No more snacks

[SaligoBay]

I was wondering recently at what point French children stopped having gouters of cardboard crepes and doughy brioches with pépites de chocolat in.

Now I know - it happens the day they start at collège!

Nowadays, the Boy has breakfast at 7.30, just before heading off for the 8am bus.  Then nothing till lunchtime, and again, nothing till he gets home about 5.30.

Yesterday's confession about the school cantine was that he'd eaten "a bit of bread and the pomme compote". 

Sigh, just when I thought I was getting somewhere with his lack of eating! 

At this rate, he'll soon be the same weight as his schoolbag!!

 

[Teamedup]

Well, the kids round here used to have the things you mentioned when they got home from college as they would be hungry and wouldn't be eating anything else until after 19h. Not my youngest though, he'd get in at 19h after leaving home at 6h20 and ate a meal immediately.

I have never bought any of the things you mentioned though. How I deprived my kids eh!

 

[Mistral]

Wow, you're lucky. Ours only get given goûters in maternelle. In primary we have to provide any snacks. So numbers one and two go off with a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack in their bag. Child number one had a dentist visit the school and insisted on nothing but fruit for his gouters from then on. Then spoilt it by eating choclate when he got home. Child number two always manages to find friends who don't have a goûter so she shares with them and hardly ever eats anything herself. (one day she'll get to 20 kg, but not yet  

I'd like to say that they keep an eye on them in the cantine (this is certainly true in our primary school, we get told that #2 hasn't eaten yet again) but to be honest, there are just not enough staff in a collège cantine to check on what they are eating. In my school, the cantine staff will discreetly point out any child who isn't taking enough food to the school nurse. But it's mainly for teenage girls who are trying to get past with an empty tray

[opas]

SB ,I think we have been down this road before and I am not unsympathetic to your cause. Is your son healthy in every other sense, in that he is active,alert and has energy? if yes I would leave him to his eating habits,but just try to ensure that he has a balanced diet without being obvious in what he does eat.

Chance would be a fine thing in our house...send them with a biscuit type snack in the morning and a piece of fruit in the afternoon ,only to see their friends at the school gates with a snack size pack of coco pops and 2 kit kat biscuits ....don`t you just know they are going to share.....but not the dentist bill!

[Teamedup]

We seem to be a cross purposes here. In maternelle a gouter is served every morning.

However, from primary school onwards, some kids would take a snack and others wouldn't for the break. The gouter would be after school at 4.30 at home or at a friends. And then a gouter in secondary school for those who were home in reasonable time.

[SaligoBay]

In école primaire they took their own snacks for morning and afternoon break - and yes, I did give him brioches (but NOT cardboard crepes!!!), just to get some calories into him!

In collège, peer pressure (or school rules, I'm not sure which!) says that nobody takes any sort of snack at any time.  

No, I was just wondering at what point snacking French children turned into non-snacking French adults, and it's surprisingly early and sudden!!