School lunches

Mamie, I agree totally that the issues are very complex.
But there semm to be regional differences, even in Britain, and certainly food disorders to seem to be more frequent in the UK - for whatever reasons. As part of the school board, we discuss health issues and individual cases often, and I've not yet come across of any case yet in our region.

Kids here always eat as a family, and I do not know of any family who has telly on during meals, although they may exist.

Forgot, kids who are obese or show signs of becoming so, are seen by the school doctor with parents, and kept an eye on by said school doctor. With food diaries, etc. So 'government' concerns exist here too, even though we do not have a problem overall, just a few individual cases, and 2 families in particular, where both parents are obsese too.

Send to school on a good breakfast, boiled eggs or whatever. I survived on chips n beans n bread rolls as a kid. Skool dinners were lacklustre. From about the age 14 I packed my own Lunch. Mum was far too busy. I did loads of sports at lunchtime and after school.. Was never fat n always well fed, a hot nutritious meal at dinner time.(After school) How much food do you need these days?!.....

This seems to suggest there is a growing childhood obesity problem in Switzerland.

Minute compared to UK, and I did say it was on the increase, and the reason why local school boards, with the support of local government, employ school doctors and nurses to try and help and support families.

In my area at least, which is rural, and where kids eat with their parents for all 3 main meals. An interesting article, and the chapter about the consequences of obesity and poor diet is particularly interesting, and explain why governments have to become involved.

It would be interesting to know what proportion of UK families to eat together at the table on a daily basis.

I'm sure there have been surveys. But it's difficult for most families to eat together at the table for even one meal a day, never mind three!

A lot of parents work, children often have to eat their evening meal before their parents as one or other is late coming back from work - we no longer live in an ideal 'Janet and John' family world.

It's difficult, because I know some parents rely on school lunches as being their children's main meal of the day, so they think they can just give them a snack for tea when they get home. Judging by some of the school menus I've seen, that probably isn't a good decision.

Exactly Ana my son and daughter in law both work shifts. It is very hard for them to sit down and have a family meal all together (perhaps every third Sunday or whatever). The children do eat at my house regularly and I make a point of always setting the table (complete with table cloth that they take it in turn to choose) and we thoroughly enjoy the experience of having dinner or tea together all talking together about our day. I find the children eat better when I put everything into serving dishes and they can help themselves.

I don't agree that school should provide the main meal of the day. If you have kids....I really think/hope its a responsibility to sit down with yer off spring at a meal at least once a day.(However busy you are) Evening meal is good and chew the cud of the day. How can u not do that as a parent.

We've always eaten together at the table. It's the time for talking for one thing.

Still do it now it's just me and 'im.

But it is different these days. Ours was quite a Janet and John life.

We were having lunch in Venice one day and a family party was sitting on the next table. The waiter brought them a vast platter of assorted seafood - all claws and tentacles. One little girl of about 7 turned her nose up at this offering and I thought gosh! an italian child who's fussy about food! The waiter came back with a big plate of proscuitto, salami and pancetta and she spent the rest of the meal working her way through it. I couldn't imagine an english child sitting there shovelling down a plate of raw meat!

laidback, I agree that it shouldn't be expected that schools provide the main meal of the day - I'm just saying that some parents do expect that.

Yes. I agree Ana but parents and grandparents, more so these days should and do take responsibility for child care. An evening meal with your parents or grandparents is priceless. It provides security and ultimately happy kids. I think. Am sure good childcare is available but I have no experience of long hours.

My GDs always sit at the table with my DD for their evening meal, though my SiL is back too late Everyone at the table for all three meals at the weekend and the tele is off.
The norm here, and in other parts of France I have visited, is for the table and chairs to take up a large part of the room (separate sitting rooms still unusual) and the television is on the wall so everyone sits and watches while they eat. It is usually the news that is on.

Would add that everyone here in France eats school lunches, no packed lunches allowed and very difficult for vegetarians. When I was teaching here, all the staff sat down to a three course lunch (no four there was always a cheese board) and it took most of the lunch break. Resources were very poor compared to English schools, but we ate well. My grandchildren in Spain go to school from 9 until 2 when they finish for the day and come home for lunch. They have a yoghurt or a piece of fruit mid-morning. It seems to work for them.

The argument against banning packed lunches seems to boil down to cost for parents and children who are fussy eaters and may not eat school dinners.
If school.dinners were free for everyone and there was a reasonable choice then the problem would be solved.
Is that too much to cost out?
I've mentioned before that type 2 diabetes costs the NHS £1,000,000 an hour and this is largely preventable. And in so e cases reversible.
Think what extra hospitals, schools, better care for the elderly, etc could be bought if we can save £24,000,000 every day.

Rational and interesting argument Aka. If only governments were as sensible !

That does sound like a good plan, aka, and I would be in favour of it. Currently DD3 buys her lunch at school. The choices on offer clearly include what she likes, namely cheese and/or ham sandwiches (although they call them panninis).

It would be nice if I didn't have to pay for them, but of course I always would have to pay for them – through taxes if not directly as at the moment.

I liked the idea that school kids should not be allowed to leave school premises at lunch time when I read it (can't remember whose suggestion it was), but then when I thought further about it I wondered if that could mean more lunch-time supervisors would be necessary – possible hidden extra costs because I think teachers should get a kid-free lunch hour. Plus, who'd want to supervise hundreds of teenagers who just wanted adults to leave them alone for an hour?

Not easy.

BTW, from what she tells me the other choices sound good: hot 'traditional' meals (meat and two veg type stuff), pasta, salads, soup, fruit, yogurt.

Her school (all Argyll secondary schools) have a cashless catering system. Parents put money on a card which gets swiped to pay for the meal. You can put money on it online or give your kid money to put on it at a machine inside school. The dinner ladies don't take money directly from the kids. It also means the kids don't have to carry money at school.

So, you see, there are good systems in place.

I've been reading this thread with interest and it has certainly provoked some strong feelings. When I was a child we were forced to eat the revolting school dinners and I have unpleasant memories of distressed children vomiting and of kids crying who were kept at the table all afternoon with their congealing food in front of them. My DD developed eating problems after her dad left when she was 9. She went to a school that banned packed lunches and so she went hungry all day, returning tired and with terrible headaches. So I don't go along with those who think 'fussy' eaters can be starved into submission. There is a large secondary school on the corner of my road and the kids there vote with their feet, streaming out of school into the chippies and take aways. I can't see that banning packed lunches will do anything to help our children eat a balanced and nutritious diet. I think that the growth of childhood obesity is inexorably linked to the examples they see in the adults around them. Many adults simply do not practice what they preach.

There is an interesting article here by Helena Frith-Powell.
helenafrithpowell.com/daily-telegraph/french-school-dinners

I think she has a bit of a rosy view and I never saw anything as nice as that, but interesting.
I do know that when we had French headteachers visiting our LA, they were always amazed by how good the equipment was for learning (especially books, computers, art, music, science and PE), but appalled by the food and the five minute sandwich for the teachers.