Shocking reality check

[samw04]

A 13 year old, a 4 year old and twin 3yearolds!! and you still have time for gardening!! WOW

The lottie is over the fence from the play park and a big field thats all fenced in so oldest watches little ones run round till they drop then they go to bed at 7pm and me and hubby go down for an hour visit pub on way home whilst oldest babysit she charges us a mars bar per night

[dexterdoglancashire]

Well done ED78! What a super idea! It must be very rewarding knowing that you are helping raise childrens knowledge of fruit and veg. Congratulations! Bernie

[gardenplot]

Oh everdream78 that is really sad, I think it�s down to junk food been an easy quick option and those poor children miss out on fruit & veg.
Keep up the good work

[bubblewrap]

[QUOTE=HeyWayne;177723]Excellent work everdream, good on you lass.

The parent will say something like "oh, you won't like that" Well of course they won't if you tell them to!!!!

My mother tried that with me & beer Mmmmm It didn't work!

[MrsC]

We have tasting days at our school (paid for out of the teachers or teaching assistant's own pocket, I should add). Our year 2 children didn't know humans could eat cabbage - they insisted it was only for rabbits. Really.

We had several new things last week: mozzarella, olives, pineapple, anchovies etc. One chatterbox boy put his hand up for some pineapple - we put it on his plate. He poked it, looked suspicious, sniffed it, and declared: "smells like pineapple" !!! I guess he'd only ever had it as a flavouring, never the fresh fruit.

As for free fruit, yes the children up to year 2 (seven year olds) have a piece each day. Many of them won't touch it - it goes in the bin. Some of them will struggle to eat an apple with wobbly teeth, and give up. Sadly, we don't have the time or staff to slice the apples up.

We had a big health drive last term, with only healthy snacks allowed. It started off great, everyone bringing in fruit, salad or raisins. Sadly it has dwindled so that barely one apple core per class shows up in the compost bin. The parents really really couldn't give a stuff. They can't be bothered. It's not down to cost, its sheer laziness.

Think it depends on the school, my son's school are not allowed them full stop, the school I work at provide healthy snacks (at a small cost), we have lots of tasting days and a good selection of seasonal fruit and vegetables during the afternoon.

[MrsC]

Mean't to say 'unhealthy snacks' at my son's school, just read the post back

[Ethansmum]

I'm really surprised at this. At my childrens' school they are given free organic fruit as a snack every day. I help to clean/prepare it, so I know that they had had, mini cucumbers, peas in pods, bananas, pears, apples, carrots, cherry tomatoes, satsumas and beans once or twice. I honestly can't believe these kids haven't had fruit at school if not at home. Thats really sad

[Flummery]

When I worked at a school the kids mainly ate up their free fruit (I think some were so hungry - out with no breakfast) but what was left I occasionally took home for the winery. I've had a few good brewings with apple or pear as a base!

I and my sister always make our own bread - she's a TA in a primary school. Class teacher mentioned that she made the bread in her sandwiches and one lad said "You can't MAKE bread!" Gawd, don't supermarkets (and parents) have a lot to answer for?

[Winged one]

Look at it this way - at least there are schemes in the UK to get kids to eat fruit, and there are meals available in schools. Here, there is nothing like that and it is completely reliant on teacher interest and parental input as to what is in kids lunchboxes everyday and wherther or not there is a healthy eating policy in place in the school. As for getting any food in school not provided by the parents (or bought with pocket money in the shops outside), that just doesn't happen.

Luckil, I also have a toddler who generally likes fruit and veg (some more than others) - this week she ate a half a packet of frozen peas on her own for 3 teas (with pasta as well, but we were eating totally different things later) and most of my cherry toms I had bought for my own lunches!! When the hanging basket was ripe last summer, she wanted to be picked up at least 4/5 times every evening to pick her own snacks off the cherry tom plants. And she can pod a pea in no time - if you turn your back she can have 5/6 podded and eaten (so they are definitely being grown on the plot this summer rather than at home!!).

[Alison]

this week she ate a half a packet of frozen peas on her own for 3 teas

Oh, you could have cooked them for her...........................

[Winged one]

I cooked what I could, but she insisted on a good handful raw every evening, sorry.....I DID try!! (And yes, I know what you mean...)

[blackkitty]

Well done Everdream. I teach Home Economics (Yipee we're finally allowed to call it that again and teach 'cookery') in a small town not too far from Coventry. I realised long ago that the problem is not that children don't like fruit but that far too many parents don't buy it. I often have fruit left from lessons (we often buy ingredients as otherwise many pupils would do no cooking at all) if I leave it on the front table it gets eaten very quickly and we also use fruit to bribe pupils at an after school club and even give it out as rewards in younger classes.
The big barn website had some interesting comments about cheap food and how the percentage of disposable income we spend on food has dropped, it goes some way to explaining children's attitudes and habits and parent's values.

[Sirius]

It really is amazing that there are kids out there who don't know what bananas are! My 15 year old loves fruit and veg and will usually choose a healthy snack over anything else That said, he's the healthy sporty type by choice. Now my 11 year old daughter, another matter entirely, she'd live on chocolate if I gave her the choice (which I don't!). Try as I might, I can't get her to choose to eat a fruit snack, but then to be fair, I don't each much fruit myself, although I make sure there's always fruit available for the kids.

I'm happy enough that they get a varied and sensible diet - and they've both been brought up to at least TRY different foods, if they don't like what they try, fair enough.

My eldest cooks or bakes twice a week with his Home Economics class and I'm frankly more than disappointed with what he's being taught. 9 times out of 10, it's a pasta dish, always containing a variation of chicken/tuna/onion/tomatoes/cheese. Whilst I appreciate that they're time limited at school, I'm sure they could come up with something a little more inspirational!

Keep up the good work Everdream, you're spreading a ray of hope for those kids (and quite possibly their parents.....)

[blackkitty]

HI Sirius
I suggest you get in touch with his teacher and find out what course they are doing. it sounds like he might be completing coursework for the Food Technology course. We dropped that course at our school for precisely what you say, it required pupils to make endless variations of the same dishes. If it is Food technology, make sure the school knows why you aren't impressed, it won't change things for your son but might encourage the school to change. I'm lucky in that we have a very supportive head - largely because his own children did the months of 'design a pizza' at their school.