Summary of issue:

Concerns have been raised related to the time allotted for elementary children to eat their lunches. Many children return home with much of their lunch remaining and although food preferences could lead to this, more often the complaints about the lack of time to finish their food is the main reason. Healthy eating habits, including quantity and quality of food consumed are important for those in a learning environment. In order for children to have adequate nourishment, they need ample time to consume their food (see study below). Many parents have equated their children’s remaining food to their child being too chatty, which should not be a cause of the lack of food consumption.  Conversation during mealtime is imperative in order to not only digest better, but to learn important social skills along with table manners.  As parents, it is very difficult to teach our children the importance of conversation at our dinner table when the previous two meals they were taught to eat quickly in order to go play.  We should not expect a child who can be as young as 5 in grade one to understand the importance of eating.  It is the childcare provider’s duty to ensure there is enough time for kids to eat.  A child is not done eating so you rush them hungry outside to play? How and why is this happening?

Unions across this country fought for employees to have the right to a 30 minute lunch and/ or dinner break for every 6 hours worked, it is now standard minimum requirements under the Canada labour Code. Who is standing up for the rights of our children? Does a 5 year old child’s dietary needs not directly correlate to their ability to learn, and for their brain to develop?  I invite anyone who opposes this proposal to find us the data that indicates otherwise. What is even more frustrating is the 20 minutes is reduced to 15 minutes during the winter months because they have to be outside for the entire recess...so eating time suffers another 5 mins to put snowsuits on.

Research related to eating habits in school:  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics study:

Amount of Time to Eat Lunch Is Associated with Children’s Selection and Consumption of School Meal Entrée, Fruits, Vegetables, and Milk, January 2016
http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672%2815%2901248-4/abstract

 Abstract
Background
There are currently no national standards for school lunch period length and little is known about the association between the amount of time students have to eat and school food selection and consumption.

Objective
Our aim was to examine plate-waste measurements from students in the control arm of the Modifying Eating and Lifestyles at School study (2011 to 2012 school year) to determine the association between amount of time to eat and school meal selection and consumption.

Design
We used a prospective study design using up to six repeated measures among students during the school year.

Participants/setting
One thousand and one students in grades 3 to 8 attending six participating elementary and middle schools in an urban, low-income school district where lunch period lengths varied from 20 to 30 minutes were included.

Main outcome measures
School food selection and consumption were collected using plate-waste methodology.

Statistical analyses performed
Logistic regression and mixed-model analysis of variance was used to examine food selection and consumption.

Results
Compared with meal-component selection when students had at least 25 minutes to eat, students were significantly less likely to select a fruit (44% vs 57%; P<0.0001) when they had <20 minutes to eat. There were no significant differences in entrée, milk, or vegetable selections. Among those who selected a meal component, students with <20 minutes to eat consumed 13% less of their entrée (P<0.0001), 10% less of their milk (P<0.0001), and 12% less of their vegetable (P<0.0001) compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat.

Conclusions
During the school year, a substantial number of students had insufficient time to eat, which was associated with significantly decreased entrée, milk, and vegetable consumption compared with students who had more time to eat. School policies that encourage lunches with at least 25 minutes of seated time might reduce food waste and improve dietary intake.

Current Practice:

Ontario Elementary schools are alloted 90 minutes of non-instructional time.  This time is to be used at the school's discretion.

Below is a sample breakdown of how schools are allocating this time.

Class hours:8:30 am to 3:00pm

10:30 am morning snack (20 mins (5 minutes less in winter)

10:50 am morning recess (25 minutes)

1:15 pm nutrition time (20 mins (5 minutes less in winter)

1:35 pm lunch recess (25 minutes)

 Total Time:  Nutrition: 40 minutes          Recess: 50 minutes

Here are some options that MUST be considered but not limited to:

Option 1

10:15 am morning snack (15 minutes)

10:30 am morning recess (15 minutes less in winter months)

12:15 pm nutrition time (30 mins)

12:45 pm lunch recess (30 minutes less in winter months)

Total Time:  Nutrition: 45 minutes Recess:  45 minutes

__________________________________________
Option 2
10:30 am morning snack (15 minutes)

10:45 am morning recess (15 minutes less if winter months require snowsuits)

1:05 pm nutrition time (30 mins)

1:35 pm lunch recess (30 minutes less in winter months) 

Total Time:  Nutrition: 45 minutes   Recess:  45 minutes

___________________________________________

Option 3

10:30 am morning recess (15 minutes less if winter months require snowsuits)

10:45 am morning snack  (15 minutes)

12:30 pm lunch recess (30 minutes less in winter months)

1:00 pm nutrition time (30 minutes)

Total Time:  Nutrition: 45 minutes   Recess:  45 minutes

 

 

In conclusion, we as parents think there can be better use of the 90 minutes of non-instructional time in order to aide children in meeting their dietary needs in order for them to learn and grow.