Dad explains why his toddler getting only 20 minutes to eat lunch at school isn't okay, sparks debate

Children are fussy eaters. There are only a handful of exceptions to that premise. Since children's taste palates are still expanding, they often either eat slowly or do not eat nearly enough. To add a tight time to when they eat can often result in them just not eating enough. On that note, a father on TikTok, Dz Watts–who goes by @dz_watts–posted a video on how he is appalled by the mere 20 minutes his daughter gets to eat her lunch, who is just 6 years old.

He begins his video by coming straight to the point. He says he wants to talk about school lunches for a moment before asking the people one question. He asks them, "How long do your kids get to eat?" The dad then explains why he asked such an absurd question and says that it is because he was recently reached out to by his daughter's school and got to know something that he found to be quite ridiculous. He learned that each day at school, his 6-year-old daughter gets only about 20 minutes during her lunch break to eat her food. 

It is a big shock to him because he has known even adults have a lunch break ranging from at least half an hour to an hour. He says, "So, you're telling me that an adult gets 30 to 60 minutes for a lunch break to be able to eat." He further adds, "And most of the time, I'm guessing they think that's not long enough." He then wonders out loud if that much time seems too less for an adult person, how is it possibly enough for a little child?

While talking about his daughter, he mentions that she has ADHD. He says that his 6-year-old is expected to go to the bathroom, then to the lunch room, where she has to decide what to eat and then actually eat it, all with ADHD, in just 20 minutes. He says his daughter has often told him she does not have enough time to eat at school, which has inevitably resulted in her not eating enough. He says, "She has to throw her food away and she's falling off her growth chart." Talking about his lunchtime in school, he mentions how he used to not only have a main lunch break of 45 minutes but also two small breaks of 15 minutes each where the kids were also served food. That is why all of this is way too confusing and shocking for him.

Before asking people what their thoughts were on this, he summarized by saying, "I can't imagine giving a kid 20 minutes to be able to handle a bathroom break, go to the lunch room, manage to eat their food somehow and leave when most adults can't do that." Finally, he asked people what they thought and if their school districts did this too. His clip sparked debate among viewers. @sdfogle said, "Most elementary teachers get the same. We choose between eating, fully microwaving our food, making a copy, or going to the restroom every day." @shesfromthevalley said, "I'm a teacher and I think all parents should be advocating for their kids to have longer breaks. My high schoolers get 30 minutes, but there's only one."

A few believed that kids have "plenty" of time to eat lunch. @ladellesmith commented: "Retired teacher and principal. I’ve seen from 20 to 45 minutes. It does NOT matter... time allotted! Kids talk, talk and talk. When you say time clean up, they try to wolf it all down. 30 yrs-all the same, no matter (sic)." @roumar17 added: "Teacher here. Have done lunch duty for 25 years. They have PLENTY of time to eat and use the restroom."