No

by Robin Tidwell

Created on: October 05, 2010   Last Updated: March 07, 2011

Many parents complain that their children have no time to eat lunch at school.  Some say their children are hungry as soon as they walk in the door, some say they are just picky and refuse to eat what is served, and some are simply clueless as to how to proceed.  It can be difficult to ascertain the reasons why children have no time to eat, and if their complaints are truly justified.

For decades, we’ve been told to take our time while eating a meal, to chew a certain number of times, that it takes at least 20 minutes for the stomach to register fullness, and so forth.  Why, then, do schools schedule lunch "hours" as actual minutes?

Scheduling itself is the reason.  If a school has limited space and must move a large number of students through the lunch line, in a proscribed amount of time, some kids end up eating lunch as early as 10:30 in the morning.  Of course, in many schools, the elementary students must catch a bus at 6:30 a.m., so mid- to late-morning lunchtime may not be unreasonable.  And this could be why students are “starving” when they finally get home around 3:30 or so.

Picky children can certainly try the patience of their parents.  However, parents do tend to worry excessively and unnecessarily about their children’s eating habits.  Left alone, with healthy choices available and limited junk food, children will usually manage to eat the right portions of the right foods – it may be spread out over a week’s time rather than each day, but they will manage to grow up without vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Packing or purchasing a lunch is a dilemma, not only because of what a child will actually eat – as opposed to trading or tossing – but because of the aforementioned time constraints.  Typically, children who bring lunches can go sit down and eat almost immediately; those who purchase a lunch must wait in line, and this is where the time flies.

Many elementary schools, too, include a recess during the lunch hour.  Some kids, truthfully, just hurry through their meals so they can play.  This is a decision they are allowed to make.  Remember, the trend today is to let children make many choices that, not so long ago, parents were making for them.  This is was it should be: parents are around to teach the child to make the correct choices, not let them run willy-nilly into whatever strikes their fancies.

What can a parent do about this?  Sometimes, sadly, not very much.  But parents have successfully banded together, respective of their school districts, to affect changes in scheduling, serving, and supervision.  Contact the child’s teacher, clarifying the issues; contact the principal, asking for a meeting to discuss problems and solutions.  If all else fails, seek out the superintendent and/or school board.  A parent has a right to ensure the well-being of his child at all times, yes, even in school.

On the other hand, it may not be as large an issue as a parent presumes: if a child eats lunch five hours after breakfast, and is hungry five hours after lunch, that definitely coincides with the time he returns from school; ergo, snack time!  And, too, children go through stages just like adults and may just not be hungry at certain times of the day.  Or, they may be ravenous.  No matter which, parents should probably relax a bit about food issues and simply insure that children have healthy choices available, regardless of time of day.

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