There was a feeling by some parents, especially those with large families, that school meals were expensive. Both parents and pupils felt that packed lunches could better provide what the child liked. However, the research showed that the packed lunches were frequently less healthy than schools meals, so the flexibility and choice afforded by packed lunches does not always translate into healthy eating opportunities. The main meal of the week, where everyone ate together, was on Sunday. The most frequently consumed foods were unhealthy .
Children like to have a say in what they eat.
As snacking seems to be such a universal pastime for children, parents could benefit from programmes designed to promote the preparation of healthier snacks for children. Knowledge of healthy eating was common to all groups. All respondents had an awareness of, at least, the basic principles of healthy nutrition, but this knowledge was not put into practice all of the time. Control of the family diet appeared to reside with parents, mainly the mother, although she shopped with the likes and dislikes of her family in mind. Parents of children from advantaged schools were more likely to think about health as an issue when buying food.