Published on 12, July, 2020
I have noticed questions by carers about their children during lunch breaks. This got me thinking of my own experience.
I left school over 40 years ago and it is only in the last few years I realized I was autistic.
When I was at school a lot of lessons were quite formal which suited me. However when it came to lunchtime as all the schools I went to were nearby I went home for lunch. In the Junior school quite a few people went home for lunchtime which was nearly an hour and a half. Most occasions when I stayed it was for a club but I didn't like being at school for the whole day and especially the long lunch break.
I wonder if modern schools are more of a challenge for autistics.
Dunno about modern kids, but my 1970s lunch was a nightmare.
It was the stench of school lunch day one a school which kick started my food issues.
From middle school I had sandwiches- lots of memories of the smell of cooked dinners in the background making me feel sick and dinner ladies shouting at me for not eating my sandwiches quickly enough - caused a god almighty melt down one day.
Also, the ''playtime' part of lunch was rife with opportunities for the bullies to get me.
I used to spend a huge part of the day worrying about lunchtime. Let me stay behind for extra maths anytime.
Modern kids - dunno. But at least they are more likely to serve them pizza or pasta (God bless the Italians for saving my life) than overpoweringly stinky boiled cabbage and unchewable liver these days.
You could be right that the lunchtime smells have improved, that cabbage appeared often. I remember the liver too.
Our lunch hall was huge too with lots of noisy chairs scraping and noise of voices.