Are your first graders already allowed to go to the cafeteria on their own? My son doesn’t know how…

Yana Osadchaya

1 child

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Are your first graders already allowed to go to the cafeteria on their own? My son doesn’t know how to handle money at all and has never walked to the store by himself. He just started first grade, came home, and said that in the cafeteria you can buy something for a little money—quite a revelation for him 😁. I’m wondering: should I start giving him pocket money for school now, or is it still too early? They currently have 3–4 lessons, and breakfast and lunch are provided. The latest I pick him up is noon, so he won’t be going to the cafeteria unsupervised yet. Perhaps they’re not allowed to go to the cafeteria alone yet; I haven’t asked the teachers. At what age did you start giving your kids pocket money?

Comments

Svetlana

1 child

Usually, they buy their own meals in the cafeteria for now. My daughter hasn't eaten in the cafeteria since first grade because it's not possible to eat there. I give her money so she can buy herself something from the snack bar for a snack.

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September 4, 2025, 9:36 AM

Anna

2 children

I think he eats normally for four lessons. The buffet won't be necessary.

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September 4, 2025, 9:36 AM

Yana Osadchaya

1 child

Svetlana Well, my son has been at school for three days now, and he's eating. I think it's probably worth starting to give him money so he can learn to calculate the amount himself and buy things.

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September 4, 2025, 9:37 AM

Natasha

1 child

In our cafeteria, it's basically a buffet.
Someone buys, and mine is for takeout.
She says there's nothing in the buffet that suits her taste.

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September 4, 2025, 9:37 AM

Haritonova-Keppel Vera

2 children

They wouldn’t let us in; the only option was to renew. She handled it herself and bought it.

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September 4, 2025, 9:38 AM

Yana Osadchaya

1 child

Anna Yes, this is less about grabbing a bite and more about buying things for yourself. There wasn’t a real need for that before—there was delivery, after all. Now, perhaps it’s the perfect time to learn how to manage money, plan your expenses, and figure out what you can afford. I remember in first grade, in the cafeteria, we’d buy buns that were called Moscow buns, sugared on top; they cost 1.50 rubles.

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September 4, 2025, 9:39 AM

Tamara

1 child

They're not letting me in.
I haven't given it yet.

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September 4, 2025, 9:40 AM

Ulyana

2 children

I made a card for my daughter for the start of the school year. It's in her backpack, but she hasn't used it yet, and I don't see a need for it right now.
My son wasn't allowed to buy anything in the school cafeteria when he was in elementary school.

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September 4, 2025, 9:40 AM

Tuti

1 child

Why would he need to eat a third time if he spends at most four hours at school?
And the cafeteria only has buns and pies, nothing substantial there.

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September 4, 2025, 9:41 AM

Oksana

1 child

In first and second grade, we weren't allowed to go to the cafeteria by ourselves. We could only go if the whole class went to eat, and then we could buy something, eat, and finish before the class returned to the classroom.
In general, going around the school alone wasn't allowed.

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September 4, 2025, 9:42 AM

Alena

2 children

We have first-graders who won’t attend class because the older students bully them: they push them around, block their way, won’t let them buy things, drive them to tears, take their money, and pressure them to buy things through deceit.

My younger child is in the 4th grade and does not go to the cafeteria of her own accord. My older child is in the 7th grade and visits the 4th-grade class only a couple of times a year, but for the same reasons as the first-graders, she avoids that nightmare.

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September 4, 2025, 9:42 AM

Roza Habibullina

By the time they were about five, they were already buying things for themselves and saving up.

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September 4, 2025, 9:43 AM

Svetlana

1 child

Svetlana Oh, more than half of our class isn’t eating. Previously we had our own cooks, and the food was really tasty—everyone praised it. Then they were let go and we started ordering food from suppliers. For some it was still somewhat okay, but now, in the second year, there are new cooks and the complaints are nonstop. And nothing changes. The kids have stomach pains after this food, and overall it’s really gross. Even though my child isn’t picky about food—if the food is tasty or at least normal, she’ll eat. Here, though, she says it’s disgusting. So in first grade, during the first half of the year I fed her lunch-box meals, and then I started giving money so she could buy it herself. But our cafeteria actually has a pretty decent selection.

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September 4, 2025, 9:44 AM

Elena

1 child

In the school cafeteria, they buy breakfast and lunch. I gave money for pastries. But now they can go by themselves during a break to buy them.

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September 4, 2025, 9:45 AM

Anna

2 children

Anna First, let them start shopping in your presence.
They should choose something at Pyaterochka or another store on their own and buy it.

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September 4, 2025, 10:33 AM

Yana Osadchaya

1 child

Tuti Okay, this is the third time he's told me that the school meals are disgusting. In kindergarten, he used to ask for two portions. At home he only has breakfast, and that's all. I don't know how bad the meals are there, but he says the other kids eat.

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September 4, 2025, 2:06 PM

Yana Osadchaya

1 child

Svetlana Listen, I just asked him and he admitted that he doesn't eat at school. He says the food isn't tasty at all, and the soup smells. When I asked whether others eat, he says someone does. I don't know how bad it is there; at kindergarten he ate well and asked for seconds. It seems he's hungry, and at home I only feed him breakfast. Probably I'll have to give him something to take with him — otherwise it won't be good for school if he's hungry. And what do you usually give him for a snack?

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September 4, 2025, 3:48 PM

Olya

Is cash the only option at the buffet, or can we also pay by card? Paying by card is safer to avoid having money stolen.

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September 4, 2025, 5:21 PM

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