Eating issues at school

[sherrardk]

My eldest son (he is nearly 6) came home from school yesterday and said that he hade been made to eat three bites of banana. He hates bananas and we do not make him eat anything that he does not want. What would you do about this (the forcing him to eat banana, not the fact that he does not like bananas).

[sunflower68]

sherrardk are you sure they forced him to eat them? It does seem very wrong to inflict something like this. You do need to get to the bottom of it which I am sure you will. I take it it was not physical force, but verbal.

[sherrardk]

Hello - yes it was verbal but I suppose it depends on whether it was a cajoling tone or if it was more demanding. With half term looming I have written a letter to the class teacher asking her to let the other staff know that I do not want him pressurised to try foods that he does not like but I am wondering if I was too soft.

[clarebear86]

this happend with my cousin a few months back, the dinner lady told her she wasnt allowed out to play until she had eaten all her lunch which was something she really didnt like she still wouldnt eat it and had to sit in the dinner all while all the other children were playing out. my aunty went into the school the next day and had a word with the head teacher as she wasnt happy and she is now allowed to take in her own packed lunch and if theres something she doesnt eat the dinner ladies have been told to make sure she puts it back in to her lunch box so my aunty can see what she has eaten not to make her eat it. obvioulsy there isnt a problem now as my aunty only packs the foods she knows she likes and she can see what she has eaten.

[gessoo]

I can assure you that there are some horrible bullying dinner ladies about. Having worked in schools I think the job attracts quite bullying types. Of course there are some lovely ones as well. My son was forced to eat a brussel sprout once at school and swallowed it whole to get rid of it.

I do so sympathise. I absolutely hate bananas and was once made to stay at the table by my grandmother until I had eaten my banana for pudding. She told me that it was just a silly fad! After a while, she mashed it up and poured condensed milk on it, which only made it worse!!

Children can be faddy, but we have to remember that there will be foods they simply hate and can't eat - after all adults are just the same - why shouldn't children dislike some foods. My son hasn't eaten an egg since he was about 9 months old.

[kazzianne]

my son now refuses to have school dinners because they make him eat the puddings,and believe it or not,he only wants the dinner,not the afters.But they wouldnt let him outside to play till he had eaten it,so now he will only eat packed lunches!! Who in their right minds would insist a child eats a pudding,when he has wolfed down all the dinner and vegetables!!

[gessoo]

I have seen children being forced to sit and finish their dinner during the whole lunch hour and then promptly be sick! The dinner ladies have had to clear it up - serves them right.

By 'dinner ladies' I mean those that supervise not those that cook or dish up.

[smudge]

Poor kids - 'orrible dinner ladies! (Well some anyway).

When I was just 6 years old, I remember being 'forced' to eat macaroni pudding, but every time I put the disgusting rubbery tubes in my mouth I gagged. The dinner lady insisted I ate it, but I just couldn't & ended up being sick, bringing up my first course. I was so upset & also hungry for the rest of the day!

To this day I cannot even look at cooked macaroni or pasta tubes without gagging - so you see it had an adverse effect on me!

Never force children to eat what they don't want to eat, we didn't do it with our children & they have both ended up being quite adventurous cooks - unlike me!

[willspal]

It is another form of bullying. Horrible person. Just another bully.

I hope the person who forced your son to eat something he did not want to eat gets the same treatment and see how they like it.

Just because they are children does NOT give another person (even more so an adult) a right to make someone eat something.

This is how eating problems are started.

I can understand you have to gently encourage a child to eat a bit more or to just try a little bit but forcing serves no purpose with a child, it just achieves the opposite effect.

I just can't imagine any adult puttinf up with this so why the hell should a child.

Big bully.

WP

[smudge]

.....Popping in

I totally agree willspal , we used to 'encourage' our children to try different foods & drinks, but would never have forced them with anything they didn't like the texture or taste of.

[sunflower68]

worryingly we know of a dinner lady who made a 10year old girl eat her lunch, then the girl promptly made herself sick. Her mum is severely bulimic.

[smudge]

Exactly my point sunflower - making an issue out of eating, is not a sensible thing to do!!!!