Awww.......poor guy.
Think of a good comeback for him!
Then include plenty of crackers or healthy bread to soak up the flavor/aroma.
Teach him to finish his meal with a couple of crackers and some veggies or fruit. Add a small mint just for extra insurance.

I agree, he should be able to eat what he wants. Would a conversation about it first help his self-esteem do you think? Remind him what happened before and see if he wants to tackle that again.

Otherwise, just pack non-aromatic stuff and make him a snack when he gets home! Maybe a motivator to eat his lunch!

Deanna

I just think the potential for mess is too great, as well as the teasing factor. Can you mash the sardines up into some sort of fish paste, and then spread it on bread?
Or give him a mint with lunch and remind him to have it AFTER the sandwich? He can't be the only kid eating tuna salad.

I agree, remind him of his experience last year, then let him take sardines if he likes.

I personally love sardines and crackers, it was a "camping lunch" for me and my girls, I like the sardines packed in mustard. The office does complain if I eat them here, but I'm not so easily deterred, I tell them to shut the he!! up and get out of my office, LOL.

I do agree that mashed up is less messy, although Ashley used to take a rolling pin, roll a slice of bread flat, add some cream cheese and a single whole sardine,and roll it up into a roll she could eat with her fingers, the cream cheese kept it all together. I still like that concoction with raw onion on it, just to keep people out of my office all day. (grin)

Definitely a mint for dessert!

Annie

Yep, I'd not act like it was a big deal, but say something like, "Do you remember what happened with the tuna sandwiches? Have you thought about how you want to deal with it if the other kids decide to be silly again?" Then let him make the decision.

I used to eat sardines with my dad at that age. it was sort of a him and me thing to do. Wonder why I lost my taste for them? Probably equated them with my pet goldfish! :)

Thanks Deanna and ideefixe! I definitely will talk to him before sending him to school with a sardine lunch. The idea of refreshing his breath is great. I used to brush my teeth after eating tuna at work. If I didn't have time I chewed gum. Of course, no 7-year-olds will take time brushing their teeth when they could play during lunch recess. Plus, if recess is outdoor, all kids have to leave the school building and stay outside until recess is over. He does like tic tac, maybe I should give him a pack for tomorrow!

Al

I would suggest that the fish doesn't give him bad breath....but that the other kids just think it's odd that he would actually like something "grown up" and not PB and J.
Tell him to tell them that they are just jealous....and that her really has shark breath....and they better be careful or they will catch shark breath.....and always include an altoid in a baggie for him to follow with!!
Linda C

LOL Annie and Renee! Yup, eating sardines is a thing for the two of us as well. DH doesn't complain about it but I cannot imagine him popping one into his mouth.

If the teasing starts again he probably won't tell me, knowing how he is. He didn't say anything to me last year because he didn't want me to think his friends were bad! Poor guy!

I don't like tic tac or mint candy. Which one is a better breath freshener?

Al

What about packing some of the red and white "starbrite" candies, or a York mint pattie for him and his freinds. Then they all have nice minty breathe.

Personally, I love tuna, sardines, smoke oysters and smoked salmon. I even took some to work today for my breakfast bagel. Nothing wrong with a bagel, cream cheese and smoked salmon.

And you might want to alert the teacher so they can watch for any teasing too.

LOL Linda, that's too funny! He knows his eating habit is quite different than his friends. The funny thing is, he has been going to school with kids whose mothers will be grateful as long as their kids eat a couple of bites for lunch. His "girlfriend" for almost 4 years will eat nothing but bread and butter, literally. The first time I asked what Amy ate for lunch and he said he was not sure... something looked like two pieces of bread stuck together! LOL I have seen other kids eating Cheetos, Goldfish, and other packaged food, with a box of fruit punch like juice.

By the way, Annie, I love the idea of rolling the sardines into a piece of flattened bread spread with mayo. Will be less messy and I can slice small pieces of avocado to go with it.

Al

Hey, just call it "Michigan sushi". (grin)

Annie

When my daughter was about that age I would send her to school with lunches of all sorts of good things she liked such as salad Nicoise (another concoction containing fish). Being a bit on the shy side however, she started asking for the stuff the other kids were eating for lunch, so as to fit in better.

Wouldn't lox be one of the less aromatic fish selections? Less smelly than canned tuna or sardines I think.

Also, sandwich filling made with leftover cooked fish of just about any kind is really good, much better than canned tuna. Use your regular tuna salad recipe. Just substitute the freshly cooked fish.

Jim

And if you are going to send mints to school for after the sandwich, make sure that the school knows what is in the package! Especially if you just send a couple of tic tacs in a baggie for him. With the way the schools have the no tolerance rules anymore, you can't be too careful, as the mints DO look similar to pills. Does he like mints? My DGS is 6 and does not like them.

Tami

My 9 yr old LOVES Tic Tacs in fact picked wintermint tonight at the grocery...

He also likes Starlight mints and candy canes and Mentos..

We live in a community with a lot of Asian mothers...so kids come to school with all kinds of "odd" foods....

My kid is borning, he takes a peanut butter and Hazelnut Spread sandwich just about every day, except the day of the week he picks hot lunch.

I like the idea of the rolled fish bread too...you could cut it up into pinwheels..

LOL Annie, little man liked that Michigan Sushi idea. I reminded him of his experience from the past year but he didn't seem to worry. When I asked him "What do you do when one of your friends tells you that you have bad breath?" He said, "I will say 'it's too bad that you don't eat fish.'" I am so proud!

Jim, I have never tried lox myself so can't say if it will be less smelly or not. Since fish is one of our favorite foods we never have any leftover fish from the night before. Our mornings seem to be very short and we always end up rushing out of the door so canned fish is what we will settle with for now.

Tami, little man has never tried mints before. I personally don't like them so I have a feeling that he may not enjoy a mint in his mouth. He loves tic tac. I bought him some tic tac in little colorful containers with the pop-up lid. So I won't have to worry about school people mistaken them as pills.

Terri, lucky you. At least he can still take peanut butter to school. It's an absolute no-no to bring any nuts or anything that contain trace amount of nut to school. Little man loves peanut butter banana sandwiches. I don't want him to eat PBB sandwich every day but once in a while would be nice.

I definitely will make the rolled fish bread for him tomorrow. In fact, we have already planned for the rest of the week... Thursday will be sardine sushi. Instead of using nori I will use sesame seeds on the outside. Friday will be BBQ seitan strips with raw carrot and cucumber. It's gonna be a good week for him.

Al

Good for the little guy, Al. I know kids who would eat fish until they got in school and classmates told them it was "yucky" and now they won't eat it any more. They didn't know it was "yucky" until they were told!

Makayla doesn't like the school's hot lunches, not even the pizza, so she nearly always carries her lunch. She's like Ashley in that she'll eat the same thing every day for months, right now it's ham and cheese, plain, on the "sugar bread" that she and I bake together. It's actually Friesan bread from the Bernard Clayton bread cookbook that Readinglady sent me, but it contains broken sugar cubes and cinnamon, so it's "sugar bread". She also likes the butternut squash bread we bake with ham and cheese and once in a while she'll take peanut butter, no jelly.

Now I want a sardine sandwich, but I brought the rest of the Hoppin' John for lunch. Maybe tomorrow.

Annie

My kids bring disposible toothbrushes to school for after lunch on days they have something either smelly or sugary. I forget what they're called, but they come in packs of 4 and have a tiny plastic brush with a little spot of toothpaste. The other kids actually think they're very cool!

Sushi is popular at my kids' school. Some parents drop off fresh sushi at lunch time, but that's a little much for me. The kids and I make it together, an easy one is lox with a little bit of cream cheese and celery rolled in rice and nori. My older son sometimes brings fresh (not jarred) gefilte fish for lunch as well. He definitely needs the disposible toothbrush after that!

THey also love their bento boxes and appreciate their "green" value. Although lately they've been taking these goofy rolling coolers to school that my DH brought them from some giveaway. I'm hoping they tire of them soon.

AM

Send a toothbrush and toothpaste. Let him eat the fish. I love sardines in mustard sauce also. (Annie, I think we MUST be sisters separated at birth)

Yay! He went to school with Michigan Sushi this morning! When I was rolling up the flattened bread he looked at it, drooling! LOL

I wish he could brush his teeth after lunch. Knowing my son he's not a fast eater. By the time the lunch supervisor says "put your lunch box away and go outside" he's still trying to put the last piece of food into his mouth!

Well, I am happy that he's ready to take on this renewed challenge. I asked him this morning if he wanted some Tic Tac and he said "Nah, I don't need them." Good for him!

AM, my son would love to have sushi for lunch but I just can't seem to keep the nori from going soggy after a couple of hours. I could take freshly made sushi to his school for lunch or I just have to make the sushi without the nori. I think the sushi rice balls with sesame seeds will do too.

Al

Good luck to your little man, I'd like to give him a hug for being so brave. If he's had a "girlfriend" for 4 years I wouldn't worry about his breath :-)

Just FYI my 9 y/o granddaughter has eaten cinnamon Altoids for years - they burn my mouth but she has been eating them since she was really small.