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Hey, gals! Long story as short as I can make it:

Hayley went to a pediatric endocrinologist for her entire second year of life (1st bday to 2nd b-day) because she was (is?!) so small. She has been cleared of all developmental issues, but we were advised to do all we could to keep her eating and growing. When we put her in preschool, her eating habits changed, and I figured it was temporary, but not so much. I discovered they do snack for the 2 year old class at 8:30, which I thought was odd, but also kind of good for me because Hayley doesn't always eat breakfast well. We stayed at my folks house Sunday night because our AC was out, so I didn't get her to school until late on Monday. I signed her in and took her out to the playground, but her class was lining up. I told her we had missed outside time. One of the teachers told me they were going in for lunch. It was 10:30 in the morning!! I don't know of a single soul on earth who feeds any child lunch at 10:30 am, and I'm betting no teacher nor the director did their children either. Much of her lunch had been coming home, so I asked the director about lunch: do teachers open things like applesauce, what is the general procedure, etc. She never mentioned the time they eat, and, frankly, I would NEVER have thought to ask. This explains why she isn't napping at school: she is hungry by 12:30 when they put them down. It also explains why she is ravenous when we pick her up, won't eat dinner because she has to have a snack and wants to eat again at bedtime. Anyone have suggestions for dealing with this? Are there state rules governing parental wishes and when/what children eat in Florida? Can I reasonably ask that they offer her something from her lunchbox just before naptime? HELP! I'm really upset because even though the kids get snack in the afternoon, I am certain that my daughter is too hungry and should be allowed to eat more, not to mention my concerns about her continuing growth.

Thanks...
Angie

I can not believe that is the time they feed them at preschool. My daughters is at 12:00 and they have breakfast at 8:00 and a snack at 3:00. That time is crazy.
However, when I taught middle school, the 6th graders had to eat at 10:05 and the breakfast did not end until 8:45 so who would eat breakfast at 8:30 and lunch at 10:05.
The 4th graders at my shchool eat at 10:30.

Hey Angie,
Savannah's daycare starts lunch at or around 10:30am also. By the time they are finished and clean up, it is then time for nap. Some of the little ones get dropped off by 6:30-7:00.
I do understand where you are coming from though! And yes, you have EVERY RIGHT to state your desires for your child! Do talk to the director and her teacher. I take in a snack that I want Savannah to have most of the time. There should be a daily/weekly schedule along with a lot of other public information posted somewhere on a wall or parent board! If you do not see a schedule, ask to see it. A schedule is just one of many things that are required to be posted. Hope this helps some.
Ann

At my daughters' school (elem.) the first lunch is 10:30 and last is 1:00. I think the 1:00 grade level can bring a morning snack but the 10:30 kids are on their own until 2:30 when school is out.
I do know their school makes medical accomodations as per a doctor request. For example some need a snack to balance meds or blood sugar.
I would say talk to the school to see if they will help out, if not have the doctor write a note for frequent meals/snacks.

OK--I'm guilty. I'm one of those "single souls" who served their kids lunch at 10:30. When I was teaching at high school (currently on maternity leave), my kids had to be up and out the door at 6:00 in order to get to daycare so I could get to work on time. So, 4-5 hours later, they were hungry for lunch. A lot of kids get to daycare in the early morning hours (6-6:30) so they are probably hungry by then. Also, it may be closer to 11 before your daughter eats---they may have to wash hands, go potty, etc before lunch.
I agree with the pp. Maybe talk to the director about giving her extra snacks. Keep in mind though, when she starts kindergarten, she will likely have an early lunch time.

Thanks ladies, for all your very good input.

I agree that kids who are up at the crack of dawn might be hungry, but they do all get snack at 8:30. If she were there every day, it wouldn't be so much of a problem because it wouldn't have her schedule completely out of whack...she'd just do the same thing 5 days a week, and weekends can get crazy hectic anyway.

At any rate, I'm going to speak to the teacher and director and hopefully they will let her have a snack from her box before nap. If we can't reach some sort of agreement, I'll see if I can get the ped to help me out.

I know I tend to be super-sensitive about things like this. I would venture a guess that any of us who took a hard road to motherhood have our idiosyncrities when it comes to our children. Heck, probably all moms do!