Please or to access all these features

SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Is a tuna sandwiches every day ok?

3 replies

ForeverBubblegum · 10/03/2021 17:14

Asking this hear to avoid the "he should eat what he given or go hungry" brigade, so wanted to ask people who understand that any food getting eaten is sometimes a priority over whsts healthy.

DS(4) is autistic, and has a somewhat restricted diet. Fortunately not as limited as some and it does cover a good range of food, but needs some thinking about. I'm starting to look a lunch options for when he starts school in September, as it will probably need a gradual build up to adding new foods or variations.

The school offer a cold option of sandwich, salad, fruit and yogurt every day, so my plan was to make sure he could eat this (he will already eat most salad, some fruit and yogurt), then not worry as he's fed and has the option to try hot meals as/when he's ready, without the pressure. So over the summer we're working on eating sandwiches.

The problem is he doesn't like biting into sandwiches if the filling is stiffer than the bread, so that rules out cheese and ham, even though he likes both on their own. He will sometimes eat cheese spread or smooth peanut butter, but the only thing on the school menu that he's likely to manage is tuna.

Part of me thinks I should just take it as a win that he's having a reasonable meal, but at the same time I'm kind of worried about the amount of mercury he might be getting. I can stop giving him any at home, but it would still be 5 portions a week, possibly for years if he makes having the same lunch part of his routine.

Would that be ok, or would I be better sending in a packed lunch?

OP posts:
orinocosfavoritecake · 10/03/2021 19:16

You’ve probably already seen this, but: www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/fish-and-shellfish-nutrition/

There doesn’t seem to be a risk - at least not for a boy as he’s not going to get pregnant.

AngelicaM · 12/03/2021 22:25

Hello, my son went through a phase of eating tuna sandwiches a lot, not every day but alternate days, he too has a very limited diet. We did see a dietitian during this time and I asked about it and she explained than the main concern with eating too much tuna and thus Mercury is for females and also more specifically women looking to get pregnant as too much can effect fertility. Hope that helps, I’d kill for him to still eat it! 😩

DodoBaggins · 13/03/2021 04:54

Would he be happy to take apart the sandwich and eat the filling? If so I wonder whether you could do that with ham? He could then eat the ham and the bread separately and not have the textures together.

Others have posted information about over consumption of fish which is the only thing I would worry about for having a tuna sandwich every day.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.