my 5 yr old will not eat at daycare

I am having a very hard time to eat his lunch at daycare.  We have started to take away snacks if lunch it not finished.  At home all he wants to eat is mac n cheese, pizza and biscuits. I can get him to eat a few grapes.  I am at  my witts end.   I feel like I need to force him to eat lunch at school and change what he eats at dinner.  
any suggestions?????


This discussion is related to My 5 year old daughter won't eat anything but what I consider junk!.

[margypops]

We very often worry if our children dont eat enough , perhaps their small stomachs dictate how much they feel like eating and the kind of food they eat, Mac & Cheese seems very nutrious,() carbs and cheese,Pizza isnt too bad as there are some variations out there with Peppers etc on, and cheese and protein,and some grapes and I bet there are a few others he will eat . Dont be at your Wits End , how about you ask him what he would like to eat at preschool and at Home, can he come shopping and help you, and  choose a few items he may enjoy. Better still send him with his Dad to have a food buying day and Dad would love to be involved .

[margypops]

They also do those Lunchable foods for school they have Protein and crackers etc and a dessert in them they may be up in price now though like everything,Who takes away his lunch, do you mean daycare? Some children are slow eaters ask the Daycare to give him longer or are they under some kind of schedule.Have you tried Chicken Nuggets and fish sticks , for evening meal , however as I said in previous psot ,get him involved in telling you what he would like and trying out a few foods.

[nicolac]

My son would never eat a sandwich is his lunchbox, so between us we came up with things he would like, he said he wanted little things he could eat quickly, so we came up with. Cocktail sausages, cherry tomatoes, cubes of cheese, grapes and a homemade fairy cake. I would also use a biscuit cutter and make a different shape each day out of bread and butter, like a duck or a heart. He used to eat this quite well. But if i put in a whole sandwiche etc he wouldnt touch it. It was all about speed with him.

[babygirl6152]

I worked at an Elementary school for over 20 years. If you saw how little most of the kids eat, you would be shocked. I think it is the excitement. Now I work in a preschool and some eat lots and some nibble. One little girl ate 3 crackers or less with a yogurt drink for lunch every day last year (they sent more than that). She was healthy all year long. Don't worry about it one bit.  PLEASE

Leave off the afternoon snack, but not as a punishment, and he will be more hungry at dinner.
My parents fretted about me not eating for years when I was little. The pediatrician said what they are still probably saying "They eat when they get hungry." My parents actually wanted to get him to prescribe me an appetite stimulant. There is an appetite stimulant, if your child is extremely underweight. But don't use it to control his eating. Just lay off if they are healthy. Give him a multivitamin with a bit of toast or pop tart in the mornings or a bite or two of cereal because he can get an upset stomach if taken without food. I wouldn't recommend taking it at night since the B vitamins might stimulate his little system.

[Natta1980]

I though my son was bad eater......

Mine was the same until we discovered that he loves soups. Still, when it comes to daycare, my son only wants chicken with rice/chicken noodle soup, but he eats everything - veggies and all. Will not eat any veggies outside the soup (except carrots)
Soups are great because you can introduce new things easily and it will not really make it all that unfamiliar.....

PB sandwiches go over well....

I know how frustrating it can be when child only eats a certain thing - and many times I am too tired and five in....However, if I do not offer anything else and stick with the initial offering (tonight it was a bean and bacon soup, and toast with cream cheese) - he will try some of it. He knows he cannot have desert unless he eats his food.
If your son likes pizza, he may like some baked pasta dishes with cheese and sauce, as well as spagetti

Lunchables worry me because of processing/sodium content, especially sodium....Our daycare prohibited lunchables because they get audited by agencies; that allows them to keep their "top rating". Apparently, government does not consider lunchables an appropriate nourishment for the little ones. And they are expensive.

Key is not to fall into the "catch 22 trap" - as to give him only what he wants, and thus removing a chance for his trying something new

Keep offering - it takes about 20-25 times for mine to start to like the food

I do the same for pre-school - teachers are making sure that he does not get his "desert" (yogurt, or pudding, or that 100 calories oreos) - unless he eats his food.

Good luck - keep offering him new things - and do not give up:)