Fussy eaters, pls share school dinner experience!

[Only me]

Hello,

My daughter will start school in September and I'm already worrying thinking about her having to eat in the school.

I've looked at the menu and they have things she usually eats, but in her own terms: pasta (only with cheese sauce), jacket potatoes (only plain) etc...

I believe she will freak out when she finds out she's not coming home for lunch like she does now.

I'm thinking of giving her a packed lunch, to make the experience less traumatic, but I think then I'm missing out on the chance of having her eat more things than she does at home.

Am I over worrying and being over protective?

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

B.

 

[hattiehippo]

My very fussy eater takes packed lunch - pretty much the same thing everyday but he does actually eat it.

He had school dinners for the first week when he started school in September. He came home starving cos all he ate was the baked beans or jelly. He had 4 years at nursery before where watching other children eat made no difference so I wasn't surprised when it didn't at school either.

 

[OmarsMum]

My very fussy eater does not eat at school, last year we tried school lunches but he didn't touch them, this year we were allowed to send packed lunch but again he refused to touch his food. He even refuses to take snacks with him. He is not bothered and I stopped worrying , he eats a good breakfast at home and we bring snacks with us for the ride back home . He's 5

 

[Only me]

Ha, ha, ha! Well done him for sticking to his guns, he sounds so funny!

 

[Only me]

My very fussy eater does not eat at school, last year we tried school lunches but he didn't touch them, this year we were allowed to send packed lunch but again he refused to touch his food. He even refuses to take snacks with him. He is not bothered and I stopped worrying , he eats a good breakfast at home and we bring snacks with us for the ride back home . He's 5

Despite my post, I have stopped worrying too, it's my sister and mum that keep making me feel like I'm failing my daughter.
My sister says she doesn't eat because I don't put it in front of her... If she only knew the amount of food I've lovingly prepared and which has ended up in the bin.
I just want to make it easier on my daughter, hopefully the school diner ladies won't put pressure on her.

 

[Jchihuahua]

My fussy eater has a packed lunch. At least I know she's eaten then.

 

[shanny]

mix it up a bit perhaps - try some days packed lunch and school dinner with some she might like to try?

 

[aimee-lou]

mix it up a bit perhaps - try some days packed lunch and school dinner with some she might like to try?

This.

You get the menu in advance, and maybe you could try making her the things at home so she can try them? Or maybe one or 2 days a week that sound like she'll eat them say she can eat with her friends and maybe she'll be a bit more likely to eat then?

Explain to the school though. My 5yo has school dinners 4 days a week - he HATES roast dinners. It doesn't matter who makes it, he won't touch it! lol. So he takes a packed lunch every wednesday when it's roast dinners. Other days he's gotten upset when he's not been that hungry or the dinner ladies have been particularly generous....they have to ask to start their pudding and he sometimes gets told no until he's eaten more of his main. I would hate your LG to have this happen and dent her confidence at lunch time. If they're aware of eating issues though they're a lot more sympathetic....my boy is a bit of a dustbin! lol

 

[Scally]

I have the opposite experience here, my fussy and slow eater is doing well with school dinners. Shes eating things she would never had tried before! She has hot meals usually 3 or 4 days a week. One or two of the days if she doesnt like the hot option she'll have the cold option available which is usually a cheese baguette.
I was so worried when she first started, asking the school to keep an eye, and asking her exactly what she ate, but shes done so well. It does help we have the menus so i can tell her what will be served each day

 

[aimee-lou]

No cold option here. I think Earl would be a lot happier if there were. There's some days where he is sick to the back teeth of fish fingers (they have them once a week and that would drive me mad! lol) and would love the option of a sarnie! lol

 

[RachA]

Esther is a nightmare eater. She's not fussy in the sense that she will only eat specific things-she will eat what she wants but only when she wants to. She does however always eat pasta.

We decided to go down the school dinner route because she will eat better when I'm not around. We've found a pattern-she never eats the fish, she always eats anything that has pasta and the rest she eats some but not all of it. I'm happy with what she does eat but on fish days I send in a packed lunch.

 

[Natsku]

Maria is a pretty fussy eater but her teacher tells me that at daycare she eats what she's given without fuss and even takes seconds, even of food she refuses to eat at home. It seems she just eats much better when she's not around me, and the influence of other children eating the food helps. And possibly she just doesn't realise she can say she doesn't want something.

 

[RachA]

Maria is a pretty fussy eater but her teacher tells me that at daycare she eats what she's given without fuss and even takes seconds, even of food she refuses to eat at home. It seems she just eats much better when she's not around me, and the influence of other children eating the food helps. And possibly she just doesn't realise she can say she doesn't want something.

That is a really good point and something I've not thought of before. Esther is generally the same. At home she will not touch potatoes in any form but at school she will eat some of them. Maybe it does come down to the fact that school is a different compartment and you don't say no to your teacher etc.

 

[Only me]

Thanks for all your comments.

I didn't grow up in England and am not familiar with school dinners. I didn't know I could send packed lunch some days and let her eat from their menu.

I guess I'll have to go with an open mind and test her a little and see how she reacts.

B.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I work at a school and some say they dont like it but often eat it with staff encouragement. Only the most stobborn wont but I have never have any eat nothing x

 

[Racheldigger]

A lot depends on your school dinner provider: I don't think it's the same everywhere. At Rowan's school, the dinners are provided by a company called Food 4 Thought. At the end of each half-term, you get the next half-term's menus, and can sit down with LO and fill out your order form - I started out by reading it out to Rowan, but now she's nearly six, she can fill it in herself with a bit of help with the difficult words. There are four main courses every day, one of which is always vegetarian and one of which is always 'jacket potato with choice of toppings'; there is only one dessert, but you can choose to have yoghurt or fruit instead. If LO likes nothing on offer that day, you can leave it blank and send a packed lunch instead. We find this system works very well (partly because Rowan is very fond of jacket potatoes), though I admit that I make her fill in the form in pencil, and when I go over it later in ink on the pretext of making it clearer, I do occasionally edit it!

 

[aimee-lou]

A lot depends on your school dinner provider: I don't think it's the same everywhere. At Rowan's school, the dinners are provided by a company called Food 4 Thought. At the end of each half-term, you get the next half-term's menus, and can sit down with LO and fill out your order form - I started out by reading it out to Rowan, but now she's nearly six, she can fill it in herself with a bit of help with the difficult words. There are four main courses every day, one of which is always vegetarian and one of which is always 'jacket potato with choice of toppings'; there is only one dessert, but you can choose to have yoghurt or fruit instead. If LO likes nothing on offer that day, you can leave it blank and send a packed lunch instead. We find this system works very well (partly because Rowan is very fond of jacket potatoes), though I admit that I make her fill in the form in pencil, and when I go over it later in ink on the pretext of making it clearer, I do occasionally edit it!

Wow that sounds like such a nice system. We have a set menu with a veggie alternative...that's it. If you don't like it, lump it.

Earl is getting sick of fish fingers. They have them every friday and his face when I said fish fingers this morning broke my heart. I've said that after half term he can have pack up on a friday if he doesn't want fish fingers....I just didn't have the fixings in this morning to do it today.

The menu we have seems a bit samey generally to be fair. They are serving 200 children in an hour though so I suppose something has to give somewhere.

 

[Natsku]

No choice at all here, it seems you can't even get a vegetarian option until you're in the 7th grade (with school nurse and parents permission)

 

[dani_tinks]

My son's a fussy eater, we opted for hot school lunches to try and encourage him to eat what his friends do. He's getting better and has discovered new foods he likes. The staff are really good at encouraging him to try everything on his plate.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Ours have a meat and veggie option daily and every day there is fresh salad and pasta/cheese available alongside whatever the meal. They have 4 choice dessert. X