Parents of Schoolgoers  Discussion Forum

I have a little girl, 5 years old. She just started Kindergarten...we are in the USA. Everyday, I ask her how her day went. She tells me good things; everything from the teacher is fine also. However; she takes her lunch to school and it seems as if she eats none of it.

I worry about her going through the entire school day without anything or very little to eat. I make sure I feed her a nutritious breakfast and a good dinner...but, since she is in school all day, I am uneasy that she has yet to even touch
her lunch.
(This is a FULL day Kindergarten)

I send her with lunch everyday for several reasons. One is, there are certain foods \";she does not eat\";.

So, I want; I really need some advice as to how I should handle this.

Should I just wait and see what happens or should I inquire with the teacher?...or something else?

Maybe this will pass, but, she is a little girl, on the slim side and I am a worried Mom.

Please advise me on this matter.

Thank you in advance,
Reeti Anandi replied. hello reeti,

i stay in japan and we are vegeterian. it is almost a year since she started to go to school and even now she just doesnt touch her lunch. it just comes back as it is even in spite of me giving her what she asked for. but her teachers advised me to be patience with her and give her time. i also feed her breakfast and dinner. bye archan replied. please stop worrying and nagging her. praise her when she has eaten even a bite & ignore if she has not.
my daughter aged 9 is improving now after 2 years
Himangi replied. Hi Reeti,
My daughter is 4 and goes to a full-day school here in the US.
She has to take lunch and for almost 4 months or so, I tried different
foods to make her eat atleast a little bit, but all she did was nibble.
In her school, they sit on tables with other kids. While playing with her
casually asked questions about what the other kid's bring and if she likes other
kid's lunch boxes etc. Pop came the answers - Mommy I want sandwiches just like so and so,
mommy I want yogurt(colored one) etc.

I too feed her breakfast and dinner to make up for her being slim. Also, give her 'Flinstones' Vitamin
to make up for.

The lunches which I give generally are :
1) Butter Sandwich 1 slice, 1 box of juice, 1 cup of strawberry/vanilla yogurt.
2) Cheese Sandwich - Apply cream cheese liberally and then on top sprinkle the mexican blend grated cheese,firmy press the slices
and then cut, 5-10 grapes, Water.
3) Macaroni and Cheese (make this with Kraft), 1 box of juice. Bought a thermos small size one.
** This is her favorite.
4) Lunchables - get it in the grocery , buy the nachos pack (with no meat), small peices of water melon.
5) Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1 table spoon of cooked frozen carrots and peas with salted butter.

Well, there are so many more. But, remember it may be some time before she eats everything. Now, my daughter
eats atleast one slice of sandwich and nibbles on the rest. The first thing after coming home is more like this:
You know Mommy finished her lunch today, did you? Show me your lunch box!!Wow!! thats good let me put a start on the
lunch calendar(on the fridge).
You might also consider letting her pick out the lunch box.

Hope this helps.
Good Luck
Himangi Sammah replied. Hi Reeti
Does your child eat by herself or do you feed her the breakfast and dinner. If you are feeding her yourself then probably she is uncomfortable eating her lunch by herself and is looking forward to being fed. You could help her eat her dinner by herself so that she gets a hang of it. Besides for her lunch give her some of her favourite foods and those which are easy for her to eat, like a tuna/egg/baked beans sandwich, a hot dog, and her favourite fruits cut into tiny cubes.
Yes, do inquire from the teacher so that you will know if there is any other reason why she is not eating her lunch. When my son was in KG he would not eat his snack so the teacher herself suggested i make tiny portions of whatever i give him for snack, e.g. 4 small triangles of a sandwich, this was very helpful. You could try it out too and to start with ask her to eat just two portions of the sandwich or whatever you give her.
Hope this works for you.
Sammah