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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

How much dinner money is normal for teen

31 replies

Babybel81 · 26/10/2016 19:56

My DS is 14 and uses pre-pay card for school dinners. He's always needing it topping up and I worked out he gets through just over £4 a day/£80 a month. I looked at what he's been buying and he's getting two dinners a day e.g pizza slice or panini twice at lunch. He says they get one have a walk around then get another. I'm not convinced he's not buying for someone else but he says they all get two as the dinners are small. What do others spend on school dinners it seems a lot to me?

OP posts:
Lilaclily · 26/10/2016 19:57

Ds 12 is allowed one dinner on a Friday, max £4 , rest of week is packed lunches we can't afford it everyday and he knows that and also says he wouldn't want to queue everyday anyway

ChocolateFace · 26/10/2016 19:59

That's nothing for my DC. They easily get through £5 a day. Breakfast waffles, drinks, panini, round pizza Hmm

They usually take pack lunch or it would cost me £75 pw as I have 3 DC

GreatPointIAgreeWithYouTotally · 26/10/2016 20:00

£2-£2.50. If they want more they can take food from home.

Mirandawest · 26/10/2016 20:01

My DS is 12 and spends between £2 and £4 a day on his lunch. Some days he eats loads, other days not so much.

iMatter · 26/10/2016 20:03

I give ds1 (y7) £4 a day. I started off with £3 but apparently that's not enough. Confused

QuiteLikely5 · 26/10/2016 20:04

I give £3 per day. That's enough imo

Oblomov16 · 26/10/2016 20:08

Our school suggest a £3 a day limit.

moonface1978 · 26/10/2016 20:11

Glasgow school's lunches are £1.90. That gives a choice of hot meal/ sandwich/ baguette/ burger/ baked potato and all of these come with soup, bread, salad bar, fruit, yogurt and milk or water.

RaingodswithZippos · 26/10/2016 20:14

My DS (16yo) gets about £15-20 per week, unless he decides to make his own, which he does from time to time..he often gets a meal deal from a supermarket or goes to the chip shop at lunch time.

OhFuds · 26/10/2016 20:14

My 13yr old gets £2 a day, he doesn't eat school meals and goes to the local shop which offers meal deals.

dementedpixie · 26/10/2016 20:24

Dd spends under £2 as she just gets a main and no pudding

Original poster
Babybel81 · 26/10/2016 22:45

Thanks that makes me feel better I thought surely not all parents can pay out at that rate. I'm going to limit to £3 a day and he'll have to take drinks and snacks from home

OP posts:
wineusuallyhelps · 26/10/2016 22:48

It's £5 a week here. Enough for 2 days of school dinners. The rest of the time it's packed lunch. I'm not made of money and my lunch doesn't cost more than that, so why should his?!

Itrytoohard · 26/10/2016 23:02

£10 a week when mine were in school.

ifonly4 · 27/10/2016 10:55

I think that's fair enough giving him a limit but also letting him take some snacks from home.

I'm very lucky here, DD sits with a large group of approx 20 girls who all take packed lunches in. She prefers to take her own lunch as she doesn't want to spend ages queuing and miss out on their company. However, I do regularly make sure she's got £3 on her in case she forgets to take her lunch, as I know she can get more than enough with this.

SansasEscape · 27/10/2016 11:18

Surely it depends on your school's prices?

corythatwas · 27/10/2016 11:45

Ds got £3 at that age- school within easy walking distance and could make his way home for a snack after school. School dinners were certainly not enough to fill him up until supper time.

Now that he is at college he gets £4- but then he has a 90 minute commute, has to leave at 7 and doesn't get home until 5. And is absolutely ravenous.

girlandboy · 27/10/2016 11:50

My DS eats at college 3 days a week (part time course!) and I give him £10 to cover that. He either gets food at college or they go out and he ends up buying a meal deal at Boots. If he spends more than £3.30 one day then he has to budget less for the other days.

haggisaggis · 27/10/2016 11:58

I give each of them £ 10 on a Monday but generally have to top up on Fridays. dd sometimes eats at school but it is very busy - there is not enough space to accommodate all the kids at lunchtime - so she usually goes out and buys lunch from Tesco or Lidl. She usually sticks to between £2 and £3 per day. ds eats loads now (he's 16) and again usually goes to Tesco and occasionally Subway. He rarely eats in school. He probably spends more per day - had to top him up today rather than on Friday.

JustSpeakSense · 27/10/2016 12:00

Our school has a limit on each day £3 (you can have the limit raised if your child needs more)
That gets them a snack (pizza slice, cookie, toast) at morning break and then a meal (chicken burger, panini, pasta, etc.) at lunch
(They don't buy drinks they have water)
They definitely aren't allowed to buy for friends in their cards it's strictly monitored.

LemonBreeland · 27/10/2016 12:03

A meal deal at our school is £2.50. That gets you a Panini or hot meal with a drink. So DS1 gets enough to cover that. He usually goes to the High Street with his friends though, as the school canteen can't cope with the large numbers. A meal deal in the supermarkets is £3, but I still give him the standard school amount. He usually buys his food in creative ways to get more for his money. e.g. he buys a multipack of one thing and a friend gets something else.

normage · 27/10/2016 12:05

I give my 14 year old DD three snacks, two bottles of water and £2 a day, which gets her a meal, with money left over. We couldn't afford more. I think school food is very overpriced.

JustDanceAddict · 27/10/2016 17:36

Mine were spending upwards of £3. They now have packed lunch - a pain, but much cheaper.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 27/10/2016 17:39

£2 a day is plenty and we only do that every now and again as he usually takes packed lunches.

BackforGood · 28/10/2016 23:45

I give dd2 £12 a week (so £2.40 a day) as when she went back this term, she said everything has gone up 10p - 20p .
dd1 doesn't really do puddings, so usually spends about £1.70 - £1.90 a day (they have pre-pay on a thumbprint at her school)