School lunch rant - Would you complain?

Mankysteve

send him in with Big Mac.

[Deleted User]

As another person said, anytime u want to set yourself up in business creating healthy packed lunches for adults or children.., I'd sign up. The amount of time u have obviously spent thinking out an edible nutritious lunch is to be congratulated, not treated like this.

If there was too much there.., its up to your child how much she eats. Unless u'd given her a gallon bucket I can't see how such a nutritious lunch could be regarded as too much. It offered her choices, and that's all.

I'd agree.., talk to the head and say very firmly. NO-ONE is to touch my child's school lunch without speaking to me first.

I still remember Jamie's School Lunches programme when he quite rightly pointed out that u can't just 'outlaw' salt from being added to all foods when u are cooking from scratch and then serve up processed chopped chicken mess (aka chicken nibbles) with high levels of salt as an approved choice (altho I don't add salt to veg, I will add a little salt to a healthy spag bog if it needs it).

nm123_2

The world has gone mad... 20-25 years ago when I was at junior school I don’t remember anyone ever commenting on what we ate. I’m pretty sure my lunch consisted of a cheese and pickle sandwich, some hula hoops, a 2 finger kit-kat and a Satsuma. Mini rolls, trackers, Tunnocks, Blue Ribbands, Gold Bars were the norm for all my friends. And none of us were, or are, fat now. I agree it’s good to educate kids about food, but this just seems wrong...

Good luck talking to the Head.

ailuro2

Write down what you want to say in a letter, that way if you get a bit too angry to talk you will still get your point across.;)

Good Luck, you are doing a great job getting your DD to eat so healthily, my DD has always wanted to go veggie (she's 11 now) ever since she found out where meat comes from. I have told her whenever she is willing to eat a nutritionally sound vegetarian menu I'm more than happy for her to have it. As it is she's a fusspot and it's a struggle to get her to eat new foods.

bestpud

I would definitely take this up with the school, but I'd keep it low key as far as my child was concerned.

However, I have to agree it looks to be mainly vegetables to the untrained eye.

That was my first thought on reading your post tbh.

Others have said it contains carbs but I wouldn't have a clue and it seems the TA doesn't either.

I think it is unacceptable to charge you for the school meal but I do wonder whether you were told this may happen in the booklet you've been asked to consult? Surely they didn't bring in a rule like that without telling parents?

Personally, I'd want a meeting with the Head and the TA together as I think that's the best way of getting to the bottom of her concerns and educating her if necessary.

On the break time rule, I think you are going too far as it seems right they eat fruit and not crisps/sweets. I have no problem with that rule at all and I think protesting about that may weaken your justified complaint.

As an aside, I also find it odd they are not allowed chocolate in their packed lunch at dd's school and yet they provide chocolate crispy cake as pudding for those having a hot dinner!!!

I don't disagree with the packed lunch rule in principle but it does seem a contradiction!

Anyway, I hope you receive a satisfactory response and please let us know how it goes - I'm sure I'm not the only one interested to know the outcome.

MrsE_2

deannatrois wrote: »

If there was too much there.., its up to your child how much she eats.

That bit would really have annoyed me.

The child is not going to get fat eating piles of veg, she may however get fat should she choose to eat plies of macaroni cheese:cool:

rosalie-lavender

I am a lunchtime supervisor in a Primary school and I would be off to see the Head too. I would be less than impressed if my childs lunch was taken away.

We have a no sweets/fizzy drinks policy in our school but we never remove things from a lunchbox, we send a note home in the lunchbox reminding parents of the policy. In our school chocolate type biscuits and cake are fine it is just the larger chocolate bars and actual sweets that are not allowed.

The only time we would give a dinner instead of a packed lunch is if something has made the packed lunch inedible and the odd occasion where the lunch has been forgotten. Even then if there is time the parents are phoned and given the chance to bring lunch in if they are able/want to.

We do have an issue with the reception children sometimes having such enormous amounts of food in their lunchboxes that they get overwhelmed by it all and eat very little. It is usually mum hedging her bets and giving a wide choice of food so something gets eaten which often is counterproductive. A quiet word with Mum usually resolves the problem. This is obviously not the case in the OP's case and I can see no justification for removing the lunch.

The lunch sounds positively healthy compared to many I have seen.

As for Frubes though, some of our little darlings have discovered that if you twist an unopened frube or similar yogurt in the middle and keep twisting, it eventually explodes sending yogurt everywhere.:eek: I think the record is about 6 foot landing on another childs head. A stiff talking to by the teachers I think has resolved the problem for now anyway. Frube type yogurts are also the thing I get asked to open the most by the littlies, even the year 6's sometimes struggle with them.

bestpud

rosalie-lavender wrote: »

We do have an issue with the reception children sometimes having such enormous amounts of food in their lunchboxes that they get overwhelmed by it all and eat very little. It is usually mum hedging her bets and giving a wide choice of food so something gets eaten which often is counterproductive. A quiet word with Mum usually resolves the problem. This is obviously not the case in the OP's case and I can see no justification for removing the lunch.

The lunch sounds positively healthy compared to many I have seen.

As for Frubes though, some of our little darlings have discovered that if you twist an unopened frube or similar yogurt in the middle and keep twisting, it eventually explodes sending yogurt everywhere.:eek: I think the record is about 6 foot landing on another childs head. A stiff talking to by the teachers I think has resolved the problem for now anyway. Frube type yogurts are also the thing I get asked to open the most by the littlies, even the year 6's sometimes struggle with them.

I've recently started limiting dd's lunch box to three items: sandwich/roll + yogurt + fruit/vegetables (+drink of course) for that reason! Now she eats pretty much the lot every day and seems less hungry when she gets home.

Lol I thought Frubes would be easiest to deal with as dd tends to spill normal yogurts down her front. Now I'm wondering if the yogurt on her cardi is actually her yogurt!

mistrihelen

I can only imagine she thought hummus was akin to a dairylea dunkable or something similar, but they're really very different! Hummus and veg is far healthier than anything I ate as a kid. I'd be furious. Hope you can get it resolved today.

Zazen999

As hummus is chick peas, olive oil and lemon juice with some sesame oil then it IS veg....