School Dinner Ladies

PolishBigSpender

A friend in the UK was just telling me a story about "Nazi" dinner ladies trying to make her daughter's life a living hell. Stories about her child being forced to eat rubbish like cottage pie, emotional blackmail being used (against a 7 year old!), shouting and confiscating things from her daughter's lunchbox have been told to me.

Apparently these women (why no men?) are very uncivilised individuals.

Is this normal?

Buick

cottage pie is delicious!

fluffnutter

I've just made a cottage pie for tea. Yum

DannyBo

Buick wrote: »

cottage pie is delicious!

fluffnutter wrote: »

I've just made a cottage pie for tea. Yum

School Dinner cottage pie is slightly different though :eek:

marisco_2

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Apparently these women (why no men?) are very uncivilised individuals.

Is this normal?

This is normal at my boys school. Hence why they have packed lunches. What with not wanting them to eat horse, recieving tiny portions of badly cooked food and rude staff I decided I would send them in with a healthy, nutritious lunch. Saving me money and my children hassle.

How wrong was I. Their school also has lunch box police who have the time to inspect what parents put in their kids lunch boxes and wont let children eat anything they deem unhealthy. One cheeky bint refused to allow my seven year old to eat some of my homemade flapjack, claiming it was not healthy. Silly woman.

In answer to your question, 'why no men?' I find they are less petty and would not consider doing a job in the ridiculous way many schools insist it is carried out.

jellyhead

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

A friend in the UK was just telling me a story about "Nazi" dinner ladies trying to make her daughter's life a living hell. Stories about her child being forced to eat rubbish like cottage pie, emotional blackmail being used (against a 7 year old!), shouting and confiscating things from her daughter's lunchbox have been told to me.

Apparently these women (why no men?) are very uncivilised individuals.

Is this normal?

I don't think it's usual, no.

My children have never had anything confiscated from their lunchbox. Nobody looks at the contents of their lunchboxes.

The school dinner menu is printed a month in advance and there are at least 3 choices for each day, so they could choose something else if they didn't like cottage pie. Neither of mine like it.

I can't believe she would be forced to eat it, but they might have asked her to try it if they thought she hadn't had enough food. I once had a phone call after my 7 year old hadn't eaten much. I said he'd had enough but they could give him bread and butter if they thought he needed it, and they let him go out to play. They called because they don't want a child to be left hungry, not because they are nazis or want to force feed children food that they dislike.

The dinner ladies shouldn't be shouting though. Perhaps your friend could arrange a meeting with the head if it's causing real problems. Alternatively your friend could ask for a guide to what's likely to be confiscated from lunchboxes, and give the child a packed lunch that will pass inspection, thus avoiding dinner ladies and their evil cottage pie.

What's 'rubbish' about cottage pie anyhow?

jellyhead

marisco wrote: »

How wrong was I. Their school also has lunch box police who have the time to inspect what parents put in their kids lunch boxes and wont let children eat anything they deem unhealthy. One cheeky bint refused to allow my seven year old to eat some of my homemade flapjack, claiming it was not healthy. Silly woman.

That's daft - they have flapjack, cake and custard etc. for pudding if they have school dinners :rotfl:

My kids schools don't have lunchbox police, and they don't have any policies regarding lunchbox contents. They don't even have a playground snack policy - the head tried to introduce one but she made the mistake of allowing parents to vote on it.

fluffnutter

marisco wrote: »

This is normal at my boys school. Hence why they have packed lunches. What with not wanting them to eat horse, recieving tiny portions of badly cooked food and rude staff I decided I would send them in with a healthy, nutritious lunch. Saving me money and my children hassle.

How wrong was I. Their school also has lunch box police who have the time to inspect what parents put in their kids lunch boxes and wont let children eat anything they deem unhealthy. One cheeky bint refused to allow my seven year old to eat some of my homemade flapjack, claiming it was not healthy. Silly woman.

It's no doubt frustrating when you personally know that your child's lunch is nutritious, but... statistically speaking school dinners are better for children than the majority of packed lunches.

According to a study by Leeds University in 2010, only 1% of packed lunches meet nutritional standards. Since government regulated what state schools can serve, school dinners have improved dramatically. For many pupils then, having dinner at school will be better than the wotsits mum's stuck in their lunchbox. That's why schools get all 'Nazi' about it, I guess.

PasturesNew

fluffnutter wrote: »

According to a study by Leeds University in 2010, only 1% of packed lunches meet nutritional standards.

Probably because it's all so confusing, nobody would even know what would count/not. I couldn't tell you my 4rse from my elbow when it comes to nutrition - nor can I even begin to fathom out how it could be calculated and correct.

Lunchbox would be "you get what you're given" - same as at home.

jellyhead

fluffnutter wrote: »

It's no doubt frustrating when you personally know that your child's lunch is nutritious, but... statistically speaking school dinners are better for children than the majority of packed lunches.

According to a study by Leeds University in 2010, only 1% of packed lunches meet nutritional standards. Since government regulated what state schools can serve, school dinners have improved dramatically. For many pupils then, having dinner at school will be better than the wotsits mum's stuck in their lunchbox. That's why schools get all 'Nazi' about it, I guess.

Maybe, but who puts wotsits or any other crisps into a lunchbox? A bag of crisps is a massive treat, and not something that many children would have daily.

Our school doesn't make children eat any veg, and they are unlikely to take fruit when there are muffins and cakes on offer. My nephews get free dinners and they seem to eat purely refined carbs for their school dinners. There's a salad bar they can visit if they wish to, and I reckon it's the idea of them eating salad that meets nutritional criteria, and custard for dairy.

Today's menu is cottage pie served with potatoes! Or jacket potato, or cheese whirls with potatoes. I don't know what a cheese whirl is, but I don't think those mains with a choice of sponge and custard or a flapjack will be much healthier than the average lunchbox, even if they eat the green beans or broccoli on offer.

Maybe I'm being naive about what other people put in a lunchbox though. When I allow mine to have school meals (once a week or less often) he begs for snacks in the playground afterwards. He's probably making poor food choices, but then he's not the only child who'll do that.

Own_My_Own

jellyhead wrote: »

Maybe, but who puts wotsits or any other crisps into a lunchbox? A bag of crisps is a massive treat, and not something that many children would have daily.


Maybe I'm being naive about what other people put in a lunchbox though.

You would be amazed how many children have crisps everyday.

Yes you are being naive.