Arghhh! DD hiding lunches below her bed

arkonite_babe

As the title says, today when tidying DD2's bedroom I found 2 packets of sandwiches below her bed. (It's a cabin bed with a storage cupboard below, so lots of room to hide things) This isn't the first time she has hidden her lunch, in fact this is the 5th lunch I have found in the past week and a half.
I'm currently browsing the Old Style board for ideas on what else to give her for lunch instead of sarnies, but wondered has anyone else had a similar problem with their child?
I asked why she had hidden her lunch instead of coming to me or her Dad and saying she wasn't hungry, didn't like the sandwiches etc and she just shrugged her shoulders and said "don't know"
To clarify DD2 is 9 and has had a few concentration problems. We have on the advice of our GP started her on Omega 3 every day and have noticed a dramatic differnce in behaviour and concentration, but this latest trend of hiding food is worrying me. When she came home yesterday she asked if she could make a cheese toastie as she was hungry. I agreed as she eats well at teatime and has no problem with fruit or veg either. Then today I find more hidden food :mad::mad::mad:

The lunches may not have been from this week as one of them was totally green :eek:
I would be very grateful for any help, advice and suggestions that you all can throw at me.

Thankyou all in advance
ab

misty

I wouldn't worry too much that it is anything serious. When I was at school we used to have these terrapin buildings and I threw my lunch under them virtually every day!!! this was when I was at primary school. From memory, I think it was because I was expected to eat up my lunch and would have got told off for wasting food if I took it home uneaten - I think I just wanted to get on with playing.

My nephew used to flush his sandwhiches down the toilet! and another nephew used to sell his on the bus!!

None of us have developed eating disorders or didn't like the sandwhich contents - we just wanted to go out and play quickly. This was the 70s and 80s though and I would expect the food police otherwise known as the dinner ladies would be more vigilant and notice that your daughter was eating her lunch.

Perhaps if she eats a good breakfast and tea - she could just have a smaller lunch and some fruit to keep her going?

My son quite often brings his lunch home with not much gone and I know he likes the content. He said some of his friends have thrown their lunch away when they could to do it without being seen!! He eats porridge, toast and fruit for breakfast. More fruit at school, he eats the fruit I put in - maybe only half a sarnie, yoghurt, biscuit at lunch and then a full tea. I try not to worry too much - he would eat them if he was hungry. I do think it is very common albeit extremely irrating

Merlot

I too find my son who is a big eater at home doesn't eat his lunch and often brings it home, if he could get away with he would hide it, so I wouldn't comment on it.

My daughter doesn't like sandwiches and has never taken them, she takes diced melon and strawberries instead with a cereal bar, packet of crisp, apple and a biscuit for lunch...maybe you could do a tuna pasta salad, maybe she is bored with sandwiches.

I wouldn't be too worried at this age, keep an eye on her and if she continues with hiding food then you must speak to her again, but don't turn it into an issue.

Merlot.x.

seven-day-weekend

When I was a school dinner lady at a Secondary School, a huge amount of kids threw their luch away and then went and bought chips or pizza from the canteen.

They never chose the 'healthy option' if they could have junk.

They probably knew they would get told off if they didn't eat the healthy sandwiches they had been given.

Also, some think it's 'uncool' to take sandwiches.

Becles

Mine get bored with sandwiches every day.

There's millions of bread products out there - buns, baguettes, ciabatta, pittas, tortilla wraps, bagels etc. There's countless types of cheeses, cooked meats, tinned fish etc, too. I always vary what I buy so they don't get bored with the same sandwiches every day.

Have a look at childrens snack products and see if you can make your own. Mine like my "lunchables" which is a bag of crackers and a bag of cubed cheese, sliced meat and salad bits. Or a Ploughmans version which is the same but with diced apple instead of the meat.

The also like taking pasta/rice salads, and home made quiches, cold pizza and pies/pasties.

Speak to your daughter about the ideas on this thread and see which she wants to try and get her more involved. She might eat more if she's been involved with deciding what goes in her lunchbox.

arkonite_babe

Becles the lunchables idea is a good one, she likes those (I only buy them if they are on offer)

I have just shown DD2 this thread and she has admitted after reading this that she was hiding the food cos she's fed up with sandwiches. *Big Sigh* All she had to do was say she didn't want them any more. Maybe she was scared to incase she thought I was going to go mad at her. I have explained that I was more cross about finding rotten food under her bed than the fact she doesn't want sandwiches any more.

We have agreed that soft cheese (philly or dairylea type) and bread sticks, fruit salad, ham and crackers etc are the types of thing that she wants to have in her lunch box. She is especially keen on the fruit salad idea and also the idea of me making mini muffins. I don't mind doing this at all and will gladly bake every day after I finish work if it means that she's not going to go hungry during the day.

Thankyou everyone for the taking the time to post the advice, I really appreciate it.

I'm now off to browse the Old Style forum for more inspiration and muffin recipes!

thanks everyone
ab

Penny_Watcher

I make a packed lunch for DD1(13) for four days per week. Up to four days of the week most of the packed lunch comes home again. He doesn't get much pocket money and if he's buying other food at school then it's from his own pocket and the school has a strict healthy food policy (no sweets, crisps, sugary fizzy drinks etc).

If he's going hungry at lunchtime it's his own choice. I used to get quite wound up about it and DD1 knew it was a way to 'push my buttons'. :cool:

Now I rationalise it that I've done my bit by providing him with a healthish, nutritious lunch and if he chooses not to eat it then he can go hungry (Eeeee - the little booger :rolleyes:)

dawnybabes

Luckily you found them - I put mine at the bottom of the wardrobe for weeks - only got found when they started smelling. Mine was my mum was just sending me with too many butties - I couldn't eat them all but was told not to waste food and didn't pass a bin on the way home. ONce I'd told her she reduced the amount I took and we where all happy !! Now I don't have a problem with too much food - in fact quite the opposite :-)

pippamannequin

Penny_Watcher wrote: »

I make a packed lunch for DD1(13) for four days per week. Up to four days of the week most of the packed lunch comes home again. He doesn't get much pocket money and if he's buying other food at school then it's from his own pocket and the school has a strict healthy food policy (no sweets, crisps, sugary fizzy drinks etc).

If he's going hungry at lunchtime it's his own choice. I used to get quite wound up about it and DD1 knew it was a way to 'push my buttons'. :cool:

Now I rationalise it that I've done my bit by providing him with a healthish, nutritious lunch and if he chooses not to eat it then he can go hungry (Eeeee - the little booger :rolleyes:)

My eldest was a bit like this, I thought he ate his lunches until the youngest told me his big bro was throwing them away.

It was just something to do with the fact that his 'mates' had changed classes and ended up on different lunch times, so to have his dinner break with his friends he just didnt want to eat with them when they had already finished...

maybe it could be something to do along these sort of lines?

Anyway, he went hungry, in the end he takes a couple of pounds out of his paper round money and i give him a fiver a week, and he gets something on the way home from school.

The fiver represents pretty much what a packed lunch would cost me a week and unfortunately they dont get free school meals as i work, even though im worse off than if i didnt..(but thats another story)!

mishmash

Hiya

My kids often did not eat their packed lunches, it was partly to do with being bored, but also because at primary school they get to play out when they have finished.

My kids wanted to play more than they wanted to eat, while the dinner ladies encouraged those on school dinners to eat more all they said to the packed lunches kids was that they had to bring their uneaten food home for their mums to see. This obviously led to them throwing it away, eventually I learnt and made healthy food that was quick to eat, sliced pitta bread, dips a few grapes, strawberrys. those frube yoghurt thingies mini sausages. Just used lots of little pots and variety also reduced the ammount to a more managable snack and checked with the kids that it was what they wanted and enough.

That seemed to work, they are all at senior school now, buying their own lunch. God knows what they eat now!

Mish

arkonite_babe

arkonite_babe wrote: »

Becles the lunchables idea is a good one, she likes those (I only buy them if they are on offer)

I have just shown DD2 this thread and she has admitted after reading this that she was hiding the food cos she's fed up with sandwiches. *Big Sigh* All she had to do was say she didn't want them any more. Maybe she was scared to incase she thought I was going to go mad at her. I have explained that I was more cross about finding rotten food under her bed than the fact she doesn't want sandwiches any more.

We have agreed that soft cheese (philly or dairylea type) and bread sticks, fruit salad, ham and crackers etc are the types of thing that she wants to have in her lunch box. She is especially keen on the fruit salad idea and also the idea of me making mini muffins. I don't mind doing this at all and will gladly bake every day after I finish work if it means that she's not going to go hungry during the day.

Thankyou everyone for the taking the time to post the advice, I really appreciate it.

I'm now off to browse the Old Style forum for more inspiration and muffin recipes!

thanks everyone
ab

Update:

we went shopping today and have bought for lunches......
basics cream cheese
basics cheese spread
basics snack crackers
basics ham slices
basics chicken roll
basics mild cheddar
mini chicken fillets ( I have cooked these and there's enough to last a week easily)
fruit to make fruit salad
plus if DD2 wants she can have an oat and raisin bar, I will also be making mini muffins this week. She takes water to school to drink as school milk has stopped in our area and no other drinks are allowed. School is also a nut/seed free zone due to a child having a nut allergy.

I think this is plenty to be starting with and DD2 seems happy enough with the options I have given her for the week. She likes the idea of hm versions of dunkers and lunchables, plus she's a good fruit and veg eater so no probs there with the 5 a day.

Once again I can't thank you all enough for taking time to post advice :A, I was at my wits end thinking I was the only person to have experienced this, I should have known better :rolleyes:

ab