Eating advice please :)

[katy1310]

Hello

My little one is starting school in September and after a lot of deliberation, we've decided to put her on packed lunches. She's not a picky eater as such, more of a small eater or a grazer through the day and we thought that if she took a packed lunch I could do a variety of things, just a small amount of each thing, to try to suit her liking of grazing

The thing is, she really doesn't eat a lot through the day at all - she doesn't usually like breakfast until at least 10.30 and then she eats very little for lunch most days. She's had two days recently where she's had a packed lunch at preschool, and both times she's come home with very little missing from the lunch box. She is also a very slow eater and I suspect this doesn't help if she sees the others going off to play!

I'm looking for ideas for the kind of things she could take for her lunch that would be quicker to eat but also fill her up for the afternoon, without making her feel too overwhelmed by the amount that's there. The two times she has taken her lunch in, she's been given sandwiches, a babybel, a yogurt, a little box of strawberries and grapes and a little box of raisins. Both times, all that's disappeared is the cheese and a tiny bit of a sandwich! I'm thinking cucumber sticks might be good but what else?

As for breakfasts, I'm at a loss there too! She has JUST - in the last couple of days - started eating porridge again, after we had a friend and her 16 month old baby staying, and the baby was eating porridge, so yesterday and today she actually had breakfast - porridge and a yogurt (yesterday) and porridge and a banana today before going to preschool. Both days when I've picked her up at lunchtime, she's skipped out, full of beans, rather than her usual whining "I'm tired" and wanting to snuggle then lie on the floor for ages when we get home and I think having a decent breakfast has helped with that. Some days she completely refuses to eat at all before going out. In preschool they do give them a snack before snack time if they're hungry but I can't see it being like that in reception, and snack time is different in reception. At the moment they get quite a lot but in reception it's just an apple or a pear or a carrot or a banana, rather than a bowl of cucumber, grapes, mini crackers, carrot, tomatoes, apple, orange etc. I want her to have the energy to be able to concentrate and learn and the way she's going on, she won't!

For breakfasts, I've tried her on various cereals, a bowl of fruit, yogurt, crackers, cheese on toast, normal toast, eggs, beans on toast, - some days she'll eat any of the above but not till about 10.30! It's days when she's out at preschool that I really struggle to get breakfast into her, so I do worry about when she starts school

Anyone else got a child with eating habits like this? xx

 

[mummy2o]

DS school had break around then and sells fruit and toast. Could you give her some money for break time? Also make sure a teacher records what she eats so at least then you know she's had something.

 

[katy1310]

DS school had break around then and sells fruit and toast. Could you give her some money for break time? Also make sure a teacher records what she eats so at least then you know she's had something.

I don't think they do that, it's a tiny little village school and they provide fruit and milk in the morning - just hoping it's enough if she hasn't had any/much breakfast. This is now day four that she's had porridge for breakfast this week though, so fingers crossed she may get into the habit of that over the summer holidays then I won't worry so much about the morning! xx

 

[Wiggler]

Dylan was really picky too, his lunch normally is a sandwich, fruit/veg, a dairy product (yogurt tubes or cheese), water bottle and a cereal bar. To start with he would barely eat any of it, but after a month of being tired and grumpy he started eating more of it and now rarely has anything left when he comes home.

No advice with breakfast, Dylan demands food as soon as he wakes up lmao. Maybe toast shapes? I sometimes use white and brown bread, cut a star out of the middle of each and put the stars in the different colour bread, the kids love it

 

[mummy2o]

DS school had break around then and sells fruit and toast. Could you give her some money for break time? Also make sure a teacher records what she eats so at least then you know she's had something.

I don't think they do that, it's a tiny little village school and they provide fruit and milk in the morning - just hoping it's enough if she hasn't had any/much breakfast. This is now day four that she's had porridge for breakfast this week though, so fingers crossed she may get into the habit of that over the summer holidays then I won't worry so much about the morning! xx

My son is also in a tiny village school also so might be worth phoning and checking before the holidays break up. As for the milk its free until they are 5 then you have to pay for it. That's great she's now eating porridge every morning and hopefully it will become a habit.