School Dinner Ladies

thunderbird

I think that if a school issues specific 'rules' to parents on what isn't allowed in lunchboxes then it seems fair enough if items that break these rules are confiscated and given back at the end of the day. At my son's school they say no sweets, chocolate (although 1 chocolate coated bar, like a penguin is allowed) or fizzy drinks).
Giving a general 'no unhealthy food' guideline is pointless as that is a matter of opinion not fact.

I have tasted the hot school dinners that they provide, which we are informed meet strict healthy guidelines, and the desserts are unbelievably sweet and sickly.

jellyhead

anniemf2508 wrote: »

you have your pricings wrong there.....the little bags of fruit are 3 for a £1 in Tesco and you can get 12 bags of crisps for 68p. Fruit is hardly cheaper that way.

Yes, ooops! I was thinking of a bar of chocolate, not a packet of crisps. Some people have said they've seen large bars in lunchboxes, but even the small bars are quite expensive, unless you buy multipacks in poundland.

jellyhead

maman wrote: »

If parents care so much and are so disapproving of school meals and the quality of supervision why don't they take their children home at lunchtime? It may not be possible for all (due to transport difficulties in rural areas for example) but, certainly at primary level, what with unemployment and shift work and SAHMs etc. etc. there must be loads who could.

It's not allowed. Does anyone go to a primary school where children are allowed to go home for lunch?

I'd have liked the opportunity, especially when they are only just turned 4.

I'm not unhappy about the quality of supervision, and as far as I know the dinner ladies at my youngest's primary are nice. I usually think my son's packed lunch is healthier than the school meal (and a smaller portion - they get loads!) but I can work around that by making the school meal an occasional treat.

My comments about unhealthy puddings were in relation to 'lunchbox police' who would take a flapjack off a child while they could have had it if they'd been choosing a pudding with their school meal. It's the double standards that I found unfair, but it doesn't affect me because we don't have lunchbox police.

Reggie_Rebel

My wife is a Dinner Lady and is now not surprised by what parents put in the lunch boxes for their kids.

Consider this, a child goes to school with a Mars bar, a Snickers bar a packet of salt and vinegar and four chocolate biscuits. No fruit, no sandwiches no 'healthy' stuff at all.

Or a child is on free school meals but turns up with a lunch box with a Mars bar and a packet of Salt and vinegar in it and goes home with the sandwiches, fruit and shortbread provided as 'I don't like them but my dad will eat them'

pigpen

jellyhead wrote: »

It's not allowed. Does anyone go to a primary school where children are allowed to go home for lunch?.

ALL the children are 'allowed' to go home for lunch.. they are your children still between 9am and 3pm and you can take them home for lunch if you wish.. I'd like to see someone tell me I couldn't bring my children home for lunch.

msb5262

I've never known a primary school where children aren't allowed home for lunch!

Sadly I've seen many awful lunchboxes, especially those which parents think are healthy - processed ham on processed bread, packet of crisps, chocolate bar, apple is one very popular combination.

A family with an obese 7 year old was sending the Asd* version of Dairylea Lunchables every day, along with a packet of crisps.
It seems to be accepted that crisps and/or chocolate every single day is ok!

I also knew of one family at a posh village primary school where the mum put only chocolate bars and crisps into her child's lunch, stating, "If I give him a sandwich, he won't eat it,". No protein, no fruit, no vegetables.

The dinner lady (TeresaO) upthread said, "Don't get me started on drinks..." and I agree. Teaching children in the afternoon when they've had a blue cup drink or an energy drink with lunch is HELL!


The problem with giving parents choices is that some parents make awful choices e.g. sandwiches with mould on (this is true) or the examples above. It really is a vicious circle.

anniemf2508

My daughters school is an academy and the school meals were revamped not long ago to apparently be healthy...she is entitled to free school meals at the moment but i'm thinking of returning to a packed lunch as what she eats at lunch doesn't seem to be that healthy...generally she will have either a cheese panini, pizza slice, some kind of savoury pastry or pasta, a cake and a sugary drink.

couponqueen123

pigpen wrote: »

ALL the children are 'allowed' to go home for lunch.. they are your children still between 9am and 3pm and you can take them home for lunch if you wish.. I'd like to see someone tell me I couldn't bring my children home for lunch.

i could take dd home if i wished for lunch but the school try to discourage this as it dosnt look good

jellyhead

couponqueen123 wrote: »

i could take dd home if i wished for lunch but the school try to discourage this as it dosnt look good

Why doesn't it look good?

I'm sure we were told that they couldn't go home, but I'll have to check because our school doesn't have a website or anything online.

balletshoes

jellyhead wrote: »

Why doesn't it look good?

I'm sure we were told that they couldn't go home, but I'll have to check because our school doesn't have a website or anything online.

Our primary school allows children to go home for lunch ~ at age 4 one of my daughters classmates went home for lunch every day. i personally dont think it helped her settle at school because all the other kids stayed for lunch at school.