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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To give ds the remains of his packed lunch for his tea.....

17 replies

whoops · 03/07/2008 16:10

Before giving him anything else to eat as I am fed up with throwing the contents of his lunch away
He normally has school dinners but today they had a picnic for their seaside topic. He chose what he wanted in his lunchbox and that's what he got but all he has eaten is the crisps and biscuit.
AIBU to make him eat the sandwiches before he has anything else to eat?

OP posts:
belgo · 03/07/2008 16:11

I would just give him sandwiches in his lunchbox for school.

anorak · 03/07/2008 16:12

I do this too. DS is quite happy with the arrangement.

Doodle2U · 03/07/2008 16:12

Well, the butties have probably being sweating away in his lunch box all day, so I wouldn't but....you could always make some fresh ones.

if it's a one off, I wouldn't bother. Just give him dinner as normal and forget about it. Not worth the stress.

Mercy · 03/07/2008 16:13

How old is he?

I'm confused, how can you throw the contents of his lunch box away regularly when he has school dinners?

MaureenMLove · 03/07/2008 16:13

Nope, definately not! I would. He won't mess with you again! I had to do that with DD for a few weeks, when she wouldn't eat her fruit. I put the same peice of fruit in her box everyday, til she ate it! The apples were fine, if a little bruised at times, but the banana sealed the agreement to eat fruit! [evil mother emoticon]

Original poster
whoops · 03/07/2008 16:20

He is 6.9.
He has packed lunches when he goes to holidays club and on the odd day that he doesn't like what is for dinner that day. So he did have a packed lunch yesterday to.
He almost always leaves the sandwiches on those occasions and normally dd will polish them off but I want to get to learn to eat them at lunch rather than being more interested in geting out to play.
I'm fed up because I know he is quite fussy which is why he always chooses what he wants in his lunchbox rather than me just giving him something and hoping he will eat it

OP posts:
Mercy · 03/07/2008 16:31

Ok, get you now!

Fussy eaters are a pita aren't they? Would he really eat the sandwiches now? Is there anything else he would prefer?

What about leaving them out all together so that he is hungry when he gets home? [clutching at straws]

Original poster
whoops · 03/07/2008 16:33

if he wants anything else to eat he will eat them.
He actually asked for the sandwiches but would have left them out if he hadn't asked for them

OP posts:
bergentulip · 03/07/2008 16:44

My 3yr old has not eaten all day. He'll end up starving at breakfast tomorrow.... tough.

(normally a good eater, but last couple of days being a pita with food, so want to nip it in the bud!)

Yesterday I gave him the same pasta he refused at lunchtime for his tea..... he ate it funnily enough- warmed up of course! Starving as he was!

I'd go with the 'make him fresh sandwiches' approach.
But, obviously explain why you are doing it, and that this is what will happen from now on if the sandwiches are not eaten. Otherwise he'll just think you've gone temporarily crazy.

Twinkie1 · 03/07/2008 16:46

DD is down stairs at this very moment eating her pack lunch that she left here this morning - saved me making dinner and she was pretty pissed off it was meatloaf day - but she forgot her sandwiches and in my constant fight for her to take some sort of responsibility for just one thing in her life she still forgets her lunchbox - either to take it to school or bring it home!

When she used to not eat her lunch I literally packed a sandwich and a drink and that was that - nothing nice or cheesy so she just had a sandwich to eat - got bored and decided it would be better if she ate her lunch afterall!

solo · 03/07/2008 16:47

Don't give him the treats, just a sandwich and a yogurt.
I would've done the same. He chose it and food is far from cheap...you could always tell him that he'll need to pay for it by giving some of his pocket money(if he gets any). But I'm a hard mummy...

mrsfederer · 03/07/2008 19:34

I thought I was the only one who did this...

Every single day my 8 yr old leaves parts of his packed lunch and regularly takes just one bite out a sandwich or apple.

They get presented again at teatime. They stay in an insulated bag all day so are usually still in good nick (apples might go a bit brown but hey ho...).

He gets no more tea until the leftovers are gone.

If I didn't do this I would be throwing away vast quantities of food every week.

streakybacon · 04/07/2008 08:04

Ds (9) doesn't eat much of his packed lunch at lunch time because he just wants to get out and play as fast as he can. Our arrangement is that he finishes it off in the car on the way home if he wants to have chocolate later. If he doesn't eat his proper food he doesn't get treats.

Solo, you're a woman after my heart!

MollyCherry · 04/07/2008 09:44

I love the pocket money idea! I've always been quite soft on my daughters' (3.10) eating habits, but on the whole she's a really good eater. That said, I've just been made redundant and with the cost of food as it is at the moment, I'm now sticking any leftovers in a plastic bag in the fridge and recycling them for tea or next days lunch. So long as they're fit for consumption why not?

shinyshoes · 04/07/2008 10:00

My eldest especially dosen't eat his lunch often as he'd rather get out in the playground and play with his friends, often there have been days where he's come home and all his had is a small bunch of grapes and left the rest. The dinner ladies say this is normal an most of the year 6's are like that.

I will not give them a snack when they get in from school now, thye have to wait until dinner as I'm sick and tired of throwing away a pefectly good lunch on a daily basis, especially with the cost of food rising like it is.

my youngest has often said 'can I eat mine now' when he gets home from school and realises he has to wait til 6.00pm for his tea, but I've stopped that now. They wait for their dinner.

They have been coming home with a lunchbox full of empty cartons, wrappers and pots now.

It seems to have worked

ChasingSquirrels · 04/07/2008 10:10

I told ds that he has to eat sandwiches first, then other things, and he is only to eat his crisps if he is still hungry. He regularly comes home with the crisps untouched, but eats all the other things.
Now I realise he may be fairly unusual in this, but he does know that I would be cross if he ate cake/crisps and left sandwiches/fruit.
He also knows that if he did do this he would ONLY get snadwiches & fruit.

Original poster
whoops · 04/07/2008 10:16

I gave him the sandwiches and he did eat them especially as I had done chicken curry for dinner and it's his favourite
He didn't eat all his dinner but dd did polish that off for him

OP posts:
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