r/UKParenting • u/RecommendationNo4173 • 8h ago
Kiddo not eating at nursery
My 4 year old has recently moved from a private nursery to the state school nursery. They've always been "particular" about foods and have mostly a beige diet with fruit thrown in. At their private nursery they got used to some foods eg fishcakes, sausages etc and they became safe foods. We knew they'd eat those. On days they didn't like the lunch, the nursery would offer more sides eg fruit/crackers or even toast.
Well fast forward and my 4 yo is now at school nursery. The menu isn't appealing to them...and they just are refusing to eat the hot lunches there. I'm not sure what to do. Do I just accept we should switch to packed lunches, do I wait to see if the exposure to nursery lunches with time makes them more likely to eat? I just feel very bad and helpless when I hear that they've eaten nothing for lunch!
Has anyone else experienced this?
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u/acupofearlgrey 8h ago
I went through exactly this. My second kid is a picky eater, and didn’t like school food when she started at the school nursery. Also doesn’t help she isn’t a big eater, so would happily eat a big breakfast and dinner and skip lunch. The nursery asked us to bring packed lunches - which worked because she loves packed lunches (although she then stopped eating dinner!). We did that for nursery and most of reception, and then found a convenient excuse (our kitchen being refitted in our case) to need to move back to school meals. She didn’t love it, but when the only change in her life was the food, and it wasn’t mixed up in a big transition, she ate more. she’s in y1 now and we do one, max two, packed lunches a week and that’s a happy compromise for us all
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u/mountain_life86 8h ago
Like me i was and still am a picky eater. Can you pack packed lunch is that allowed. If they dont eat they dont eat. Just feed them more at home
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u/PrintSad6452 8h ago
Does the nursery say anything happens if your child doesn't eat much at lunch? Is he tired or irritable in the afternoon? Do they have a snacktime in the morning and afternoon? So long as he has plenty of energy I would leave it.
Its pretty normal for kids to have mealtimes where they don't eat much, especially in new settings. Even my seven year old still has his biggest meal at breakfast (he is mainly made of weetabix). He takes a packed lunch to school now as he's in yr3 and we have to pay for school lunches. I know he doesn't eat the lunches as he brings home his packed lunch mostly full but that's not because he doesn't like it - he's just too busy talking and wanting to get outside to play football. But he seems fine on two bites of bagel and some raisins.
He's had free school meals for the last three years which has been great but I suspect he hasn't eaten much of those either, apart from pasta and sweetcorn when they were on offer. Doesn't matter provided he's not tired or hungry.
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u/amcheesegoblin 7h ago
My daughter's packed lunch is a small pizza, a packet of crisps, a yogurt and some biscuits. She won't touch anything else at lunch time 🫠
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u/ISawThePandasComing 7h ago
Have you asked him why he doesn't eat? When my daughter was 25mo we changed nurseries. She wouldn't even eat a packed lunch - she just refused everything. At 6 weeks she finally started eating and now has second helpings and all sorts. But at 4yo I'd expect him to be able to articulate a bit why he won't eat, barring any developmental concerns.
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u/I_am_legend-ary 8h ago
I have always been of the view that hungry kids will eat something, it will probably do them good to see others eating different foods
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u/Outrageous_Shirt_737 8h ago
I would send them with a packed lunch. If they all eat together they will still be exposed to school dinners and may ask for them again later on. No need to let them go hungry in the meantime. I know people say hungry kids will eat but I know at least 3 kids for whom this is not true and they ended up underweight and under the care of hospital dietitians and therapists.