Hi there, new boarding school parent here. I have a picky eater who has been complaining about the food at the school. According to her, she has been sustaining herself on plain pasta only as she dislike any of the other food there. It seems dramatic, but I can’t verify how bad it is, or tell my DD to “try something new”. She is 16 and has always lived home before this experience. She does like pasta but at home we can make a variety of sauces and veggies to make sure she has a balanced and nutricious diet.
Parents of other boarders, have your kids experienced this? And do they grow out of it? Will they “branch out” to other foods, like tacos?
Give some time and she will probably adapt to school food. My son just finished his first week and he told me he even started eating salads and tried turkey stew which was something he would never touch. He is not super picky but can be very specific about his food. He didn’t like the food during revisit day but this no longer seems to be an issue.
Your child is probably going branch out into trying other foods soon enough. No one wants to be known as the “white foods only” kid when they are a teenager.
I’m very unsympathetic to food issues with kids so neither of my kids said a word about the food at college. If they didn’t want to eat on campus, they spent their own money, afaik, to get food for themselves. One kid attended a college with a pretty good food rep, but the other cooked for himself as soon as he moved off campus.
Yoru daughter wants you to solve this “problem” for her. In your shoes, I’d probably say, “Why don’t you ask other students what’s good on the menu?” If she complains, just remind her there’s always the salad bar and that she will not get scurvy or rickets if she eats healthy foods. Don’t let her make it your problem.
That is very encouraging to hear. My DD likes vegetables but hates salads as she doesn’t like salad dressing. I would love it if she starts trying other foods. Seems that there is hope.
Can you encourage your D to make an appointment with the head of food services/nutritionist? The school doesn’t want kids to be hungry-- and for sure doesn’t want them poorly nourished by supplementing their meals with junk food.