Guest Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hello just after abit of advice in our pre-school we use alot of food ie dry pasta uncooked noodles dry couscous dry porridge oats etc for the children to play with but most of the time they spent alot of time eating their way through it,all the food is always in date so what i want to know is it safe for children to eat these food dry and uncooked? and is there any foods i should avoid giving children to play with. thank you in advanced for any comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_15046 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I'm pretty sure dry kidney beans are poisonous and vaguely recollect something about dry lentils but not sure where that came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_64 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Goodness! In all my years I never had a problem with any of our children eating the dry stuff like this! Just wondering what resources you have available with it - spoons and bowls probably not being a good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I'm pretty sure dry kidney beans are poisonous and vaguely recollect something about dry lentils but not sure where that came from. I've heard that about dry lentils as well so probably best to stay away from them. Some uncooked foods can give young children upset tummies as well just because of the high starch and the structure of the molecules in the foods, but I'm not sure how you would discourage them from eating the food without making this into something forbidden and exciting to do. This may sound strange but have you ever mentioned that it isn't really for eating? I know I'd be wary of making it into a big issue and making them feel they were doing something wrong which might stop me saying it, but perhaps they just don't realise that actually you aren't intending them to eat it and a quick word about it would stop them? Of course if you've already done this to no effect then I have no idea how you might discourage it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_4544 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I have a girl in my Y2 class who ate anything and everything in nursery and reception. Her favourite was dry sand by the handful. Every day she would arrive and announce she wasn't going to eat it and every day there she would be munching away happily. I reminded her about it the other day and her reaction was "gross!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I used to work with a girl who loved eating chalk, didnt matter what we said, she could alwyas be found chomping away. As for other things, would it help if you added a drop of paint or some glitter to it? Make it look more like a resource than food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_12805 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I think some young children will eat anything. We have one at the moment he puts anything and everything in his mouth. Nightmare, at Christmas we were making 'Reindeer food', there was a large bowl of oats with glitter in it, turned my back for a few seconds and there he was under the table stuffing handfuls in his mouth. He's eaten sand, playdough/clay. Tissues (off the floor) chalk, pencils with wax crayons a particular favourite. Tried to drink the pva that was in a pot. I have now come to the conclusion it is just a maturity thing. He's just 3, couple of weeks ago- although even with younger children I cant remember one quite as bad as he is. Have to watch him like a hawk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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