https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:54:02 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652531 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:13:36 +0000 sapphire 2652531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think that if she eats those foods at home, she should eat them at preschool. I'd explain that to the teachers and request no extra snacks. She'll eat if she is hungry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652509 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:26:17 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 2652509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think if it's a private preschool you can just tell the teachers not to give her crackers or whatever it is. Preschool is hard because they are suddenly exposed to all the less healthy options out there. Certainly my older one started asking for mac and cheese or pizza daily and we had to be firm that that was just not going to happen at home.<br /> Now that he's at public school it's WAY harder because his school has free lunch, so even if I send something, if he sees that the school lunch has something he wants more he just eats that. I've pretty much given in and let him get school lunch every day now. Our current "battle" right now is on chocolate milk. I've been asking him to please not drink it, or at least not every day, but there's not too much I can do other than that. :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652496 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:06:33 +0000 Anagram 2652496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO started pre-school this year, but she has always been in daycare, so the environment is similar. I've almost always packed her lunch, so that's not new. What IS new this year is that now I have to pack 2 snacks, and on those snacks, yes I've relaxed my nutritional standards.</p> <p>Our old daycare used to provide two snacks and a lunch--LO was dairy and soy free, so we always packed her lunch but let the daycare provide dairy free snacks. They usually just served fruit or dry low-sugar cereals.</p> <p>But at pre-k, I think the lunches are pretty unhealthy so even though LO can eat dairy now, I pack her lunch. Pre-K doesn't provide snacks, and I'm just burned out on coming up with lunches and snacks every day--plus, my LO isn't used to eating so often. At home, we do just breakfast, lunch, 1 snack, and dinner. At school, they seem to eat every 2 hours.</p> <p>So now, I usually just pack up a graham cracker or some Annie's Bunnies, throw in an unsweetened apple sauce, and call it a day. That's huge for me, because LO is 3.5 and literally never had so much as a Goldfish cracker before starting preschool. Our previous snacks were always whole fruits, or sometimes those pea snacks, or hummus and carrot sticks, etc.</p> <p>She's lately started asking for Mac N Cheese a lot, because her best friend in class apparently eats mac n cheese every day for lunch. But because of the previous dairy issue, LO has never actually had Mac n Cheese.</p> <p>She does have days where she barely touches lunch. Luckily, her teachers don't force it. They just send it home. I don't fill her up with junk if she comes home hungry though. Yesterday, she asked for boiled eggs right after I got home from work, which was fine by me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652446 Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:34:53 +0000 Corduroy 2652446@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Goose: Yes, I am sending food she eats at home. I think she is totally playing the teachers. I told one of the teachers as much at pick up today. We seemed to agree that the snacks and temptation of the other lunches were the issue. I hope I can get the other teachers to see that.</p> <p>Fortunately DD's school does send leftover home. She often eats her leftovers in the car on the way to pick up DS from daycare. I started adding an extra ice pack to keep the food cold all day. I should probably point that out to her teachers. </p> <p>@PinkElephant: DD thinks she wants school lunch but I don't know how she would react if she got it. My impression is that it must not be healthy since it's just a back up option. But I should look into it. The snacks are preschool are pretty bad (IMO). Chips, crackers, cookies and seems like there's always a "special" reason for candy. </p> <p>@gotkimchi: She usually gets leftover meat with sides of raw veggies and fruit. With that she'd have beans, cheerios, or oatmeal (which I think is weird - but that's her request). If I don't have leftovers she gets meatballs, sausage or a peanut butter sandwich. Sometimes she gets cheese or banana bread. She asks for school lunch, peanut butter, or just plain butter. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652418 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:54:35 +0000 travellingbee 2652418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Goose: at our preschool it comes home but that's not enforced at my elementary. I ageee that I'd want the parents to know. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652415 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:37:43 +0000 PinkElephant 2652415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I find it so hard when school provides lunches, but the child doesn't like it. The first two weeks of school, I tried to have DD1 eat the school lunch, but I found out she'd refuse it and end up eating tons of extra snacks in the afternoon. The snacks range from apples/bananas to goldfish/granola bars...but either way I'm not totally thrilled to have her substituting snacks for meals. So I started sending lunch/snack to give myself a little more control over what she ate. By sending lunch items I'm okay with but she also likes, I avoid having her survive on snacks, but I'm incredibly frustrated she won't do school lunch, and am trying to push her on days it's something I know she likes...though this morning she freaked out bc school mac m cheese is not HER Mac n cheese, and I packed a lunch,</p> <p>@Mrs. Goose: yes, at our school leftovers come home with DD - I appreciate knowing what she ate/didn't watch so I can discuss it with her and adjust what we are sending. If I see she's leaving part of something I want her to eat and finishing something I'd consider a treat (i.e. Leaving protein, housing berries), I send less of the "treat" so she's hungrier for what I want her to eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652408 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:13:33 +0000 Mrs. Goose 2652408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travellingbee: at some schools around here eithe rparents or teachers and eces make the kids take the leftover food and wrappers home so their parents know what they ate and didn't eat. Then some parents get their kids to eat the leftover lunch as their afternoon snack or dinner. Depends on the parent though. I would try to stop kids throwing out food (because that sucks) when I was at work so that parents could get the message that maybe something different needed to be sent. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652406 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:10:12 +0000 travellingbee 2652406@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I send food he like that I approve of. I am a teacher and every day see kids bring food they don't care for and just dump the whole thing in the trash. It kills me. A typical lunch I send is: apple, cheese stick, pb&amp;j sandwich (or organic chicken nuggets), carrots and ranch dip, fruit/veggie pouch. He generally eats all of it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652394 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:46:56 +0000 Mrs. Goose 2652394@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If she would eat what you send her with at home or while with you then she's just playing up the people at preschool and I would ask them not to give her crackers or substitutions when she has her own lunch. If she eats she eats and if she doesn't she doesn't. There was a little girl in my kindergarten class who kept wanting the cookies/crackers that were for an after school program instead of her lunch. She was given them sometimes when she had barely any lunch (but that's another story). However, when she has enough food in her lunch I would say no and stay firm. She got mad about a perfectly good sandwich one day and was yelling at me for a cookie. She had just turned 4.</p> <p>If food is meant to be provided by the parents then you should be in control of her food intake. It does. It can be hard for kids when they see other kids have little snack packs and fun foods though so maybe you can find a happy medium for both of you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652386 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:32:22 +0000 Trailmix 2652386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Eh. In my opinion, food is not worth getting into battles over. I'd let your daughter have what she want within reason. There's plenty of healthy kid-friendly options. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652372 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:06:16 +0000 gotkimchi 2652372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What are some examples of what you pack now and what she asks for? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652369 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 20:01:44 +0000 My Only Sunshine 2652369@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: Is there "kid food" that you could send along with whatever else you're sending? I've definitely loosened my standards a little while still trying to stay mostly healthy - apple slices, cucumber slices, hummus, string cheese, yogurt, blueberries, turkey rolled up in a tortilla... those are things my daughter will always eat and I feel pretty ok about them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-food-standards-when-lo-starts-preschool#post-2652260 Mon, 14 Nov 2016 16:07:16 +0000 Corduroy 2652260@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD (3.5) started preschool two months ago. Previously she attended an in home daycare where lunch was provided. Now we pack lunch. LO is generally a good eater. She's only recently started rejecting veggies but she likes meat, dairy and fruit. We don't do "kid food" at home so LO is seeing a lot of stuff at preschool that she hadn't had exposure to before. </p> <p>Lately she's been asking for lunches that don't meet my nutritional standards and rejecting the balanced meals I send. Today preschool asked me to send lunches she likes better because they are having to give her crackers or different lunches when she doesn't like hers. </p> <p>My thinking is that I need to put my foot down on the crackers and stuff. She'll eat her lunch or won't. Eventually she'll get hungry and eat her lunches. </p> <p>Am I being too harsh? How have others dealt with this? </p>