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My Kid Won't Eat His Lunch
November 3, 2009 at 1:18 PM by Cafe Cynthia - Comments (5)
Photo by LelandsMommy
My son is doing so well in first grade -- he's excelling at math, improving steadily on his penmanship, and reading so much that he's literally eating books. Now if only I could get him to eat his lunch. This is a kid, who when he is home, has to protein load to body builder proportions every two hours or he wilts like a flower.
He only gets two chances to eat during his 6 1/2 hour school day -- lunch and an afternoon snack -- yet most of the time his quarter-eaten and barely recognizable sandwich and partially nibbled on snack still greet me in his backpack at the end of the day.
When I suggested to his to teacher to give him a little prompting at the lunch table, she said, "Oh, no, we don't do that in first grade. You have to convince him to eat on his own."
I know exactly what the problem is. His mouth is moving too fast talking about Bakugans, soccer, and Transformers that there's no room for food. By the time he settles in to eat, lunch time is over and it's time to pack up and get back to class.
By the time he gets home in the afternoon, he's the Tasmanian Devil. He's so hungry and grumpy that it's impossible to even talk to him.
A mom in Answers was saying she has lunch with her first grader at school. I love that idea. For some reason, I don't think that's permissible in our school since the whole class eats together. Plus, I'm not sure my son would be keen on it, though he does still let me hold his hand in public at times. Knowing him, he'd probably get so used to me being there that he wouldn't be able to eat lunch without me, then I'd have a whole other problem to deal with.
justanotherjen in an Answers thread about grade-schoolers not eating their lunches helped me realize this is one of those situations where I have to let my child solve one on his own.
"You can't make them eat and you can't control what he does while he is at school. He has to learn to eat or realize he will be hungry all day. He'll figure it out. Just keep packing things he likes."
Does your grade-schooler, tween or teen have trouble eating lunch at school?
Related posts:
Abusing the School Lunch Privilege
FILED UNDER: elementary school, food, friends
Comments:
If this is just a child who can't eat in the time allowed, he will get the hang of it, or learn to deal. School's really don't give children enough time to eat, and rushing is a bad habit. Most kids survive and either learn to rush, or learn to eat at another time. They might get a giant breakfast, or eat "lunch" after school.
Your comment that he needs to "protein load...every two hours" makes me wonder if something else is going on. I would talk to the doctor about this. If the child has a medical condition like hypoglycemia, the school will have to make accomodations. If the doctor says it's a medical problem, you can request a 504 plan be written.
If he is needing to eat every 2 hours, it is time to talk with the doctor.
Aw, thanks Bluebonnet for your concern. Actually I'm overexaggerating about the protein loading. All I mean is that he has such a super high metabolism (genetic) that he needs something in his tummy at all times. I have to give him little snacks constantly or he turns into a monster. He got that trait from his Daddy.
My oldest son was the same way when he was in first and second grade, he wasn't eating, i even tried to send lunches with him and he still wasn't eating. So I spoke to the school and told them that he was soooo hungry when he got home and asked to watch him at school and see what was going on, and they noticed that he wasn't eating becuase he was to busy talking, so they put my son into a group that was held over lunch where kids that were having a hard time getting there lunch in over lunch time sat in this group and ate there lunches and discussed different topics, this way they were allowed to talk, which is what they all like to do, and eat there lunches with an adult that would remind them of the time, and after that he always ate all or most of his lunch, and now that he is in 3rd grade he doesn't have a problem.
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I had to laugh when I read this because I know my son is so busy talking at lunch about some of the same things, especially Transformers. haha He generally eats well though, because he knows that it is a long school day and he will get hungry if he doesn't finish his lunch.
Do they have a snack time during the day at your son's school? Every teacher my son has had so far allows a snack break. That can really help for them to not be so hungry when they get home. Packing something like yogurt or fruit and granola that is quick and easy to eat makes for good snacks.
Maybe let him help you shop for lunch foods and things that he doesn't normally take, things he can get excited about and that he has a hand in choosing (and maybe even making). My son LOVES going to the store with me and choosing his own lunch stuff.
Good luck!
KTMOM Nov. 3, 2009 at 7:42 PM