WHICH day is your favourite school dinner?

My daughter answered immediately: Monday.

Trouble is Monday is the only day that she has a packed lunch.

I wasn’t surprised. I know she would prefer sandwiches every day but we persist with hot lunches in the hope her diet will be more varied.

Obviously the main reason she likes the packed lunch is the packet of crisps, or sometimes, mini sausages she finds in her lunchbox.

Would that make me fall foul of the lunchbox police?

Last week a row blew up about a primary school which had banned sausage rolls and pork pies.

The school was calling parents if any contraband was discovered in their pupils’ lunch boxes.

Parents were inevitably upset at being told how to bring up their children, while teachers question how they can promote healthy eating – as the government insists – if they turn a blind eye to unhealthy food in school.

I have sympathy for schools but ultimately what a child eats and when should be down to the parents.

Why? Because it is only them who know what the child has eaten over the day, week, month and year.

My daughter has crisps in her lunch box on a Monday but I make sure she doesn’t have crisps at other times.

Some may suggest saving treats for home – but I also want to know that my children have eaten when I’m not there.

It seems sensible to put the easy food I know they will eat in their lunchbox for when they are easily distracted and keen to go and play.

The cucumber battles can be fought at home.

There’s a feeling among some that children will eat anything if they are hungry enough.

But anyone with a fussy eater knows that they are resolute, often coming home from school starving or thirsty.

How can we judge a parent for putting squash in their child’s water bottle – if it means they will have a drink at school?

These are finely-balanced decisions parents must make.

Some make poor choices for their children and schools can – and should – help to educate pupils to avoid repeating this cycle as adults.

Asking for support on healthy eating from parents is fine – but it should stay a request.