School dinner times

MattMattMattUK

ripplyuk said:

I’m really surprised at comments here. I take around 30 mins to eat a meal and have always been that way.

That might be normal for you, but it does not mean that it is normal in the general population. The way things operate can not always be modified to accommodate the outliers, accommodations should be made where reasonable, but sometimes the reasonable modification is for the outlier to change their behaviour.

ripplyuk said:

The normal health advice is is slow eating down, not shovel the meal in in 15 mins which will not be good for digestion.

It is to chew the food, not to slow down eating, or if taking 30+ minutes that is basically stop eating in between short periods of eating activity. 

ripplyuk said:

Fast eating has also been linked to obesity as the brain takes time to recognise that you’re full. Given the obesity epidemic, reducing mealtimes further seems like a really stupid idea. 

The obesity "epidemic" had two primary factors, ever increasing portion size and ever decreasing activity, with the second factor of more refined sugars causing drops in blood sugar which trigger hunger, eating speed has nothing to do with it. The majority are not eating significantly quicker than 30+ years ago. Whilst the brain can take a period of time to realise that the stomach is full, the brain of the person consuming food is also aware of how much they have eaten. I sometimes eat quickly, sometimes slower, never have I taken thirty minutes or more to consume a single course, nor am I obese, some of the slowest eaters I know are obese, some of the quickest I know are slim, largely because it takes a lot less time to eat a lot less food.

ripplyuk said:

I also think it’s important for kids to learn to eat politely, not like pigs at a trough. 

There is a huge difference between taking half an hour or more to eat a meal and eating like a pig, one can eat perfectly politely, cleanly and tidily, not overfilling one's mouth, using the correct cutlery and not take thirty minutes to consume a meal.  One can eat slowly, but making a mess, talking with their mouth open, shovelling food in then being slow to chew etc. the two are not connected.

ripplyuk said:

OP, I’d make a complaint to the board of governors.

A complaint to the governors seems a tad extreme, it has to be recognised that taking 30-45 minutes to eat a simple meal, when the vast majority have having no issue in consuming it in less than 15 minutes, means that there are other issues which should be investigated first, rather than simply looking to be confrontational with teachers.