Snack table at school

clairec79

Could you drop the fruit or yoghurt that you give her for lunch, so when she ha sthe fruit that is in school (because it's there and she'll eat it anyway) she's actually still having the same as you'd be giving her anyway

inkie

I am a minister and go into school as part of my work each week. They have open snack table there in the Foundation Stage.
The way that I would tackle this is not to give the fruit/yogurt after lunch at home. Just something light and simple and possibly a bit earlier too?

pigpen

Take a toothbrush and toothpaste into school and ask that the staff make sure she brushes her teeth after eating because the dentist is extremely concerned about the constant exposure to sugars the school are inflicting on her teeth!

Write to the governors about the increase in childhood obesity, dental caries and poor eating habits they are encouraging and ask how exactly that fits in with the schools healthy eating policy.

MrsE_2

tom9980 wrote: »

My partner (reception teacher) did a a lesson once on what the kids ate for breakfast and over half had just a drink or nothing! this was not a bad school or located in a particularly deprived area. So while you may not like the fact nutritious food is on offer for your child you can bet some of those kids will benefit from it during these very important early years..

While this is very true at proper break time would still be better. Those children who are really hungry will eat & those that just want to pick (like the OPs DD) won't eat so much they can't manage to sit & eat a family dinner.

MrsE_2

shy-but-need-help wrote: »

Others have a good point about kids missing breakfast, both the schools my kids have attended that offer the free fruit scheme & free milk have been in areas which the government/local authority have classified as "pockets of deprivation" which is why they offer what they do.

I used to work with a girl whose sister was a teacher in Ballymun in Dublin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballymun

An infamous estate of tower blocks.

The first thing they did in the morning was make a huge pot of porridge & feed the kids.
If they feel asleep in class they were happy to let them sleep where they were warm & safe, as many came from households where there was drug use/dealing, alcohol abuse, rowing & fighting all night.:(

HRV

This is advised as 'good practise'

Im a foundation stage teacher- we dont do it but lots of schools do. The children are supposed to have free access to snack throughout the session.

Free milk (until child is 5) and free fruit (up until year 2) is government provided- not just local deprived areas Im pretty sure.

I agree your daughter should not be spending that much time there and eating that much. Could you discuss it with her and ask her to choose one piece of snack rather than lots and then tell staff thats what youve asked her to do.

In our local authority we have food that are not allowed- we can not provide cracker or bread sticks.

In our school- a very deprived area- we cant afford the children NOT to have snack and milk as in many cases that is all they get which is why we dont have an open snack table (as some children may not choose to go there).

Becles

I've talked to my daughter about and said she is only to have one piece of fruit and one carton of milk. She gets reminded about it when she's dropped off, but it's not sinking in. If the food is laying there though and others are eating it, I can understand why she's tempted though.

I have talked to some other parents. The two girls she plays with most don't bother with it but they are faddy and hardly eat anything anyway.

Another boy eats loads with her, but he still eats all his tea as he has an older brother who has a school dinner, so their Mam gives both boys a sandwich or something light for tea, and she has a cooked meal with her husband later on.

Some have their 15 hours over 2½ days and pay for a school dinner or pack lunch on the full days. One mother said she doesn't bother with breakfast as she knows her son will eat at school, and another mother is having problems as her daughter eats too many snacks during the morning then gets into trouble for not eating her school dinner.

My Mam has her on a morning as I work, so she's responsible for giving her lunch. I don't want to ask her to have to make her a cooked lunch as it's a bit much expecting her to do that, but will see if she can cut down the food at lunchtime and see if that helps.

I have asked the teachers politely and non-confrontationally if they can remind her not to eat all the snacks, but they just look at me as if I've got two heads as they believe grazing all day on crackers and bread is healthy.

When they move into Year 1 and upwards, there is no food available during lesson time, so they have to learn to eat at lunch and break times. It's much harder to unlearn the behaviour of grazing all day, than teaching them to eat at set times in the first place.

hermanmunster_3

young children needs different amounts of food at different times - they are the best judges of this and grazing never hurts. the kids who are sat down to eat a meal can get fixated about it and after a a while can't judge the quantities themselves.

onlyroz

An open snack table does seem a bit odd. I think my son gets a piece of fruit during morning break.

plumtreebabe

I would be really concerned about the potential damage to their teeth exposing them to food constantly. If the children need breakfast then a 'breakfast' should be provided, not undermining a proper home cooked meal in the evening by grazing constantly.