[Edamommy]

ds just started preschool. He's the youngest guy there at 3 1/2. He's a very social kid. Very kind. Never fights/argues w/ his peers. Loves everyone. I had concerns about him speaking up for himself...<br><br><br><br>
Well, I wrote ALL OVER his entrance form that he's an ovo-lacto vegetarian and was quite specific about geletin as well. I never mentioned this to them on his first day as I was overwhelmed with the whole thing. He's on day 3 today. I picked him up after his first day and on the way home I asked him how his day went and he said "... Miss Diane said I had to eat my meat..." he then told me he was given a "pig sandwhich" but didn't eat it. I totally forgot to mention anything yesterday but today brought it up to the director who said "... yes, we actually DIDN'T know he was a vegetarian,and was given a ham sandwhich."!!!??? he apparently pulled the meat out and balled it up in his napkin and ate the sandwhich w/ cheese. Diane had offered him another sandwhich to which he replied "... no, no more meat. I'm a vegetarian and you can go ahead and have THIS meat back too" and handed her the balled up ham from sandwhich #1." Those were his exact words! So, they looked in his file and sure enough realized he's a veggie.<br><br><br><br>
on a side note... a "big girl" was being bossy with him. she asked him to MOVE OUT OF THE WAY when he was in line at the bathroom and she actually tried to push him out of line and my little 32lb boy told that 4.5 year old "no, I know I was here first and you need to take your OWN place in line". When she persisted he raised his hand and said to the teacher "so and so needs help finding her own place in line"! How smart is this kid?

 

[Arilark]

It's funny how assertive kids can be when an adult might be uncomfortable speaking up.

 

[sararie]

YaY for your son and you! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":up:"> I hope that my daughter can be as wonderful at standing up for herself when she is older. I told my hubby that our kids can't stay at anyone's house (ie grandparents) until she learns to say "no, grammy, I can't eat that" LoL (our veg*nism is due to her allergies)

 

[raw jess]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smitten.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":smitten:">

 

[Bonoluvr]

awesome kid!!!!!

 

[SeaSiren]

Wow! What an awesome child, you must be so proud! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smitten.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":smitten:">

 

[dirtysole]

that is one COOL child you have there.<br><br><br><br>
i want to post this as a warning to parents with children in care centers of any kind (daycare/preschool):<br><br>
i have been working in various centers for 10 years and in regard to vegetarianism only one center i have ever been with even CARED if the parents said the kid was veggie. particularly at ages too young to tell on you. if you really want your child eating vegetarian and want to make sure it happens, you may have to pack a lunch and snacks for them. i promise, at some point they will try to feed them jello. they will give them chicken fingers and halfway through remember mom says hes veg and go "oh well, what she doesnt know". i have watched it happen. also with schools that serve lunch i have rarely seen a vegetarian one that was well balanced and healthy. at the school i am at now, if the child is vegetarian, they get noodles and red sauce. every day. every single day. i have one poor little guy i actually bring snacks for because he is so sick of that junk. ; ;

 

[veggiemama-of2]

Thank goodness I pack my daughter's lunch for daycare. I guess I need to let them know about gelatin, etc. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Tori'sMom]

my daughter is not veg, (me and her baby brother are) but 2 years ago when she was in preschool i told them NO dairy whatsoever (give her tummy aches) they always "forgot" no matter how much i complained. i finally complained big time to the director and they never "forgot" again. lol. they rarely care what the parents put on those forms. they are lucky she wasnt allergic or i would have been ticked!

 

[Jinga]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>dirtysole</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
that is one COOL child you have there.<br><br><br><br>
i want to post this as a warning to parents with children in care centers of any kind (daycare/preschool):<br><br>
i have been working in various centers for 10 years and in regard to vegetarianism only one center i have ever been with even CARED if the parents said the kid was veggie. particularly at ages too young to tell on you. if you really want your child eating vegetarian and want to make sure it happens, you may have to pack a lunch and snacks for them. i promise, at some point they will try to feed them jello. they will give them chicken fingers and halfway through remember mom says hes veg and go "oh well, what she doesnt know". i have watched it happen. also with schools that serve lunch i have rarely seen a vegetarian one that was well balanced and healthy. at the school i am at now, if the child is vegetarian, they get noodles and red sauce. every day. every single day. i have one poor little guy i actually bring snacks for because he is so sick of that junk. ; ;</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
I worked in daycare myself. The last place I worked kept a list of children's dietary issues in the kitchen. The cook was very conscious of it. As teachers, we also knew who got the beans minus the pork or whatnot. Sometimes the parents didn't trust we were actually doing that, but we were. However, I'd say the food served was pretty dismal in regards to quality. Why give one-year olds poptarts for breakfast? Ick.