How to stop the lunchbox police!

mrs_marty

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Which is as a direct result of being part of the Food for Life Partnership, mentioned in my earlier post

I hadn't realised, but have to say appears to be very effective

Sambucus_Nigra

mrs_marty wrote: »

I hadn't realised, but have to say appears to be very effective

Most people won't realise - just keep your fingers crossed that the funding can be found to continue the work.

meritaten

there appears to be a few 'issues' here.
one I found particularly relevant was the poster who asked about it being a 'national' issue - I understand that! some schools dont police lunch boxes - some do! This is what worries me - how many schools police lunch boxes?
is it a majority or a minority that could perhaps be dealt with on a local level?
Are MSE parents more 'aware' of the anomalies that happen and therefore post with some regularity on here?
Are instances of children being told off about the contents of their lunchboxes a rarity? if so - it really is a case of a parent dealing with this themselves!
thoughts please?

moomoomama27

Thankfully at my childrens school there are no lunchbox police about! When a school is serving up chips up to 3x a week, and high fat/sugar puddings then IMO they don't really have a leg to stand on!

My children have crisps or cake/cereal bar most days as well as fruits/yoghurts/soups/rolls/sandwhiches etc. We lead a healthy lifestyle, do lots of exercise, as I don't drive, and partake in sporting clubs outside of school, so I'm not worried if they eat 'banned foods' (by scome schools standards! They are not on a diet, and I have their best interests at heart, and make decisions that I feel are right for them! I don;t need some jumped up jobsworth telling them that a food is bad! Everything in moderation!

ETA a selection of the above, not all in one packed lunch.

meritaten

VfM4meplse wrote: »

You don't need to look at the label to know that it is f*cking disgusting and should be banned for that reason alone.

Cruelty to paeds .

Your post was totally out of order and has been reported!

**curlywurly**

moomoomama27 wrote: »

Everything in moderation!

This is surely the point: moderation.

As part of a balanced diet, there is nothing wrong with a slice of something nice with your lunch! Yes, of course obesity and diabetes may be an issue, but equally there is a big problem with children becoming obsessed with their weight/figure. I think schools should stick to what they are there for - education. Educate the children about healthy foods, yes (and the parents if they must) but playing some sort of enforcement role as to what you can and can't feed your own children ought to be stopped.

patchwork_cat

DUTR wrote: »

Well if a balanced diet is supplied for lunch then there are no worries, look at the label on a malt loaf, not exactly a wonder food is it?

I don't agree it is less than 1% fat and 3 % salt and 5% sugar. This has gone too far and whilst I have nothing but contempt for the parents passing chips through the fence, children are growing and I believe that they need different proportions of nutrients in their foods than adults.

This article states that children need more fat http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/aug/16/health.lifeandhealth

So in fact Malt loaf without added butter, could be argued to not be suitable for children as it does not contribute to their daily fat intake enough!!

moomoomama27

**curlywurly** wrote: »

This is surely the point: moderation.

As part of a balanced diet, there is nothing wrong with a slice of something nice with your lunch! Yes, of course obesity and diabetes may be an issue, but equally there is a big problem with children becoming obsessed with their weight/figure. I think schools should stick to what they are there for - education. Educate the children about healthy foods, yes (and the parents if they must) but playing some sort of enforcement role as to what you can and can't feed your own children ought to be stopped.

I totally agree, and am so against the term, bad food, naughty food! As you said, it can be just as damaging to a child to be obsessed with food/weight, and I think that it's fair that children have to carry the burden of their parents bad choices (as seen by a school). Obviously if there are real issues, then you would hope they may approach the parents, but labelling food as wrong is awful!

My children know that in the main their food choices are healthy, but I try and stick to the 80%/ 20% rule, so each day they do have a couple of higher fat/sugar foods, as part of a balanced diet!

*max*

meritaten wrote: »

Your post was totally out of order and has been reported!

I'm pretty sure "paeds" in his post means "children".

gingin_2

http://www.myschoollunch.co.uk/cambridgeshire/files/general/Winter%202011%20A3%20Choice%20Menu.pdf

this is a link to my authority's school lunch menu, if anyone is interested. the quality is pretty poor, apparently. Food is pre-cooked and reheated on the premises.