School Meals

[mash]

Mum's taking food orders and passing fish and chips through the school fence to their children at a Doncaster school. Why, because (in their words) they are giving the kids what they want, rather then the healthy stuff they don't want to eat.
Are all parents loosing the plot these days or are these people still in the minority?
I welcome your general thoughts on this subject.

[keyvan]

This is just rediculous. Do these people never learn what they are doing to their children. I just wonder why Jamie Oliver spent all that time in school encouraging healthy eating and pushing for more budget when it is actually parents like these that need a bit of educating.
It doesn't matter how much money is spent on healthy food. So long as parents keep stuffing their children with junk it is very difficult to break the habit.

[mushroom25]

in an attempt to stop pupils disappearing at lunchtimes and getting back late afterwards, the school concerned has reduced the lunch break to 30 minutes.

since the school canteen is quite unable to serve the entire school in such a short time, some pupils cannot get the school lunch - healthy or otherwise - and are now going hungry.

hence "feeding time" at the gates.

[saxy_jag]

Doesn't matter how good and wholesome the food is. If kids don't like what the school's serving, then unless they can get an alternative they do like, they're going to go hungry. Rather they ate something than nothing, even if it is 'bad' for them.

[*Red*Queen*]

I can't believe it! You have to give your kids the best start, ok sometimes the school dinners dont taste good to some children, but to feed them fish and chips through the bars??? Sheesh!! Why dont they provide the child with a packed lunch or something?? (maybe because the fish & chips would be cold by then!!) But seriously, the parents are wrong to do this, its ridiculious!

[saxy_jag]

What's wrong with fish and chips?

[Gef]

Well said saxy. I'd much rather children had something to eat at lunchtime that nothing at all. At the end of the day it is up to parents, not schools, to educate children about eating healthily.

The school where I work has now stopped serving chips, fizzy drinks etc. As a result fewer children are having school lunches and the school has no control over what is in packed lunches or kids going to the local shops.

[black bunny]

Why on earth can't these kids, if they hate the school dinners so much, take a packed lunch? They can decide what to put in it - it doesn't have to be sandwiches every day.They could take a salad, or cooked rice or pasta, or cooked sliced sausage or burger or chicken, with all sorts chucked in, peas, peppers, cubes of cheese,spring onions, tuna, grated carrot - I could go on and on. Surely they can come up with something they do like?

[joko]

i was at friend house and he little boy (9) came in and asked for another piece of melon, he pretty much begged, but she told him no, he's had enough, and to finish his coke!!

weirdly, she cooks fresh food every single meal time from scratch, she is from ghana so its good healthy stuff, like rice, and vegetables etc

so i was baffled as to why she wouldn't let him have it, most parents would love their kids to be despearte for a piece of melon rather than sweets or burgers

its not even like melon is expensive!

[saxy_jag]

I know when I was at school, many girls were on free dinners. Their parents couldn't always afford to provide packed lunches and some of them would go hungry rather than eat the muck that the school kitchen served up as food.

Also, it's not just about diet. It's a whole lifestyle thing. During WW2, kids ate loads of reconstituted food - spam, snoek, powdered egg, etc. The diet was fatty and starchy, yet they never had the obesity problems then that we have now. I think that's because they had this attitude then of, 'if you want it, you have to go and get it'. These days it's more like, 'if you want it, ask and it will be given, on a plate, and all gift wrapped and tied with a pretty bow.

I watched that programme recently about ten kids who went on a WW2 style evacuation to a farm. They had to work, get their own food and learn to live without computers and mobile phones. It was amazing to see all these kids change from 'want it now' kids into the sort who put their heart, soul and back into everything they did, within the space of two weeks. At the end, their parents were commenting on how well they looked. And they weren't exactly eating pasta and salad every day.

[Rock'n'Roll]

Their kids probably want a fag and alcopop as well,wonder if they also provide those. Nothing wrong with fish and chips occassionally,feed it to em when they get home.
Fried food on a daily basis,which the article was hinting was the case,is just negligence when the health risk is well known

[spudqueen]

Saw one of the Mums concerned on the news this morning. She said she did it because of the kids freedom of choice. When I was a kid the only choice I had was like it or lump it!

[lorraine29]

when i saw this item on the news i was disgusted, if they really want their own kids to eat the junk food that was on offer they should take them home for lunch . what disgusted me more than anything was that they were providing these meals to any children who were willing to pay, as a parent i was be so angry that someone else saw fit to feed my child junk while i was sending them to school with money to buy a healthy meal. if i want my child to eat junk rather than school meals i would bring my child home.

Also in the case of an allergic reaction or case of some bad reaction, fish bones or something, who would the parents hold responsible, when the kids are out on the school field away from adult supervision?

Lorraine x

[mash]

Thanks for all you answers. My feelings are:
Fish and Chips, fine once a week but not everyday!
What's all this freedom of choice for kids noncense?
They won't eat healthy stuff. Rubbish. They don't because they have been feed rusbbish from an early age and its all they know. People can eat anything if they have/want to. I have no interest in crisps, why, because I didn't get them as a child. I'm pleased I didn't get them.
However parents choose to justify giving their children junk everyday, they should recognise they are killing them slowly.
Finally why do so many parents think that only junk food is quick or cheap food, this couldn't be further from the truth.
It seems some serious education is required for parents and children about food and diet.

[andy-hughes]

You have established the essence of the problem in your final answer mash.

Eating a healthy diet is not something that a lot of children are brought up with. That coupled with the trndy notion of giving children 'choice' in school meals has given rise to the current situation. Children should have some choices, but in the majority of cases, they will choose what they like, which may not be the same as what they need. Let's face it, if schoolchildren were given a 'choice' about coming to school at all, most of them would opt for stopping away - but happily, they are not given a 'choice' about it.

The government believes that providing a healthy diet at school is the end of the problem, whereas in fact, as with society's ills in general, the problem lies with parental education about diet and nutrition, in the same was as it does about respect and discipline.

Trying to swim against the tide at school lunch time is a brave, but doomed idea.

[mrrobbo15]

your everyday cook isnt going to, however hard they try create food like jamie oliver

shame but thats life

[trish1234567]

Are the mums concerned licenced to 'hawk' outside the school? I think not. Perhaps the police should step in here.

[Ms.Hijinx]

the trouble is that you have kids raising kids and that schools overstep the mark,they are there to educate in various curriculum subjects not lifestyle, how does what a child eats,wears or keeps their hair affect their brain power, schools should get back to schooling and jamie oliver can feed his kids what he wants we live in a democracy, i do agree that if it is a rule until such a time that comonsense prevails it should be enforced otherwise you are just teaching kids that rules mean nothing , mind you most of them are so full of "i know my rights" that they dont obey the rules anyway.

[admarlow]

did you see the mums, most off them should lay off the pies, let alone their kids! The school should just put up some chicken wire over the fence so no food could be passed through it!