Amazingly, Owen was Mr. Shy when we got there…hiding behind me and literally holding onto my shirt. He had already met the teacher, he was back in his old classroom, AND his buddy Braxton was there…so I have NO idea what was going on. It took me a good five minutes to get him to look for his cubby (and I only got him to do it by proclaiming I’d found it and pointing to a picture that was obviously NOT him which got him giggling). Then he wouldn’t give me a good smile.
Then he finally came back to his normal self…he told me the reading area had moved (the classroom had been completely rearranged).
Their daily schedule:
Watching the kids play outside:
Katie stacking Play-Doh:
They had the menu sitting out for next week so I took a look. As I expected, breakfasts and snacks were okay, but there was NOT ONE SINGLE THING he would eat on any of the lunches except cheese pizza (and milk).
- Monday: Chicken parmesan over whole grain pasta, green beans, peaches, milk
- Tuesday: Beef soft tacos on tortilla, red beans, pineapple, milk
- Wednesday: Turkey & cheese on whole grain wrap, squash, peaches, milk
- Thursday: Grilled chicken breast, brown rice with gravy, cranberry sauce, green peas, milk
- Friday: Cheese pizza, corn, mandarin oranges, milk
I asked the teacher if there was ANYTHING we could do because he wouldn’t eat any of it. She said “Well, if he just eats some of it, it should be okay.” I said “No, you don’t understand, he won’t eat the chicken parmesan, the pasta, the green beans, the peaches, the soft tacos, the red beans, the pineapple, the turkey and cheese, the squash, the grilled chicken, the rice and gravy, the cranberry sauce, the peas, the corn, or the mandarin oranges.” Her response: “Oh, you really mean he won’t eat ANYTHING.” Yep. She sent me to talk to the main admin person. I went through almost the same thing with her verbatim.
Me: My son won’t eat anything on the lunch menu except the cheese pizza. Is there anything we can do?
Her: Well, as long as he eats something like the beans or the rice or the peaches…
Me: No, he won’t eat the chicken parmesan, the pasta, the green beans, the peaches, the soft tacos, the red beans, the pineapple, the turkey and cheese, the squash, the grilled chicken, the rice and gravy, the cranberry sauce, the peas, the corn, or the mandarin oranges.
Her: Oh. Wow. You really mean he won’t eat anything.
And of course I’m thinking WHY DOESN’T ANYONE EVER BELIEVE ME?!?!
And long story short, it’s tough luck. I can’t bring anything and they can’t even give him, say, that day’s breakfast or snack foods at lunch time. Each menu square is for that exact day/time only with NO exceptions. He can have a second helping at breakfast or a second helping at snack…but for lunch he’s just out of luck. They will, of course, promote trying the new foods (which I am totally a fan of) but if he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t eat. Too bad. I said “So after he hasn’t eaten anything for lunch for two weeks can we revisit this?” And she said yes, but she was sure everything would be fine. And I guess it might (hopefully peer pressure will work its magic), but it’s just VERY disconcerting to know your super picky eater who you KNOW won’t like anything and HATES to try new food won’t be eating lunch and there’s nothing you can do about it. On one hand I’m glad I don’t have to pack a lunch every day…but if it means he’s not eating lunch, then it’s kinda stupid. Damn government rules. Oh, and they never get PB&J due to allergy precautions, even though no one in his class has peanut allergies. (Okay, I’m really just guessing at that, but inwas told they do not get peanut butter, so I just extrapolated the rest from that.)
But on the positive side, I really hit it off with the teacher. She’s super nice and personable and we ended up chatting quite a bit since we were the last ones there. She’s a mom of three (5, 2, and 4mo), a military wife, and they’ve only been here a year. So I invited her to join our mom group since we’re always looking for new people!! Of course we don’t have a designated weekly group meet yet this school year (we’re still getting schedules worked out) but I told her she could come over to my house for a play date and then we’d go from there. She seems excited so that’s cool. And I figure it can’t hurt to get on the teacher’s good side… 🙂
Well, here’s my theory. After a few days, or more, he will realize that what he gets is what he gets. He’ll see the other kids eating and will probably try/taste some of it. Maybe the fruit, like peaches, etc. With their encouragement, and not yours, maybe it will work? It sure is worth a try! This might be the “ticket” you’ve been waiting for! In any event, he won’t starve. With breakfast and snack, he’ll get through it. I’m hoping it will work!
I know, I’m hoping. He also knows he’ll get rewards at home if his teacher says he tries something new. He even told me this morning he didn’t want to try something new because he wanted to wait for school!