help with getting my son to break his stubbornness!?

Question

OMG!! I really don't know what else to do. My son will be in full day Kindergarten in a week and a half and I fear I'm going to be getting calls all the time because of his stubbornness with foods!!
He's very picky (unlike my 7 year old son who will try anything) and if he sees or smells something he doesn't like he will actually make himself get sick! At lunch he'll have to sit next to kids with foods he doesn't like and I don't know what to do.
If he sees sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. he's throwing up! I've talked with him about this several times. I've put him in time out because he's making himself do this. He’s too young to make him clean up the mess besides he'd just throw up again anyway... what do I do??

Answer 1

Have you had him tested for food allergies?

My husband actually has the same problem when faced with certain food items. He has severe allergies to a number of spices, so just the smell of Indian or Mexican food will really make him throw up. Likewise with green peppers and certain other foods. His parents also thought he was being stubborn. They used to force food into his mouth and hold his nose so he was forced to swallow, and then he'd throw up. They didn't understand it was legitimate allergies, because he's allergic to things they didn't know a person can be allergic to.

If your son is allergic to the bacteria that makes sour cream into sour cream and cottage cheese into cottage cheese, he might not be MAKING himself throw up -- he might not be able to help it at all. It would be a very severe allergy for smell to cause this kind of reaction, to be sure, but such allergies exist.

My friend's son is allergic to peanut butter and if any kid in the lunch room has PB&J, he starts wheezing and breaks out in hives, just from the smell. This is a life-threatening allergy, obviously, so at school, he has a designated table with other kids who are allergic to peanuts (several in the school) or other foods.

I think you should first have your son tested for allergies and second, check with the school to see what provisions they make in the lunch room for kids with food allergies, especially those triggered by smell (you should do this even before the dr. appointment, as school will probably start sooner than you can get him in). If the school doesn't have a plan, insist that they get one because food allergies can be very dangerous.

Answer 2

hmmmm...maybe, this is just an idea...maybe if you already know or have good idea of his favorite food that he likes, and makes him feel happy then can he bring his lunch from home? even if its snack? I am not sure but its just a thought...