Primal parents, what do you do at daycare? page

[abbyful]

My son just had his first solid food yesterday (avocado! no cereal for him!).

When I drop him off at daycare, the kids are usually eating breakfast, which is almost always cereal & milk and a cup of fruit. I'm not sure what the typical lunch is, I'm guessing it is SAD-healthy because in the daycare's parent handbook they talk about how they strive to provide nutritious meals for the kids.

How do you balance your kid's nutrition versus not being singled-out from his peers for being "the kid who has to eat special food"? Should I even worry about what he eats at daycare? At home he will be eating mostly primal, obviously.

[Unicorn]

For me, it depends on the age and setting.

With both children, I exclusively breastfed and pumped. By the time we moved to solids, their providers were very clear that I had specific ideas about feeding children. Ex: I would rather pick them up early and nurse them as opposed to giving them a bottle at 4:45.

I have a strong history of food allergies, so when we moved to solids I was very specific about what foods were OK, and what were not. Both DS and DD had dairy sensitivities through late infancy, so daycare knew not to give any foods without permission. It just evolved from there.

Diet and compliance is one of my 'litmus' tests for daycare. If I cannot trust them to respect my wishes, then I don't want them caring for my child.

I think it is more a concern as the kids get older, and there are more 'pizza days' or birthday celebrations. Then you need to go with your gut and your knowledge of how diet affects your child. DD is about 80% primal now at age 7, started at 5. We limit the pizza, but are OK with cupcakes at birthday celebrations, etc. It does not seem to have a negative reaction for her.

DS is more gluten sensitive, so we will need to be more aware of the frequency or amount. When there has been a birthday at his current daycare I have provided a 'safe' snack for him to have along with the other kids. I am not against a GF cupcake now and then.

My goal is not for kids to be 100% primal no matter what. That dogma just will not work for my day to day life. If I can control their breakfast, lunch, dinner every day, I am not going to lose sleep over an odd snack or pizza lunch.

[solstice]

I let my kids be singled out and I also am always volunteering to bring in appropriate snacks for classroom parties, etc. I stress that we eat a different diet than most people (and the schools seem to be constantly teaching the damn USDA food pyramid) and that it's ok! My kids have been totally agreeable but I've really strived to not let them feel left out due to food issues. As babies , I didnt work, but I always brought my own homemade babyfoods wherever we went.

[jojohaligo]

I won't give you advice about whether to go with the supplied snacks or not, but as a thought - I taught my sons that the goal was NOT to be normal; look at what is considered "normal." For some things it is necessary to follow the normal rules, like following the speed limit, but for others it is best to buck the trend.

[zoebird]

If you can provide your own food for your kid, then do. That's what my friend does with her daughter (and they aren' teven primal). NO one cares/notices.

My son goes to kindy, I provide food. But, they provide either GF buns or rice balls as well as cut fruit. Of course he is allowed to eat this. One day a week, he's with a friend of ours. She's big into baking bread and rolls. He's allowed to have bread and rolls there, too. He rarely overeats these things really. And, I honestly am not that fussed about 1-2 rolls of bread per day.

It's all up to you, though. What you want to do is the right thing to do.

[Crabbcakes]

I am a wee bit of a hard-liner when it comes to my kids and outside food because two of mine simply get sick when they cheat on their respective diets, so we are now long known as the family that brings in a cooler (when we are together) or that my kids always have big lunch boxes packed. We frequently make others jealous with our real food. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

It is a whole sight easier to start Primal from the very beginning than it is to rein them in later
If you told the daycare that your family kept Kosher or Halal or Hindu vegetarian for example, you would expect to be honored - this should be no different
You are currently training your son's taste buds with each and every food you offer at his very young age, give him an appreciation of the good stuff with no taste distractions for a good, long time
Do not be afraid to be the "special kid" - your attitude to this will largely determine how secure in the Primal he develops; if you are essentially afraid of the judgement of other mommies with their cupcakes and cereal snacks, he will become unsure about his food
There are so many allergic kids nowadays that it won't be long before he meets another "special kid" - support each other in doing what you each need to do
If you bring your Primal food to your workplace, he should take Primal to his

Congratulations on your son's first solids! Wow, those days passed so quickly for me with mine - enjoy them!

[denisedb]

We send our kids to a Waldorf school so that sort of takes care of that. However, I wouldn't think at his age you have to worry about his being singled out. As he gets older and cares about that stuff, you can just be matter of fact about it, and hopefully, so will he.

[solstice]

I won't give you advice about whether to go with the supplied snacks or not, but as a thought - I taught my sons that the goal was NOT to be normal; look at what is considered "normal." For some things it is necessary to follow the normal rules, like following the speed limit, but for others it is best to buck the trend.

I agree with this not normal approach. I often joke about the fact that we are NOT normal and thank goodness for that! ...they know I'm weird when I'm gnawing the sinew off of a marrow bone... This is our life---we're different and it's FABULOUS! ...that is what I try to get across to them and I think it's working. ...it's also a great lesson to learn to be different if/when all of your peers are doing something wrong or questionable. My kids are already used to being 'weird' and hopefully this will carry through to high school and more severe peer pressure situations.

[zoebird]

Also, these days with so many kids with food allergies, everyone is eating some kind of special diet, and so it's no big deal. At least in the circles where we run.

DS's girlfriend has dairy and egg allergies. Most of his friends also have gluten and some have nut allergies as well. Some have allergies to gluten, nuts, dairy, and eggs. And some have night shade sensitivities. Others can't go near garlic or grass.

Kids are just weird these days. Or, we know more so we adapt to them or something.