Six-year-old schoolboy expelled for having Mini Cheddars in his lunchbox

[octothorp]

Yeah, it's just a bizarre thing for patents to dig their heels in over, given that including one piece of fruit in their kids' lunch probably would have been enough to make this problem go away, and instead they got their kids expelled. Only reasons for not making the necessary changes are: you actually believe that all those processed, packaged foods are healthy; you're too lazy to keep fresh fruit around to include in lunches; or you're just stubborn and looking to pick a fight with your school. None of those make you good parents.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

I miss the days where I could just crush a bag of Ichiban noodles, dump the flavouring into it and eat that dry for lunch.

[GGG]

I would like to see what the "School Provided Lunch" that you are charged for is before passing judgement. Usually they are just as bad as whay the parents are sending. All in all I don't have an issue with a school having strict nutritional requirements because as a society we have to start somewhere in re-learning how to cook for ourselves and make our own lunches without going straight to the grocery store shelves to get our processed food.

Cut up some veggies, and add a piece of fruit and you are 75% of the way there. Get rid of the cheese spread snack for real cheese and vegatables, and switch out the crisps for a piece of fruit and you got a pretty good lunch.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GGG

Cut up some veggies, and add a piece of fruit and you are 75% of the way there. Get rid of the cheese spread snack for real cheese and vegatables, and switch out the crisps for a piece of fruit and you got a pretty good lunch.

Everyone is busy, what you are suggesting takes at least 5-10 minutes to do.

[Hessen]

Originally Posted by GGG

Cut up some veggies, and add a piece of fruit and you are 75% of the way there. Get rid of the cheese spread snack for real cheese and vegatables, and switch out the crisps for a piece of fruit and you got a pretty good lunch.

You'd be missing protein (meat) and wheat in your example. In fact by the standards they are trying to set in some areas of the States Vegans would never have "healthy" lunches either.

Wasn't there a similar post a few months ago about this?

[Locke]

I think its hilariously ironic that a British school think's they're the authority on healthy food. Have you ever had British food?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Hessen

You'd be missing protein (meat) and wheat in your example. In fact by the standards they are trying to set in some areas of the States Vegans would never have "healthy" lunches either.

Wasn't there a similar post a few months ago about this?

I think he was talking about on top of the sandwich.

However, if he wasn't, there was cheese and carbs with the fruits and veggies. There isn't a need to actually have meat and grain at every meal. A 6 year old should have one serving of meat and 4 servings of grains in a day. A sandwich is probably over half of the daily requirement for the kid, so it would be likely excessive.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Hessen

You'd be missing protein (meat) and wheat in your example. In fact by the standards they are trying to set in some areas of the States Vegans would never have "healthy" lunches either.

Wasn't there a similar post a few months ago about this?

I assumed that the sandwich in the original post would have protein in it. My point in general was that making small changes of getting rid of the real crap and adding fruits and veggies is very simple.

[ernie]

I'll be honest my goal when I pack my kids (5 and 7) lunches for school is that they eat it so they are not hungry at school. I control breakfast and dinner so that I know they are getting the nutrition they need. If I need to throw in some cookies or kids sized pringles or bologna with crackers into the lunch to make sure they actually eat and have a full stomach I damn well do it.

That said the kids generally love to eat oranges, apples, applesauce (unsweetened) that it usually isn't hard to pack them a healthy lunch. But they go through phases and when that lunch box starts coming back home full, things need to be changed up.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Nutritional issues aside, that kid looks like an a*****e.

[Wastedyouth]

You should be able to sue a school over such stupidity.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I wonder how many of the teachers waddle off for a smoke and a Big Mac over lunch.

It's a funny example and the parents obviously wanted to pick a fight, but to my old man sensibilities this is a giant leap over the line of what a school ought to be enforcing.

[octothorp]

Also, that photo is using the classic 'hide the chubby parts' angle. A quick google search suggests that he isn't exactly svelte as that photo makes him look.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Also, that photo is using the classic 'hide the chubby parts' angle. A quick google search suggests that he isn't exactly svelte as that photo makes him look.

This kid does not look chunky at all.

But it is obvious that his jacket from his school uniform is too big.

[doctajones428]

Crackers and yogurt? Holy hell what a unhealthy pig!

At least it's not Fruit Gushers and Dankaroos

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by fotze

Ya, that's why I am reluctant to relinquish control to schools over this. There are different situations where kids are nuts and will only eat this stuff depending on their situation. i.e. coming from a bad home where all they have known is this.

Sometimes its better temporarily to get less nutritious stuff in them than nothing.

That's true, but how much of that is caused by them seeing other kids eating crap like lunchables an wondering why they can't have it too? I don't have kids, but I'd guess they'd be a lot less likely to come home with an uneaten healthy lunch if everyone else was eating healthy too. This rule seems to be designed to prevent the very problem that you're talking about.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by gargamel

That's true, but how much of that is caused by them seeing other kids eating crap like lunchables an wondering why they can't have it too? I don't have kids, but I'd guess they'd be a lot less likely to come home with an uneaten healthy lunch if everyone else was eating healthy too. This rule seems to be designed to prevent the very problem that you're talking about.

I don't know, there is some of that element. But I have one kid who will basically eat anything I give him without complaining, and one that I have to beg and fight every night to even eat the 2 or 3 things he does like. They seem to be around the same things at school and home. They've both pretty much been like that since they were two. There are some kids that are a real challenge to get to eat anything with some nutritional value and he is so skinny that I get worried about him not eating anything.

[habernac]

put me in the camp of "when they start buying the food, they can tell me what to feed my kids". I don't fill their lunch boxes with crap, but like Ernie above, I'm not above putting a treat in there for them as well. Teach my kids reading, writing and arithmetic, I'll take care of feeding them.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by habernac

put me in the camp of "when they start buying the food, they can tell me what to feed my kids". I don't fill their lunch boxes with crap, but like Ernie above, I'm not above putting a treat in there for them as well. Teach my kids reading, writing and arithmetic, I'll take care of feeding them.

Where do you draw the line though? My good friend is a teacher and has seen 8 or 9 year old kids get sent to school with a Red Bull and a chocolate bar for lunch.

[FlamesAddiction]

I'd be pissed off enough if I agreed to babysit one child that the parents just administered a bunch of sugary and high calorie food. If I was a teacher of 20 kids or more that the parents equipped with a bunch of cookies and crap to eat later, I would probably want a little control.

I have been around enough 6 year olds to see how diet affects their behaviour, and not to mention cognitive development. Put yourself in the teacher's shoes.