School Dinners

[madmum]

Hi, my oldest son has just started school and was taking packed lunches. He was coming home with an almost full lunchbox, and on one occasion only ate a packet of raisins. I tried talking to his teacher who insisted he must have eaten something or the dinner ladies would have said something. His teacher has told me everyday she will find out what he has eaten, but never comes up with anything more than a reason why she couldn`t. He`s had school dinners this week, his teacher tells me he`s been eating them but he insists he hasn`t. I know kids lie sometimes, but he`s only 4, why would he lie about something like that? I`m gonna go back to packed lunches, at least I can see if he`s eaten then. I`m not sure what to do about it now, has anyone got any suggestions?

[Ravenfire]

Oh how annoying. If you are concerned he isnt eating and have asked them to keep an eye they should do just that. I was called into school when my dd wasnt eating much so that the teacher could make me aware. Is your son normally a good eater at home, if so, I would try and find out from him what it is about eating at school that he doesnt like. As you say, with a packed lunch at least you know what he is/isnt eating

[Netty]

At my kid's school, it is policy for all food wrappers/packets etc to be kept in the lunchbox - that way parents can see what has/has not been eaten.

If they are on school dinners, the supervisors are supposed to "encourage" them to eat, but can't force them!

My dd is 4 and just started in reception. She takes a packed lunch and usually eats most of it at 3.15 while we are waiting for ds to finish at 3.30!

[bikemad]

Same here with packed lunch all the empty packets n wrappers etc are left in the lunch bag so you know exactly what the kid has eaten-ds is packed lunches mainly for that reason so as I know what he has eaten.

If you arent happy about the way the school are being write a letter to the head asking can they please tell you what you child is eating at dinner time for a week or 2 or however long and say if they dont then you will go to the local education authority-trust me threaten them with that and they will soon do what you want-dp did it with sd n ive done it with ds and now the school bend over backwards to accomadate any request I have. :yes:

[Azzi]

you'll probally find he is wanting to get on and play with his mates , I shouldn't worry to much hes not going to starve just make sure there is stuff in his packed lunch that he likes and can be used the next day if he doesn't eat it , and if your still worried after a few more weeks why not consider having him home for lunch (even though this can be a pain)

Make sure he eats breakfast before school and he will be fine, you might find he is still full up from breakfast anyway my kids don't normally get hungry till after 1 in the holidays so perhaps expecting him to eat at 12 when he isn't hungry is a bit much

[Jen]

I agree, children are not always hungry at dinner time especially if they’ve had a good breakfast. Does he have a drink? if so I wouldn't worry I bet when he comes home he is ready for his tea.

[bonnybubble]

Katie was the same when she 1st started school, but i had a chat with her and because she is such a slow eater everyone else was finnishing before her and she wanted to go play with her friends so she would leave her dinner, and she still does this even though i have tryed to stop it i cant. I just make sure she eats all her breakfast and has someting extra before we leave. I hope you get it sorted soon.

[madmum]

He`s getting much better for eating now, I`ve been giving him less, just sandwiches and a couple of bits of fruit, have told him he only has to eat one bit of fruit, so he eats all his sandwiches and 1 bit of fruit. Maybe its because he has a bit of a choice now.

[Trinity]

Like most of you, I found when I gave packed lunches things were not been eaten and when I quizzed my daughter about it, she did mention that if she ate everything there would be no time to play!

She now has school dinners as I like the thought of her getting something hot and the school lunches here are pretty good.

[Ravenfire]

My girls (eldest two) have been having school dinners are they are really enjoying them. They quite often having jacket potatoes with a filling and they also do a chicken wrap much like the one from KFC with the chicken and salad in and my eldest loves those (a bit like her mum..lol)

[EveryRose]

This is why I won't be giving DS1 school dinners when he starts reception in January cos I know he's a fussy eater and probably wouldn't eat anything there. At least you can see what they eat in packed lunch (if they don't dispose of it that is LOL)

[bikemad]

Neraly all the kids round here have packed lunch now cos of the ecoli outbreak none of the parents want to risk the dinners!!!

I prefer it tho cos I know what ds has n hasnt eaten.