kids with special diets not eating because other kids are eating school lunch?

[Anonymous]

we're raising 11-mo-old DS vegetarian, which means he can't have many of the dishes served for lunch at his daycare. I have to pack a lunch for him. I have a hard enough time finding stuff he'll eat at home! so, even the stuff he does eat at home (veggie burgers, rice/beans), he won't eat at daycare. his teacher thinks it's because he sees everyone else eating different food.

is this possible at his age? and, if so, is there anything I can do about it?

[Anonymous]

yes, i think the daycare teacher is probably right. it'd be nice if DS had a friend in the class who was also vegetarian so they could eat the same things, but it sounds like that is not the case (however, you may want to contact some other parents and find out if any of them are veg so the kids could eat the same stuff?)

wish I had some good advice for you. the only thing i can say is that your DS will definitely eat if he is hungry enough. problem is, he might not be starving and will not eat at lunch time, but then he might be too hungry later in the day, which leads to crankiness etc. i guess i would give DS a big breakfast at home before he gets to daycare and hope he will eat somethign at daycare and then feed him a lot when he gets home. good luck, sorry i wasn't more helpful

[Anonymous]

i am the pp -- you might get more responses if you clarify that you are talking about daycare and not "school" lunch --when i first saw your subject line, i thought you had an elementary aged kid.

[Anonymous]

Just be persistent. When you think about it, the idea of him eating a veg lunch from his peers is no different than a kid who has wheat, gluten, nut, 'you name it' allergies who have to eat different foods. In my dds daycare class, she has a boy who has just about every listed food allergy out there. He manages to eat and understands he can't eat what the others are eating. Sorry to not be more helpful but thought I'd give a different perspective.

[Anonymous]

why don't you let him choose by himself when he grows up? Let him be a vegetarian by choice, not by imposition. Many health care profesionals will agree that meat and fish are necessary, at least in a moderate amount.

[Anonymous]

Okay, that last response is ridiculous. I don't think that any well trained health care professional today would "agree" (with who? you?) that meat and fish are necessary. Spoken like a true idiot.

OP, maybe once in a while you can provide some vegetarian food for your son to share with the other kids? Even if it's just snack stuff so they have something in common at mealtime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why don't you let him choose by himself when he grows up? Let him be a vegetarian by choice, not by imposition. Many health care profesionals will agree that meat and fish are necessary, at least in a moderate amount.

Meat is not necessary - not only that, it can be very harmful. For some of us, it's an issue of cruelty and an aversion to eating the flesh of an animal. For some, it's religious, some it's cultural.

Any healthcare professional worth his/her salt will tell you THAT.

I seriously doubt your 11 MONTH OLD is experiencing peer pressure. It's probably an issue of eating at school at all. Many kids go through this. I can also tell you to stick to your guns. I can probably guess that what daycare serves is not healthy. It's a good thing you get to choose the healthiest choices for your son. My dd is proud to be a vegetarian, just as she is proud of many other things that makes her unique from her peers.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps your son could eat SOME of the same things as the other kids. For example, if the other kids are having fruit or veggies or crackers - that part of the lunch could be the same. Then, only the meat would have to be substituted for something else.

[Anonymous]

my son barely eats at preschool...he's always starving when he comes home. so some of it might be just eating less when away from home.

[Anonymous]

I have a veggie three year old in a preschool/day care program. The school offers a veggie menu. What they do is give veggie meals that are similar to the meat meals. For instance, when they have chicken nuggets, they offer the veggie kids soy nuggets. When they have meat nachos, they give bean nachos. (I am sure you get the point). You should find out what the menu is and then send a similar food item for your DC. HTH

[Anonymous]

I use to work at a daycare. I had a child who was on a veg. diet. Like the 11:43 posted suggested, your son can eat SOME of the foods the other kids are eating. Even at 11 mo. children really do want what the other kids have. Have you ever tried to "sneek" a cookie infront of your child...they dont miss a beat, and will be right there wanting a bite. Same concept at daycare, he sees it and wants to try it. Your daycare should provide you with a menu, if they are having hamburgers, peaches and green beans, your child can eat the peaches and green beans and you pack him a veggie burger and he will not know he has anything diff. Even if a veggie burger is not something he "likes" when at home, chances are higher that he will try it at daycare cuz his peers are eating "hamburgers"
You can try to provide the veggie burger type meets to be as close as possible to what class will have for there meal and daycare still needs to provide the other foods.
If they have meat raviolli, you send cheese raviolli etc.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here... thanks for the suggestions!

Yes, DH can eat the other stuff off the school menu, like the veggies, fruit, bread, etc. so, we're fine there. it's just the "main event" I'm struggling with.

I do have a lunch menu. what a great idea to try to mimic the food of the day with a veggie subsitute! I'll definitely try it. I'll try anything. I'm so discouraged, and I don't want my little boy to go through the day hungry.

and, I know that kids can be so cruel for any reason, any differences. I fear that he will be singled out at lunchtime when he gets older. I might be hyper-sensitive about this, but I'm a mom. I worry!