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Original poster

will my kids hate it if i work as a dinner lady at their school?

42 replies

Fullmoonfiend · 09/03/2006 11:30

Am really struggling to find work which fits in round school hours. I have a lovely part time job working for a charity but the funding is being stopped so I will be out of a job by June at the latest. In desperation - as we have finally run out of money after 5 years of me staying at home) I am thinking of taking a job as a kitchen assistant at my sons' school (they are 8 and 5). Anyone else been there? DH is worried that the kids will be mortified at it and is also worried that it is 'beneath me' - in an intellectual way rather than a snobby way, if you follow.
They need to hear from me by the end of this week - what shall I do?

OP posts:
Mazzystar · 09/03/2006 11:37

my friends mum (my next door neighbour) was a dinner lady at our school and we all liked it - a LOT - when we were little. have you asked them what they think?

i think the other issue is a bigger one - if you are working to give you a life outside being a mum - as well as the money - this isn't going to be it!

Enid · 09/03/2006 11:37

bump for you Smile

Auntymandy · 09/03/2006 11:39

Think it will be k. would be bad if it was secondry school!!!

Original poster
Fullmoonfiend · 09/03/2006 11:41

I know MS, that is an issue - but I do have a life outside being a mum - now Grin as they are older.
I'm a little scared that it will 'blot' my employment record if I do go for a #proper' job later. It's just a knee-jerk reaction to needing to get some extra money in the short-term.
I haven't discussed it with my boys yet, as I only got the phonecall today. I rang up speculatively and they have bitten my hand off to get me in for an interview (which makes me think, nobody else wants to do it...!)

OP posts:
Mazzystar · 09/03/2006 11:46

I'm guessing its unlikely that the job will offer you any significant personal development, but I think it depends what you want to do later. I work in the arts and its definitely the case that if you stop being active in that field you kind of drop off the radar. But other areas may not be quite so sniffy about things.

Original poster
Fullmoonfiend · 09/03/2006 11:49

well, i used to be a journalist and sub editor, but need to retrain and do something different. I'm marking time until I work out what to do for the next 35 (gulp) years. Welcome to the world of Mickey Mouse jobs - that's what an older friend told me 5 years ago and I naively thought ''that can't happen to me..''

OP posts:
Hausfrau · 09/03/2006 11:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Fullmoonfiend · 09/03/2006 11:54

Nope, personal development may not be on the menu (groan) but what about job satisfaction? I could sabotage the trays of turkey twizzlers and single-handedly save the little darlings from the horrors of hydrogenated vegetable oils and introduce organic food and..and...become expert at washing up :(

OP posts:
Original poster
Fullmoonfiend · 09/03/2006 11:55

got to go to work now, thanks for replies so far, will bump this later.

OP posts:
Mazzystar · 09/03/2006 11:56

ah hah- undercover journalism. that's what you can put on your cv!

LadyTophamHatt · 09/03/2006 11:59

TBH I shocked that this job has been so frowned upon on this thread.

Who cares what job you do? It's bringing in money and it's during school hours....thats the important thing.
The "beneath me" thing speaks a 1000 words to me.

GDG · 09/03/2006 11:59

My Mum worked in the school kitchen and in the playground when I was in primary school. I had no problem with it at all.

It was 'beneath' my mother in the sense that she is an intelligent woman and could easily have done something more challenging, however, she did what she could in school hours in order to be there for us before and after school and in the holiday and I, for one, am extremely grateful for that.

I think she quite enjoyed it too - socialising with the other ladies and bringing in a bit of extra money. Don't know where she is actually -she'd be better answering this question!

Rojak · 09/03/2006 12:00

What about registering with some temp agencies in your area and stipulating the hours you can work? I used temp agencies as a stop gap before finding something permanent.

Or freelance writing for a local paper? freelance sub-editing?

anorak · 09/03/2006 12:01

my mum was a playground attendant at my junior school and she was a complete pain. When the other kids were making slides on the ice, I wasn't allowed to. Other kids would get away with chewing gum, not me. When I was in the loos and the whistle went, I ran into my classroom and she beat me up when I got home for not washing my hands...

and the worst thing was she was nice to all the other kids so they no longer believed me when I told them what a cow she was at home.

If you are nice though it shouldn't be a problem! My friend used to be head teacher in his sons' school and they said it was good if they forgot their dinner money, they just went to see Dad. Smile

GDG · 09/03/2006 12:01

Totally agree LTH. 100%.

cutekids · 09/03/2006 12:02

my daughter's friend's mummy was dinner-lady in their school up until a couple of months ago. they all love her! doesn't seem to upset her daughter either...in fact enjoys the fact that her mum knows all her friends!

GDG · 09/03/2006 12:03

Yes and it's great if your favourite pud is on the menu - extra large portion of sponge and custard -YUM! (or do you just get a bloomin' apple these days? Grin)

juliab · 09/03/2006 12:06

I don't think it would blot your copybook with any sensible employer - you've got a valid work/life balance reason for doing it. And it might not be intellectually stimulating but it could be great fun. (And, incidentally, I've worked as a sub on some very un-stimulating publications!)
By the way, where do you live? If you're in London, I could maybe suggest places where they welcome freelance subs who work part-time/short days....

paolosgirl · 09/03/2006 12:07

My mum was a lunchtime and playground supervisor for a while when I was at primary school. She loved it (stopped when we moved to Scotland) and I loved her being there for a while, and then completely forgot she was there! You're doing it for the money and the hours, not as a career move - sounds perfect to me Smile

SorenLorensen · 09/03/2006 12:10

My Mum worked as a dinner lady at my primary school once - she's also a qualified teacher and did supply there sometimes Grin I can't imagine a teacher would want to be a dinner lady at a school she taught at these days but it didn't seem to cause any problems way back then (in the Dark Ages).

I preferred her as a dinner lady - didn't have her breathing down my neck so much then. When she was my class teacher I remember her calling the register one morning and I said "you know I'm here, you brought me" and I got such a telling-off.

GDG · 09/03/2006 12:14

LOL!!!

Mazzystar · 09/03/2006 12:47

LTH - I don't think anyone posting on here has "frowned upon" the job in its own terms - and I don't think anyone here looks down on dinner ladies.

FMF's concern's are real - there are some areas of work where if your most recent experience was a job like this, future would think that you had dropped out/couldn't hack it etc.

flashingnosethefrond · 09/03/2006 12:52

My mum was a dinner lady for nearly all the time I was at primary school - never bothered me. In fact, I loved the fact that all the naughty boys used to come up to her when we were out shopping and say hello Grin.

If it's worrying you, why not do the job at a different school?

DumbledoresGirl · 09/03/2006 12:57

I used to occasionally supply teach in my children's school and did spend two well-remembered days teaching my own son. I dreaded him making a cheeky comment in front of the class, such as SL described, but he never did. He might be a cheeky so-and-so at home, but he has always been the very model of good behaviour at school and that lasted for the 2 days I had him, thank God! I wouldn't want to teach my children on a regular basis though, or be a teacher in their school.

That said, I don't see being a kitchen assistant in the same light. You are not going to have an awful lot of contact with your children (I take it you would be serving meals and cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, not supervising the children in the playground?) My children would love it if I worked in their school in any capacity, and if yours feel the same way, I would say go for it.

Or course it isn't a career move. But you would be doing something that fits with your free hours and you would be displaying versatility and can still work hard and be a reliable member of the team which are qualities that any future employer would look for.

LadyTophamHatt · 09/03/2006 13:16

Well, "blot on my employment record" and "proper job" certainly doesn't put in a shining light does it?
And also why wouldn't it be a job to give you a life outside being a mum? You're only a mum to your own child in the school. And there will be other adults there too and I would imagine they are quite capable of engaging in conversation with each other!!

I think this is one of the first threads in my 3+yrs on Mn that has bugged me....incase you haven't noticedGrin