd sit in the hall missing playtime until you'd eaten all your lunch, and this might take an hour!

Anyway if I'm overreacting and this is normal practice I don't mind, just wanted to get your views and experiences.

Thanks.

Although I think 15 mins is enough for most of them, there is no way it will be enough for every child, and it sounds like an absurd situation. Ours get as long as they need, up tot he hour. ds1 still sometimes struggled!

I think because the school has 3 classes in each year group who all need to fit in the hall. My daughter's year group must be the last ones to eat lunch and so that is why they are so strict.

I thought it was normal to eat and then go out to play, not the other way round. That way if you haven't finished you carry on eating until you have had enough and then go and join your classmates outside to play.

I don't know.

I do not know about gouvernement guide lines, I think it does depends on the schools really.

In ours there is two sittings, the Infant first and then the Junior. Total length of break one hour split supposidely in 2 half hours but it somehow still does not seem to be enough for the little ones to finish their meals properly sometimes as they do use the lunch to have a good chat with their piers, as adults would do. DS3 (5yo) tells me that if he has not finished his packed lunch by the time the juniors come in, he is not allowed to take the rest in the play ground to finish and often does come back with some of the lunch I gave him. He actually very often finishes it on the way back home as he is positively starving by then.

Forgot to say 15 minutes for very young children seems ridiculous to me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to find this ridiculous. Yes she eats her lunch on the way home too. It isn't fair is it?!

ours used to have 10 mins! Chatterboxes went hungry!

Maybe it's just logistics then? If they don't all fit in the hall, there will have to be sittings and not everyone can go first. You could try asking if she can go earlier or if they rotate the sittings to make it fair but if someone else needs her seat it sounds like she'll get kicked out anyway, whenever she goes in. Agree 15 mins isn't very long. We have an hour and a half for lunch at our school as we have 3 sittings - you could suggest that to the governors/head but bear in mind they will have to extend the school day so you would need huge support from all the parents and quite a campaign on your hands. But if you feel so strongly about it...