Healthy school lunches should be funded by government for all under 12 year olds?

On average, everyone is neutral with significant nonconsensus between 111 voters.

Reasons To Disagree

Is it not the parent?s responsibility to feed their children properly? Would efforts not be best directed towards helping parents look after their children, i.e. help families to help themselves rather than encourage dependence on the state? Attractive parenting skills classes at local schools or teaching children to make their own, low cost but nutritious, lunch may have a better long term effect.

It is the parents responsibility to feed the child - not the gummints. Every time the gummint takes over a responsibility it is giving the message - "DON'T BOTHER DOING ANYTHING - WE"LL DO IT FOR YOU!"

Fat chance - just let the education ministry fund the education properly. Unfed children is a social problem not an education problem.

While ensuring all chlidren are feed, clothed and well looked after it is a dangerous step to transfer this responsibility from teh parents to the state. Like many functions, the state should not step in unless there is a need and not simply provide theeh need for all regardless

always catering to the few who don't want to cope or can't be bothered , lets them off the hook again . We are soooooooo soft .

Parents need to nourish their children and if they don't then take them to task for it. To the person who calls the govt soft - if they did step in they would be accused of interfering. I get a bit fed up with the govt being used as a boogie man who is blamed for everything bad in this country. While you can't penalise kids for their ignorant parents - you can educate them about nutrition so the next generation is not wasted. Feed the kids who need it - give schools discretionary funds for it but don't feed them all.

It is their parents responsibility to provide them with a lunch, If the children dont like them they will probley just throw them away

come on parents!! whats up? Take responsibility for your children and FEED THEM...I'm sure you can replace the alcohol and ciggys for a loaf of bread...that would still give you some money left over for some marmite!!

It is one liberty to choose which food he wants healthy or unhealthy. the govt is just trying to inforce more law that are not effective and end up limiting the freedom of New Zealanders.

parents should be feeding their kids or not having them in da 1st place

parents make fat kids and they should be judged looked down apon and held accountable

healthy eating school poor eating at home will not work

is a great idea on paper, but it would cost the country far too much

think about the costs and shouldnt that be the parents job?

Parents cant afford a child should not have a child.

No way it's the parents responsibility this is letting them spend there money elsewhere and not look after there kids properly . But I do think they should have a wee reserve of lunches for those kids who do forget there school bags/lunch bags occasionally , or for those very poor families but most families can sacrifice something to feed there kids or they shouldn't have them .

Reasons To Agree

This is a good idea. It will ensure that children of the poor will get at least a few decent meals per week, and for all children, this could help stem the obesity trend. This would create part time jobs for unskilled people in all towns that have a school. The government could subsidise some domestically produced foods more than others, which essentially would be a boost for local industry. eg using NZ grown fruit versus imported fruit.

its cheaper to buy a can of coke than what it is to buy water, cheaper to buy fish n chips then a healthy meal, and cheaper to buy lollies than health snacks..so yes if the govenment wants to have a healthy country then work it out becasue people cant affored to live like that!

It may not be the government's responsibility but unless they are prepared to penalise bad parents (and they will never have the courage to do that) then children are going to arrive at school hungry, making them disruptive and retarding their ability to learn. School lunches are a fixture in the UK (though the menu ought not to be followed here!) and most parents there still feed their kids at night.

It's those damn commies in the government again! The gall of this question! Everyone should have to make it on their own! I mean, I got beaten with a strop every day and had to go to school hungry, but I've turned out to be a very good penal officer!

Unless the parent chooses to buy their kids' lunch.

this should happen to all under 18 year olds!!!!!!!

So if parents are too lazy, ignorant or just plain uncaring, the kids suffer? Is that just the way the cookie crumbles? They can't tell what is healthy and not. As they eat healthy food they will become used to it, and it will become second nature.

I realize that where i come from we have a better social welfare, but in school from the age of 6 to 18 all students are provided with a cooked lunch every day. Vegetarians etc. or people with allergies was also catered for. It was great.

There should be some options for young students

Teach children how to eat properly and supply nutritious meals for free. Why aren't we doing this already? Regardless of economic background, proper nutrition is vital for every child and their ability to learn. So what if a childs parents can afford to feed them but don't. The child should not be made to suffer. You don't eradicate neglect with more neglect. Teach the children how to eat well so they can teach their children how to eat well. Its so obvious.

Yes!! everyone is complaining about what children take for lunch, making us parents look as if we are criminals to making our children Obese! we only buy what we can afford and what we can make! Parents are working hard these days to provide for our children, bills and tax! And all children will not go hungry!!

Not fully funded,

It could be funded by an equivalent drop in Family Assistance/Benefits and bulk buying should mean the Government can do it at a lower cost.

My child is being bullied constantly at school I strongly believe it is because too many kids are hungry it has to stop now! These kids cant be learning either, therefore all the money spent on schooling is a total waste of money if they refuse to feed the kids too some parents just dont care they probably dont even want their kids in the first place, you can tell the parents to parent til your blue in the face but that will do nothing. All we can do now is help create a better future for these kids. I myself am happy to contribute money for the lunches for my own kids on a weekly basis to save myself from the stress of time to shop the time to make and the wastage cos my children changed their mind about what they felt like on the day, surely the govt could take ten dollars off the beneficiaries weekly they would never notice all they would know is that they did not have to worry about feeding their kids for 2/3 of the week

This is a great idea, a good example set by the 'Vikings' in Sweden. But everyone pays taxes for this to happen.

Majority of Kiwi parents can't afford to buy anything their child wants and usually goes for whats cheapest, which is usually, junk food or cheap imports from Asia which is usually terrible unhealthy. When its supplied at school, not only are kids getting healthy lunches but also parents are able to save money that can benefit them in their personal lives or for their future education.