Packed lunches and the "food police"

samsara

I once got told off by another parent while waiting to collect my son, then 6, from school. Her son had asked mine why he didn't have meat in his sandwiches so my son explained that he was a vegetarian. The boy then asked why he was a vegetarian and so my son told him he didn't like eating animals. The mother was really angry and said my son was trying to brainwash hers - (not true) they didn't want their boy to be a veggie because they were meat farmers and I should stop my son talking about it! Gobsmacked!!

thriftlady_2

samsara wrote:

I once got told off by another parent while waiting to collect my son, then 6, from school. Her son had asked mine why he didn't have meat in his sandwiches so my son explained that he was a vegetarian. The boy then asked why he was a vegetarian and so my son told him he didn't like eating animals. The mother was really angry and said my son was trying to brainwash hers - (not true) they didn't want their boy to be a veggie because they were meat farmers and I should stop my son talking about it! Gobsmacked!!

Good grief!!!!

I'm always aware that if I say something like 'your lunch is healthier/better than the lunches children who are teasing you bring' to my kids I might get angry parents shouting at me for saying my food is better/healthier than theirs.But this seems like massive over-reaction.

FunkyFairy

jackieb wrote:

Our dd's school was in the news reently because they banned rubbish bins in the canteen. The school said they were appalled by the good food that was going to waste and they make all the PL children take home all their wrappers and uneaten food so that parents know what they're really eating.

My DD school is the same but it is because they have to pay for the waste to be taken away. So it is a cost cutting exercise for the school.

110frankie

I don't have a suggestion about the bullying I 'm afraid, but I do find it very sad that the word "gay" is being used as an insult. My 19-year-old grandson and his friends use it in that way as well.

Rebob

My son has had lots of comments "I am getting you done for fetching..../Eeewwww that smells..............." His way of dealing with the one of eggs or something else that smells is to move nearer to the person saying it and telling then it is lovely! He is a child that has been bullied over this too but agreed that I must love him more than the other kids are loved as their lunches are really poor. He always asks / says if something is healthy, although he is confused by the coco straws ad which mention healthy breakfast (milk, fruit juice etc).

He likes taking the same as his dad which helps. His lunch box has been noticed for its healthyness as part of the dinnerladies giving stickers to kids taking a healthy box.

He takes sandwiches, pitta pockets, bagels, pasta salad, dried fruit, youghurt, fruit etc; very dilute juice, pure orange.

Although he likes jam etc I try to vary a lot so that he gets a good balance.

BrokeBrunette

moggins wrote:

We're not allowed to send drinks of any kind in with our kids, not even water in a sports bottle

I read your post with amazement moggins. How on earth do the school justify witholding such a basic requirement from the children? I am presuming they receive a drink with their lunch at lunchtimes? What about during the summer on a hot day when they surely need to drink regularly?
My two daughters both take water in a bottle daily, sometimes two bottles. They don't like squash and water is their main drink. I've always thought that it was essential to drink plenty of fluid but have no idea where I read it

I think that was the best tip a neighbour gave me when my eldest daughter was a baby. She told me not to give her juice from the start, but merely to put water in a bottle/beaker, which I did.As a consequence of that the girls have always preferred water and have lovely teeth, no fillings etc.

As for getting them to eat veg - now that's a different matter entirely :mad:

nickinoo

sarahlouise210 wrote:

My DD also had a similar experience - she likes pasta with a stir in sauce and chick peas....mmmmm... unusual to most children. She also has a very visual disability so is a prime target. When the teasing started re her unusual lunch choice she just said to them what she says when they tease her re her disability " you laugh at me because I am different...but I laugh at you because you are all the same!" good for her !! She has even converted a few of them and recently asked me to do a few more tubs for her friends to try!

What a little star-good for her! It's just such a shame that she has to even deal with this in the 1st place.

moggins

BrokeBrunette wrote:

I read your post with amazement moggins. How on earth do the school justify witholding such a basic requirement from the children? I am presuming they receive a drink with their lunch at lunchtimes? What about during the summer on a hot day when they surely need to drink regularly?
My two daughters both take water in a bottle daily, sometimes two bottles. They don't like squash and water is their main drink. I've always thought that it was essential to drink plenty of fluid but have no idea where I read it

I think that was the best tip a neighbour gave me when my eldest daughter was a baby. She told me not to give her juice from the start, but merely to put water in a bottle/beaker, which I did.As a consequence of that the girls have always preferred water and have lovely teeth, no fillings etc.

As for getting them to eat veg - now that's a different matter entirely :mad:

I was pretty disgusted with it too, she drinks quite a lot at home and I do worry that she doesn't get enough fluids, she's on free milk until she's 5 so she does get a drink at playtime and then they have water on the table at lunchtime. It does mean that I am going to have to pay for her to have milk in June when she turns 5 otherwise she won't have a drink at playtime

What is worse is just before she entered the Reception class the parents were all hauled into school and told what they could and could not bring in their lunchboxes as the school supposedly concentrated on healthy eating. After this we were given a menu for school dinners and it was all reconstituted meat shapes and chips, their idea of healthy eating seems to be that all the children get given a piece of fruit at breaktime! When I asked what refridgeration facilities there were for the children with packed lunches she admitted there were none but she could possibly find a space for my daughters lunch as she didn't like sandwiches at the time and tended to live on rice and chicken salads or pasta, I didn't trust this though and managed to wean my DD onto sandwiches by the time she had started school.

Kimberley

I thought i'd come in here rather then start a new thread. I will be coming off Income Support soon and will no longer qualify for free school meals. I have 3 children to cater for.

What i want to know without sounding like a scrooge is whether a sandwich and some fruit in a container is enough for them without anything else except a drink??

I don't like what i see some kids have in their lunch boxes, most of it looks unhealthy stuffed with sweet stuff.

So is a sandwich, fruit and drink enough?

thriftmonster

I work on ther basis of a sandwich (or other main thing), a drink, fruit and one other thing (yoghurt or HM biscuit or something). A lot of schools really seem to rush lunchtimes - my kids have just over 10 mins to eat which also limits what they can eat. With the older one, we work on the principle that lunch is in 2 halves and he has the other sandwich and more fruit when he comes home.