Eating Food In Home Corner?

[Guest terrydoo73]

We added some dried pasta into our home corner last week and the reaction was amazing. Lots of talking about it, lots of play value and physical movements with it being filled and emptied etc etc. The children really got quite excited by it and encouraged more of them to use this area.

 

However on the second day when a little boy who only comes to us on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday decided to eat the pasta and continued to eat it despite being told not to - the way I did this was to show him that if he continued to eat the pasta what would happen - met by blank stares and another piece put into the mouth. The other children said "there would be none left to play with" but it didn't deter this particular child from continuing to eat it. I had no choice but to withdraw the pasta - I guess because I had expressly asked him several times and warned him that to continue would mean we would have to take it away so I suppose I was following through on what I said!

 

Perhaps I did wrong? Should I just have ignored him?

[Guest]

Not sure he was doing any harm eating it but prehaps you could have taken some of the dry pasta and cooked it with him and showed him the difference. We have real frut and veg in our home corner and it gets eaten all the time even the onions! but before eating the children explore them with all their senses. We plant the apple pips, print with the potatoes, squeeze juice from the oranges, make dye with the beetroot, maybe you could do this kind of thing with your little man?

[Guest terrydoo73]

But come on dry pasta - what made him want to continue eating it? He just had his snack ...

[Upsy Daisy]

I think you're right to try to work out why he wanted to eat it.

 

My first guess would be the it's a way to get attention. If that could be the case then the suggestion of doing a bit of cooking with him, using something which he's clearly interested in would be just the way to go.

 

In addition you could use the strategies mentioned on other threads of distraction and piling on praise. When he starts to eat the pasta steer him towards an activity which engages him and deploy a member of staff to keep him engaged.

[Hello Kitty]

When we have had children persisting in eating things they're not meant to, we have suggested they have snack if they're hungry. We do currently have a boy who constantly eats the nibs off the felt tips he hides to do it so we are wondering if there is something in them that he's needing - like pregnant women sometimes crave things for the mineral content... who knows!

[Alison]

We had a little boy who loved to eat the play dough and would eat it like sweets and considering the salt content it was rather concerning we used distraction it was a pain and required alot of patience but over time it improved

 

I cannt see that raw pasta can do much harm I'd be inclined to not make an issue and hope the novelty wears off and he will get bored if he doesnt get any attention for eating it

 

I'm thinking maybe there is a certain amount of novelty to eatin dry pasta a small act of rebellion I remember my brothers would eat chalk and dog biscuits just because they knew they shouldn't

[Guest]

I have dried pasta in the home corner too - yes, the children love it and some do eat it but it's very inexpensive so i just keep topping it up. Last week, I talked to a little boy about why it's a good reason to play with it but not eat it - do we eat food that has dropped on the floor when at home? No, it's dirty and would give us a tummy ache - "We could wash it" came the reply. I explained that this was not a good idea because it would change (and yes, we did put some in the water and cook some), but, by the end of the morning, I put my hand in the washing up bowl (home corner) to tidy away the pasta to find one big damp and sticky lump of pasta shells!!

[finleysmaid]

if you are going to choose to have real food in the role play area then you also have to accept that the children are going to experiment with eating it...after all isn't that what food is for?? they are only doing what they have been taught for 3 years ! i think if you are going to continue to put real food in this area then you must also expect that this will happen on occassions. At my setting we choose not to have real food because we have a strict rule about sitting and eating....i also have a lot of children with additional needs or english as an additional language who may not understand my expectations and therefore i do not put them in that situation. You must choose your rules...either have it and accept that it will take him a while to learn not to eat it...or do not have it...simples!

[HappyMaz]

My other half always sneaks a bit of dried pasta when he is putting some in the pan to cook. He just likes the taste!

 

Have you spoken to mum about it? Does he do something similar at home? Have you talked to him about why he wants to eat the pasta?

[Guest]

Oh thank goodness you said that Maz - I was beginning to worry about myself! I have to confess that I do eat dry pasta. Can't explain why except maybe I'm so hungry I can't wait for it to cook sometimes! I've been doing it for years and it hasn't caused me any harm (that I can tell!). Maybe if you put it back and he does it again, try ignoring it and he will either stop through lack of attention or as others have said you can just top it up cheaply.

[enuffsenuf]

Oh thank goodness you said that Maz - I was beginning to worry about myself! I have to confess that I do eat dry pasta. Can't explain why except maybe I'm so hungry I can't wait for it to cook sometimes! I've been doing it for years and it hasn't caused me any harm (that I can tell!). Maybe if you put it back and he does it again, try ignoring it and he will either stop through lack of attention or as others have said you can just top it up cheaply.

 

whenever we do anything like this we have a certain number of children who decide to eat the stuff.....and generally we just let them get on with it and make sure we have enough for this. It maybe that the child is hungry, likes the taste of dried pasta or is indeed just getting either a sensory experience from eating it. If he is allowed to nibble dreid pasta at home (and we arent talking raw chicken risk here are we) then he probably cannot understand what all the fuss is about.

 

PS my youngest son has always like eating frozen veg straight out of the packet......

Edited October 4, 2011 by enuffsenuf

[Guest youngrisers]

we used baked beans and marrowfat peas in ours once amazing what children will try and playdough eating is the norm with some of the children, I think they like the salt content. Wondered what other folks did in their home corners with real food, might try some other fruits and products now as we have adult and child friendly things in their all ready.

[Guest]

We used to have dried pasta on our threading table - it had been there for some time until one little boy insisted on eating it. I explained that it wasn't very clean as lots of people had touched it etc. it never stopped him, in fact he used to hide under the table to eat it. I then explained that it was dried and might give him a tummy ache, I also explained the pasta we normally eat was cooked - he then decided to fill his pockets to take it home so his mum could cook it! I left it out for children to use and eventually he stopped eating it!