Friday 10 October 2008

Healthy Week?

This week is Healthy Week, not here of course but at school. Each day has a designated topic and activity. Monday was Move it Monday, Tuesday was Taste it Tuesday and then I guess I lost interest in the letter they sent home after that because I only remember that today if Fresh air Friday. I hope I didn't miss anything particularly exciting on the other two days.

Bearing in mind that Thomas would happily exist on a diet of bread, cheese and yogurt (well in addition to crisps, chips and chocolate of course but surely that is a given) I knew that Taste it Tuesday was unlikely to be a big hit with Thomas.

When I arrived I saw they had a display of all kinds of exotic fruits and a plate next to each fruit for the children to taste. Thomas just looked at it as he walked in and grimaced like he was being offered pure arsenic. Outrageously they had even put jam on the crackers they usually serve at snack time in an attempt to be more 'healthy' and up their fruit intake. I didn't want to point out that jam is actually loaded with sugar which surely defeats the healthy part? Nobody likes a party pooper so I kept my mouth shut. Thomas was disgusted that his crackers had been smeared with red goo and refused to eat them he later assured me.

So I left him there knowing full well Taste it Tuesday would be wasted on him.

Well until I picked him up and was informed that today he had tried something new.

Paint.

Yep, on Taste it Tuesday my three year old rejected all offers of fruit and attempted to eat paint instead.

His teacher loudly informed me in front of all of the other parents (whose children don't attempt to snack on paint and looked on in horror) and enquired if this is something he frequently does at home.

(Imaginary response) "Yes, all the time. You see he is a really picky eater and so we're just relieved to get him to ingest something other than bread, cheese, yogurt or McDonald's alternatives. So we serve it up by the pint. He really seems to like it!"

Seriously.

He was only getting into the spirit of Taste it Tuesday after all and nobody can accuse him of not wanting to join in.

Though he has informed me that paint isn't very yummy.

And for the record neither is play dough.

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16 lovely comments:

Simply Shannon said...

I am shocked that his teacher found this to be an odd behavior! Kids put paint (and all sorts of other things)in their mouths all the time. The only ones I find particularly peculiar are the kids that continue to do it over and over again.
I don't know, maybe there's just something wrong with American children?
Glad to hear that he didn't enjoy the experience though!

Stephanie said...

What a great idea for a school to do.

We need that at my work.

Lauren W said...

HAHAHA! I love it :D That is just too funny. How horrid that his teacher made a point to address this in front of all those other parents! However, if their child has never eaten something that wasn't "food", there is something seriously not normal with them ;)

- said...

I've eaten 9 wispa bars in 2 days this week. I swear they reintroduced them just cos they knew I'd keep them in business. Sack healthy eating, we're all gonna die from credit crunch so you might as well die eating what you like!

EmmaP said...

"No, Mrs. Teacher. We don't give Thomas paint ALL the time. We only serve that when we're out of his other favorites. Y'know...kitty litter, white glue, dirt..." [Teacher gasps]. "So, what you're saying then, is you don't want Thomas to bring Paint Chips when it's his turn for snackies then?"

hahahahaha! too funny!

Miss Lisa said...

I hate most jam too--I might have had the paint instead also :)

Beth Cotell said...

Ha! I love it!

Your son sounds like the coolest kid there and the teacher sounds like she needs to get a grip!

Marla said...

you should be so proud that he tried the paint! and guess what your kid will always tell you if you didn't know about something you should have at school...

Jen said...

I wish you would have really given the teacher that answer. I would have loved to see the look on her face. You crack me up!

Claire said...

You should have sued them. They said 'Taste it Tuesday'. He tasted. They should have set down guidelines. He was only doing as he was told... kind of.

Wee soul.

Susan said...

It WAS Taste it Tuesday!!!
Like you said, he was just getting into the spirit of the event. What is wrong with that teacher? Does she not have children or have her memories of the weird things they tried eating escaped her?
Just today my son was finding it really entertaining to crunch on sand from an outdoor sand box. And we all know what kind of lovely things happen to that sand.

Jenny said...

can't believe the teacher would say that to you...yeah like you just have paint laying around for him to eat. what kid at that age has not tasted a little paint, a little glue, and perhaps some glitter?
too funny!

Anonymous said...

as a kid, i actually quite liked the taste of play dough.

and felt tip markers

and paper

and crayons

and some cling film. my mum freaked out about that last one.

Heidi said...

Now all you can hope is that it wasn't lead paint.

And play dough? My kids insist that's yummy. I say, "Hey, why don't I just buy you a salt lick, instead?"

Anonymous said...

Oh he is just too cool....too cool for food! What a story to tell his future wife. One to remember!

Wendi said...

I have Taste it Tuesdays here too.
And Munch On it Mondays...and Woof it down Wednesdays...and well, you get the point.
I eat too much.
But I am not ingesting paint or playdough.

Maybe an annonymous suggestion of better food choices would entice Thomas to try things that were edible.