Lunch Time

[Guest]

We have 2 children in my setting (brother & sister) who only have 2 packs of crisps for lunch & a fruit shoot drink. Has anybody had anything like this in their setting? what would be the best way of approaching parents about this?

[Marion]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I had a little boy who had a sugar sandwich for lunch every day. His mum said it was all he would eat yet he loved it when we made sandwiches with other fillings in school. The best I could achieve was for her to give him something else one day a week and we supplemented his diet in school. I have other children who have nothing but chocolate bars for lunch.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome!

 

Interesting one! Our 'rule' is that the children are encouraged to eat at least half of their sandwich/pasta/salad whatever, before starting anything else, parents are made aware of this and so generally pack something that their child will eat. Most of the time it works

 

Rachel

[Andreamay]

ooh marion sugar butties!! or icing sugar on toast was the best cos it melted!!

I used to take bread and marg when the cupboard was bare and tell my peers it was cheese spread!

But seriously it is a tuff one! I would perhaps say they seem hungry could you possibly put in a sandwich? One of our children dont like bread so they have pasta which we heat up for him is that possible.?

Andrea

[Shiny]

My daughter, 13 years old, has a very unhealthy lunch, she has a bag of crisps, a bag of cheddars and a chewy bar. She has a problem with eating in front of others. She is a nightmare, and could never eat a meal in a resturant. With the crisps/cheddars she can pop one in her mouth without others seeing. The chewy bar she eats between classes, while walking alone.

 

I have finally come to terms with her problem and at least she is eating now, since year 5 she has barely eaten anything outside the house, and these seemed to be the best compromise!! She went on a school trip last week for 5 days and lost 5lb while away!! I packed her a few bits she could eat while alone, but what else could I do?

[Emmawill]

it is annoying isn't it but we can only encourage gently can'twe.

I have now put it in my welsome pack that all packed lunches must not contain fizzy drinks or sweets as we had a child who had a lukozade sport (Hoe Hypo!!!!!!) and despite several reminders on newsletters etc still brings in his box 4 squares of sandwich,packet of crisps,penguin,fruit gums,kinder hippo and two capri sun drinks (Bouncing off the walls !!!!!).

I was wondering how we stand about healthy lunch boxes like the school we are in the grounds of . As they have just issued a letter stating No Crisps,sweets or chocolate bars of any description.

[HappyMaz]

Shiny raises a very important point: food is such a huge issue for children and for their families as they struggle to come to terms with the effects these issues have within the family, so these situations call for tact and understanding.

 

It can be very difficult to talk to parents about issues like these: healthy eating topics in the setting might help interest the children in broading their 'food horizons', and I know that some settings report that these children then exert pressure on their parents to provide fruit etc in their lunchboxes. Talking sensitively to parents about how they can improve the quality of their lunchboxes in very gentle and general ways rather than making them feel singled out or targeted is tricky - but displays and leaflets to go along with this kind of topic might help reinforce the message.

 

I speak as the mother of a child who, approaching five would only eat ryvita with peanut butter (not put in a sandwich. mind) for lunch after pre-school. For dinner he would only eat chicken nuggets and chips. I was at my wits' end - how on earth was I going to get these single ryvitas topped with peanut butter to school intact (and without them turning soggy!) for his lunch each day? Needless to say it all worked itself out - and he's now the most adventurous of my three children in terms of the food they will eat. We didn't have lunch club at our pre-school and my children have mostly eaten school dinners. But I know there have been times when my cupboards have been bare and their lunch boxes were probably not as healthy as they could have been.

 

Oh, and he hates chips now and wouldn't eat a chicken nugget if his life depended on it...

 

Maz

[Guest]

I have had a child like this this year. For lunch she brings without fail a huge sausage roll, 2 yoghurts, a packet of small jammy dodger, a packet of space rocket crisps and a packet of iced gems. She has awful health problems.

 

Luckily for me I was given the opportunity the other day to have a good talk with the parent and she was complaining about her daughters awful diet and I said why don't you pack her some fruit she loves everything at fruit time. Her mum was absolutely gobsmacked she honestly had no idea her daughter ate fruit. I also suggested she tried sandwiches to which mum replied she wouldn't eat them and I said what about trying toast. She now has toast, yoghurt, fruit and jammy dodgers and I am so proud of myself for negotiating this. The girls mum is also so pleased its great.

 

I agree its a real tricky area, I am amazed at the amount of food people pack in their childrens lunch boxes. It would never be approved of at Weightwatchers!!

 

A site that I was recommended from this forum had an information sheet regarding healthy lunches, I'll see if I can wrack my brain and find it.

[diesel10]

Hi everyone

 

Packed lunches are a tricky issue, but all our children do bring in a healthy lunch. Very early in the year, one child just had two fairy cakes and a drink, so in the newsletter I thanked everyone for supporting our healthy food policy and it never happened again.

 

Thanks