After school snacks

Always took a piece of fruit for my kids a banana, or apple.
Worked as a TA and Senior Meal supervisor in a London school, very very small portions and lots of children didn’t Finish the meal or didn’t eat it.
There lunch was at 12 till 1pm. 3.30 home time.
Found it was easier to do then having to rush in and do their dinner. Because they were as they said ‘starving’

Ooh-lots of things to get the hackles raised here! First,i disliked the throway comment of "deprived council estate'-from MOnica-just because some children live there it DOESNT mean they are deprived- the same way living in a house in a more 'well off' area means they get everything they want! It simply means theyve either got parents who started off in council housing as its more affordable(some working families find this is the easiest way to get a foothold on housebuying then work their way up)it certainly doesnt mean the childs deprived in any way- or the well off area are those who have worked their way up and reaping the benefit of their earnings now from better paid jobs-not everyones had everything handed to them or whatever- but neither have a bearing on what they give the child as a snack either! And the other comment (LynneB59)of it being "an easy option" or "what they themselves eat"- thats a bit much,who gives you the right to make these assumptions about people? My youngest was a very fussy eater at nursery/ primary school- and still is at 15- to no avail of me weaning him with HOMEMADE baby food,and trying to feed him all the 'right' things while growing up- but- he doesnt just eat snacks or chocolate all the time- and sometimes id bring them a treat at school gate,often not- or if my sons were hungrier we'd call in the shop on way home(walking,so excercize) and not always bought sweets-none of my kids are overweight and in fact my youngest spent years seeing a dietician to GAIN weight,and high calorie items were included-so you cant always just assume things about people!!It annoys me no end about all the hype over "children being obese"- when i know they are NOT all like this at all!And yes,mostly school dinners these days seem to be disliked by kids in general,and despite jamie olivers interferance (he seems to have made it worse!)the dinners seem to be mostly fast food or panninis these days- and my sons in particular dont eat anything with sauces or gravies added- which schools now seem to put in or on the food! I could never give my youngest packed lunch as the things he needed to include for his 'weight gain' high calorie diet would be considered as 'not allowed' in packed lunchbox.so you see its not always how it first seems is it?

Cherrytree59. My grandsons's school has now banned parents sending in sweets or cakes for birthdays. Not only from the general health point of view but also because of allergies. It's hard on a child who can't have what all their class mates are having. Perhaps your daughter should speak to the school, I'll bet she's not alone in her concerns.

my daughter only gives her children a treat once a week when coming out of school.and then its usually something healthy. i only seen one small chocolate bar on the day i was to go for tea with them. gd tells me she had 2 pears at school after her lunch. and she is in nursery, gs had 2 bananas, so they not really hungry when they come out of school ,though my gc are always hungry...but not for sweets...but yes i seen lots of children get crisps/sweets/chips/

It is a truth universally acknowledged that children are always hungry after school!
How parents respond to this universal fact can make a big difference to their habits. If parent waits until they are home and then offer a nice, nutritious, slow-release carb type snack then probably they will have (a) tidier car interiors and (b) children with a healthier attitude to food, surely? Or if like WeeMadArthur you stick to a fruit snack if it's a tedious car journey home. Whereas if you train your child to expect an instant sugar rush the minute the going home bell sounds you aren't exactly building their ability to enjoy deferred gratification, are you?

I have no problem whatsoever with healthy snacks, fruit, carrot sticks a slice of toast when they first get home perhaps and do understand what other grans have said about not all children eating their lunch in combination with late dinners. Mine eat everything and have seconds if they can. No, it’s the unhealthy sugary fizzy stuff which does not assuage hunger that children now want and expect as they come out of school. Are parents creating this by supplying it, because other parents do? I don’t know, it’s only what I have observed at one school and was curious if this is now the norm generally.

Yes hangry is hungry/angry and my youngest still suffers from it-or gets whiny as hes "starving" he also cant sleep at all if hes hungry at bedtime (he doesnt sleep much anyway) and hes now thought to have ASD issues also which contribute to his fussy diet(tastes/textures) and he has gatric reflux problems which probably 'guided' him to choose certain foods in first place.At end of the day a child wont eat what they dont like.or if theyre full.No matter where they live. And yes i agree that you cant know when a childs had all their lunch, or a dessert,or when their having tea- a number of children do after school clubs now or after school care (minders etc) so that all pushes back evening meal times.Come on gransnetters-stop making assumptions please!

Hello. First time I have written anything here but often read. I am an infant school teacher in a school in a fair affluent area. Some parents bring a snack occasionally but not a major problem. The real bug bear for me is how many parents are on their phones when they collect their children. This is a daily occurrence for some parents. No interaction, smile, kiss, conversation, contact with their child, who then trots out of the gate behind them. Very sad situation

When I was in Senior School, I had an 8 mile bus ride before getting home and many of the children on the bus would be eating something, bearing in mind that we had been at the bus stop from 8.15am and arrived home at 4.30pm. School dinners were, well, school dinners - I'll say no more (but parsley sauce on cooked ham, ugh still can't stand the smell of parsley sauce). My brothers went to school in the local town so always left after me and arrived home before me. We were all very sporty, didn't eat many sweets or crisps (couldn't afford it) and ate healthy meals made from scratch, even though my mother worked until 5.30pm. As I got older I cooked so a meal was ready for mam when she got home. My brothers had very healthy appetites and I remember an aunt saying to my mother one day that they had 'hollow legs' as they ate so much. I tried to carry this through to my own children and it was a very rare occasion when they had sweets or crisps on the way home from school. They were mostly quite sporty and all of them were thin as rakes when they were growing up - a height spurt, put on a bit of weight, then another height spurt and so on. They all appear to have carried this on with their children and don't provide sweet or crispy snacks after school.

I have noticed that too Jane, always find it sad.

Children have to until 6 or 7pm to have a meal after school?! My grandchildren are usually in bed around 7.30 - 8pm so this is a little late to be having a big meal. We’ve always had ‘tea’ around 4pm and then a light supper before they go to bed

When my children were at school, they had a cooked dinner including dessert as did I in my schooldays. Now my GC's school decided not to have cooked hot meals so my GC has a packed lunch. She always feels hungry and thirsty when she comes out and I have either a cheese or a fruit snack for her plus squash, not sweets.

I absolute agree with Jane.So sad for the child who then generally runs off getting into mischief.

My DGC eat the remains of their packed lunch on the way home in the car. Being in Year 6 and last to go into lunch, they always complain they don't have enough time to eat it before afternoon school begins.

When I was at school I would come home and have a cup of tea and at least 4 chocolate digestives - I wish my mother had told me to cut down or to just eat fruit. Those extra snacks do make chubby children (I'm still trying to lose it at 63!)

School lunches are not very big (I worked in a primary school for many years) also often if children are late getting to the dining hall, some items / choices have run out, child has to have a salad or jacket potato. I collect GC from school and always take a snack and drink (water) or give them one as soon as they get in home. Sometimes crisps /fruit/carrot sticks etc. Rarely sweets. And yes lots of parents/grandparents etc do the same. Like other people on here their evening meal is often not until 5.30-6-30pm. Long time to wait for food as lunch is 12-1 pm. A packed lunch is usually sandwich, yoghurt, few raisins or banana etc. (Chocolate/biscuits etc not allowed) . I don't believe it will hurt them.

This has made me stop and think about what is just routine :-)

I think after school snacks have a their place. But filling children full of junk or feeding them when they aren't really hungry just because it's a particular time/activity isn't healthy and won't help a child form a healthy relationship with food.

DGD 7 years old, takes fruit and/or veg snack for between end of school and after school club. Drink is only water.

She finishes after school club at 4:15, has a 15 min drive home so DD or us always have another fruit/veg snack for pick up just incase she is hungry.

She's usually hungry again after the physical club activities, after French or art her between school/club snack is often enough.

Evening meal is 6:30 ish and I don't think she'd make it from lunch without something.

Sweets/chocolate aren't for everyday nor are puddings/cakes.

DGD's school, on the Chatsworth Estate, are ok with snacks but they have to be fruit/veg or other healthy snacks. But NO NUTS or nut products.

I thought about what I did for DD's and I think I did take snacks for some school to home journeys and not for others where we lived very close to school. Difficult to remember as both girls went to a number of schools.

I don't think after school snacks are the problem. I do think children having unhealthy diets and/or an unhealthy relationships with food is a real problem. I'm sure unhealthy, uanessacry snacks add to the problem.

It was peanut butter sandwiches with me jacky, mum made them every day for my lunch and I enjoyed them all. I was a chubby child and remain an overweight adult who has spent a lifetime struggling to shift those excess pounds. Hence my concerns.

Ever thankful , you're lucky . Not all children have grandparents or family living nearby . As a forces family both my husband and I worked and our children went to childminders after school as did a lot of the children at their school . The dinners were quite good but neither son or daughter liked them so we compromised with school dinners in winter and lunches in summer . Snacks after school were often controlled by child minder and occasionally if we were going to be late picking up they even had there tea. Bed was 8 pm at the latest. I don't think you can make assumptions about diet and backgrounds and obesity isn't always a result of childhood diet but more likely to happen in teens when less control is taken and more peer pressure occurs. I really don't think Jamie Oliver is a good role model when his recipe books have food cooked in cream etc . It's not a case of stopping all sugars - even too many bananas can be harmful !!!! End of rant?

My daughter sneaked one little sweet into her daughter's lunch box. She thought it would be a nice surprise. However 6 year old GD went straight to the teacher and told her she had an unhealthy item in her lunch box. Poor children are having healthy food drummed into them at school.

Everthankful Things have changed a lot since our children were small - and one of the biggest changes is the amount of Mums who have to work full-time (either because their income is necessary to keep a roof over their family's head, or because they have built a satisfying career that they don't want to abandon).
If you work until 5.30, have a 30-minute commute - and it's a lot longer for many - before you pick up your child/ren and then go home -- and then you've got to cook tea, of course it'll be 6.30 or later before you can eat - it's physically impossible to do anything else

Lots of 'experts' on children have now recognised the 'hangry' mood when children come out of school.
If I'm not armed with food and drink when my granddaughter comes out, I'm in deep trouble.
Obviously it's not all children as my grandson was never like this.

My mother would bring treats after school for my siblings and I

And I do the same for mine

We are all very very slim and active and healthy.

A little treat, every day, marking the end of school time. I loved it as a child and my children love it now.

I worry that too much emphasis on food - what’s acceptable, what’s not, what’s good, what’s naughty, could lead to a worrying obsession in some with what they eat. I read the other day of someone being lectured about giving his toddler a rice cake on the bus. A rice cake!

When I read topics like this I sometimes think we look at the past with rose tinted glasses. I was often given sugar sandwiches as a child, I also used to add a lot of salt to my food and cooking. Neither overly healthy.

My ds went through a period of eating only biscuits for breakfast. He actively refused anything else, I was rather worried. I even spoke to his school nurse about my concerns. Her advise was ‘it’s better than nothing’, sure enough he grew out of it, and is a fit and healthy adult today.

The odd snack after school is not the cause of obesity, there are far bigger issues. It sometimes feels like topics like this are used as an excuse to excessively criticise today’s parents.

I have to confess that when I collect DGS aged 5 and one week, I do give him something when we get back to the house at around 3.30
He'll have had a good cooked school lunch at 12.15 and will have tea with his parents at 6. He's always peckish when he gets back so he usually has a biscuit or a piece of bread and jam. He is like a whippet, not an ounce of spare flesh on him as he's always on the go and loves being outside playing. I don't think it does him any harm as he eats a healthy meal at school and has healthy food at home - he loves veg, particularly broccoli, peppers and cucumber! DH has lunch at 1.30 & dinner at 7.30 & he can't go all that time without something at 5 as it can set his migraines off. Arent we supposed to eat little & often?