Providing dinners

[FloraDora]

When I say to the parents that their child has had eg: home made lamb tagine or fish pie, they often say they wish they could come for lunch - maybe I could make extra and offer a take away option.

My parents love it - we only do it on a Friday, but have been asked for other days too so I think if we got it organised it could be a good little earner.

Parents order his Victoria sponge sometimes too, but we usually make that with the children so it doubles up as an activity - though my 4 year old LO does love to watch him syphon ing the wine, he wants to help but we can't be seen to be encouraging this, I am a little paranoid about this and if he says the wine needs bottling I try to make sure we are out, much to the LO's dissapointment. The wine is well liked by Parents too, but given and not charged for.

[hectors house]

My parents love it - we only do it on a Friday, but have been asked for other days too so I think if we got it organised it could be a good little earner.

Parents order his Victoria sponge sometimes too, but we usually make that with the children so it doubles up as an activity - though my 4 year old LO does love to watch him syphon ing the wine, he wants to help but we can't be seen to be encouraging this, I am a little paranoid about this and if he says the wine needs bottling I try to make sure we are out, much to the LO's dissapointment. The wine is well liked by Parents too, but given and not charged for.

Parents do enjoy the cakes we make for activities and always buy cakes that I make to sell for fundraising - we have our own hens and often have too many eggs - maybe I could make cakes too sell to the parents, I know one parent in particular has a very sweet tooth. We are also currently making sloe gin but I suppose we would need a license to sell that - hence why you give yours away.

[bunyip]

If you include meals in your fees then you could offer a snack to the child whose parents do not wish you to provide dinner for and children would accept that.
If that is explained then the child can sit with all the children....this happens at school I think...those who have school lunch provided free sit along those who do not.

Wow. I admit at last to some evidence of progress in education in the last 40 years (beyond an improvement in the standard of graffiti.)

In my day, we free school mealers were obliged to sit in what the dinner ladies not unsympathetically called "Poverty Corner".

[FloraDora]

Wow. I admit at last to some evidence of progress in education in the last 40 years (beyond an improvement in the standard of graffiti.)

In my day, we free school mealers were obliged to sit in what the dinner ladies not unsympathetically called "Poverty Corner".

Oh my goodness, how awful!
I was a free school meal child and had to sit with the other free mealers, on a family like table, I knew everyone knew I got my dinner free and in low moments would get teased about it by other children but to my knowledge they didn't call us names.

Thank goodness we have come along way since then!

[Mouse]

I can remember being really jealous of the kids getting free school meals!

I don't think I realised why they were getting free meals - I just thought they were really lucky!

[bunyip]

Oh my goodness, how awful!
I was a free school meal child and had to sit with the other free mealers, on a family like table, I knew everyone knew I got my dinner free and in low moments would get teased about it by other children but to my knowledge they didn't call us names.

Thank goodness we have come along way since then!

You know, somehow we survived all this stuff that, these days, would be seen as some kind of abusive persecution. I don't think it bothered us one little bit, or that we even so much as noticed.

All of which still leaves me scrabbling around desperately for the real reason why I'm so psychologically distoibed.

[Maza]

It's madness when you think back isn't it? I wasn't a free school meals child but my two best friends were. We were allowed to sit on the same table but they had to line up separately to get ticked off on the 'list'. None of us batted an eyelid, but there must have been someone out there who felt totally humiliated. I know we have gone too 'PC' in some ways now, but the school dinner scenario we have all described had to go!

My two friends also got uniform grants and so each September turned up in new uniforms. I didn't have a new uniform one year and remember being so 'ashamed'. My 'friend' even ridiculed me!

[loocyloo]

It's madness when you think back isn't it? I wasn't a free school meals child but my two best friends were. We were allowed to sit on the same table but they had to line up separately to get ticked off on the 'list'. None of us batted an eyelid, but there must have been someone out there who felt totally humiliated. I know we have gone too 'PC' in some ways now, but the school dinner scenario we have all described had to go!

My two friends also got uniform grants and so each September turned up in new uniforms. I didn't have a new uniform one year and remember being so 'ashamed'. My 'friend' even ridiculed me!

I used to have new uniform each sept and always bought my children new uniform each year ... and then a few years ago I suddenly thought 'why am I doing this?' Everything still fits and I get new throughout the year if needed! It was so freeing!

[FussyElmo]

I used to have new uniform each sept and always bought my children new uniform each year ... and then a few years ago I suddenly thought 'why am I doing this?' Everything still fits and I get new throughout the year if needed! It was so freeing!

Must admit I only buy the eldest 2 as and when they need it.

The youngest 2 seem to like having that growth spurt in the summer just so I have to buy everything new

I wonder why we all feel so obliged to buy all brand in the September when we may have stuff that still fits

[shortstuff]

Must admit I only buy the eldest 2 as and when they need it.

The youngest 2 seem to like having that growth spurt in the summer just so I have to buy everything new

I wonder why we all feel so obliged to buy all brand in the September when we may have stuff that still fits

I seem to be buying every school holiday DS is catching up lol. He is one of the oldest and gradually moving up in height and no longer the smallest

[Simona]

Oh my goodness, how awful!
I was a free school meal child and had to sit with the other free mealers, on a family like table, I knew everyone knew I got my dinner free and in low moments would get teased about it by other children but to my knowledge they didn't call us names.

Thank goodness we have come along way since then!

In my culture that kind of thing would be classified as 'segregation' and not allowed....considering the importance we put on eating together and making eating a shared and enjoyable affair.

I was trying to make the point of 'inclusion' and treating children with 'equal concern' when I suggested to the OP the child not staying for dinner could be offered a snack and still be invited to sit with all other children even if just having a light meal?

The one thing about children receiving 'free school meals' is that they have ...unfortunately...acquired the additional label of being 'disadvantaged' ...they could be spotted a mile off especially if made to queue separately for their 'free lunch'...is that really necessary?

Bunyip says in the past those children were made to sit in the 'poverty corner'...not sure what is more deplorable...that or the amount of labels we inflict on these children and their families?...not sure if labels are really politically correct.

[NightOwl]

Just come across this thread and it brought back memories of my school days when children with 'free school dinners' had a different colour ticket to hand in at lunch time than those that paid. :-(

[tess1981]

I remember in secondary school those that paid for dinner were jealous of those that got it free. I got free school meals and we were considered the lucky ones go figure lol

[greenfaerie]

Like some others I include all meals with my fees, so can't imagine anyone opting out. Especially since the 4pm meal I provide wouldn't really ruin a child's appetite for an evening meal with family. If a family did insist on a child not being given a meal then I would probably sit the child down with the others and give them a drink and a fruit snack.

I say scone rhyming with con but have a preference for cheese scon ,chilli jam ( home made) and mascopone cheese ...my parents would not have approved!

This sounds so absolutely sensational that I may have to make these immediately. Mmmm. I usually find savoury scones uneventful, but this is a wonderful twist.

Interesting discussion on the Dinner/Lunch/Tea thing. I was raised with Breakfast, Dinner & Tea, but as an adult prefer to use the term Dinner to refer to the largest meal of the day. So now I use Dinner to refer to the evening meal. I'm sure that my menu will confuse parents and children as the meals are labelled Breakfast, Lunch & Tea. This is due to the last meal I serve being more of a snack, rather than a meal. (In order to encourage family dining when the children get home)

Some of people's memories of FSM were really distressing. I was eligible to these as a child, and my school was quite subtle with it, we had to use a certain till but all children could use it too, this was just where the list was. The assistant on the till knew all the children's faces so used to tick us off without us even noticing and we could sit where we like.

[AliceK]

Like some others I include all meals with my fees, so can't imagine anyone opting out. Especially since the 4pm meal I provide wouldn't really ruin a child's appetite for an evening meal with family. If a family did insist on a child not being given a meal then I would probably sit the child down with the others and give them a drink and a fruit snack.



This sounds so absolutely sensational that I may have to make these immediately. Mmmm. I usually find savoury scones uneventful, but this is a wonderful twist.

Interesting discussion on the Dinner/Lunch/Tea thing. I was raised with Breakfast, Dinner & Tea, but as an adult prefer to use the term Dinner to refer to the largest meal of the day. So now I use Dinner to refer to the evening meal. I'm sure that my menu will confuse parents and children as the meals are labelled Breakfast, Lunch & Tea. This is due to the last meal I serve being more of a snack, rather than a meal. (In order to encourage family dining when the children get home)

Some of people's memories of FSM were really distressing. I was eligible to these as a child, and my school was quite subtle with it, we had to use a certain till but all children could use it too, this was just where the list was. The assistant on the till knew all the children's faces so used to tick us off without us even noticing and we could sit where we like.

I am in the south and usually say lunch and dinner. But dinner to me is a hot meal and lunch is usually a cold meal. But since changing the way I do things now, the children now have their hot meal at midday but I stil call that lunch but then in the afternoon they now have a cold snacky meal so now I call that tea. So they have breakfast, lunch and tea. No dinner. It's even confused my own children. I know in the north the meal at lunchtime is called dinner isn't it?

xxx

[tess1981]

I am in the south and usually say lunch and dinner. But dinner to me is a hot meal and lunch is usually a cold meal. But since changing the way I do things now, the children now have their hot meal at midday but I stil call that lunch but then in the afternoon they now have a cold snacky meal so now I call that tea. So they have breakfast, lunch and tea. No dinner. It's even confused my own children. I know in the north the meal at lunchtime is called dinner isn't it?

xxx

in my setting we have breakfast lunch and snack... sometimes lunch is a cooked meal like spag bol soup and potatoes cottage pie and other times its cold go fer food like tortilla wraps cheese Ham fruit and yoghurt. It's the norm here not to do a cooked meal later in the evening for the children. I think parents should sit with their children after a day not seeing them and it also means me and my family have our dinner in peace without mindees giving out or fighting as usually at this stage of the day they are harder work

[greenfaerie]

I know in the north the meal at lunchtime is called dinner isn't it? xxx

Yeah, I'm one of the exceptions in my area I think. My partner is from various parts of the South and refers to the evening meal as Dinner, and I think it makes more sense, so I've changed my use of the term. Calling the 4pm meal "Tea" is me expressing my desire for it to be Afternoon Tea I suppose.