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Zubby, home

When eating at nursery is hard

A short cartoon about a new table and a familiar cup, starring your child. Watch it together at a calm time, then talk.

Try a story beginning

An example story beginning for this moment. It is not a cartoon of your own story.

Cartoons are made with AI. You preview each one before your child sees it. Automatic checks can miss things.

Illustration, made with AI: a girl looks at her plate at a small round nursery table with a green frog cup from home beside it, while her teacher eats his own lunch and a glowing firefly points to the cup.
Illustration, made with AI

Let's imagine

Example, made with AI

Mia (3) sits at a small table in her new nursery room. Everything looks different. Her teacher sets down Mia's frog cup from home. "You can look first." Mia studies her plate: rice, peas, a slice of pear. Beside her, a friend crunches a cracker. Mia sips from her frog cup. Then she touches one grain of rice. The teacher keeps eating her own lunch.

The characters in this example are made up. Your child can be the hero, with or without a photo.

What happens in the story

In the example above:

  • The new table feels unfamiliar, and Mia looks around first.
  • Her teacher sets down one familiar thing, a cup from home, and says she can look first.
  • Mia looks, sips and touches at her own pace.
  • Nobody watches her plate. In this example, the teacher eats her own lunch beside her.
Try a story beginning

Talk-after card

Here are three gentle questions to talk about after this example. Best watched together, then followed by a chat or a game.

  1. What was on Mia's table? What was from home?
  2. What did her teacher say?
  3. At a new table, what would you like to do first: look, sip or touch? You choose.

Use the ones that feel right. Skip any you like.

What a cartoon can and can't do

  • Relaxed, repeated tasting is what builds acceptance. A cartoon can't do that for you.
  • A cartoon can't sit at the table with your child. Your child's teachers know how lunch goes there.
  • Watch together at a calm time, not at the table.
  • Every family has its own pace.
  • Each Zubby cartoon is made to be talked about together. It can't do the work of routine, patience or your child's doctor.
  • If you are worried about your child's sleep, eating, fears or behaviour, talk to your child's doctor, nurse or teacher.