Canteen Food or Home-cooked Meals for Your Kid?

Should I prepare lunch for my child or should I just give him/her money to buy food at the canteen? A lot of parents probably ask this question especially at the start of the school year. What are the pros and cons of each choice? Here are some pros and cons for each.

Buying in school.

1. You give chance to your child to make decisions (what to eat and what not to eat)
2. You give your child the opportunity to budget his/her allowance. He learns financial management.
3. He gets the chance to interact with other people which later on he will encounter anyway. He will learn how to deal with slow service, people who are lazy, people who have difficulty taking orders, etc.

4. You do not know if what he eats is healthy.He may be eating junk food always.
5. you do not know if food handlers are always in good health. Do they undergo medical exams regularly?


Bringing home-cooked meals.

1. You know your child is eating right - or at least based on what you know is right.
2. You know he is eating enough.
3. You feel secured that he will not get disease causing germs.
4. He doesn't learn how to make decisions. You may ask him what he wants but it is still different if he is presented with limited choices.
5. He doesn't get the chance to learn how to manage his money well.


If you are going to let him buy at the school canteen teach  him how to distinguish healthy dishes from junk. You cannot expect schools to prepare only healthy food because chances are they also need to sell soda, fast food type meals and chips because this is what sells. Remember, at the end of the day, the canteen is still a business that needs to earn. Also ask school officials their policy regarding the health of their food servers.

If you are going to let him bring home-cooked meals, take him when you go to the grocery and let him be part in deciding what to buy. Give him a set budget and allow him to choose what he wants based on that budget.

If you will let him bring home-cooked meals, make sure that what you will prepare for him is really healthy. If you are just going to let him bring chips or biscuits then might as well just let him buy in school.

If you do not have time to prepare meals but still want to ensure the health of your child, ask the canteen personnel if you can see their menu in advance and select food for your child. In big schools this may not be possible but in smaller schools you may a better chance at doing this.