The struggles of fuelling your child with a healthy lunch box
The struggles of fuelling your child with a healthy lunch box
Who else packs their child a lunchbox worthy of snapping and sharing on social media then to find when they return home with the entire contents untouched at the end of the day?
It baffles me, As a ‘foodie’ myself I just cant get my head round why not only my child, but any child would skip their lunch! So after having to battle this drama myself with my little one I decided to undergo some research to help encourage my child to fuel his little body for learning.
Problem #1: Perhaps your child doesn’t enjoy the foods you send him to school with?
This would be the first thing you would think of, and as a parent, you have the important job of selecting those healthy foods for your child's lunchbox you could spend a fair bit of money on trying new and exciting variety of foods, but if you child is anything like mine and is a complete ‘fuss pop’ and turns their nose up to anything mushy, discoloured, soggy or just plain yucky, they're not going to eat very much.
MY TIP – Get your kids' feedback: What do they want for lunch? Why didn't they like certain items? Give kids input in choosing foods, take them to the supermarket with you and they will be more likely to munch their lunch.
Problem #2: Your child just wants to play at lunch time and complains they do not have enough time to eat…
Many schools offer a 20-minute ‘eating time’ lunch break, which seems like heaps of time to finish a mid-day meal. But silly schoolmates, full-volume chatter, find coats and locate lunches can result in just a few minutes left to eat. Plus the eagerness to want to go outside to play in their free time.
MY TIP - Packing bite-sized foods that are quick to eat. A wrap is a winner with my little one, I never pack a full sized wrap – always half, I have found if it looks too much and he will avoid it before he’s even started knowing he won’t have time! Yes sandwiches are ok but they get boring! Cocktail sausages or even slices of deli meats are simple too. Grapes and tomatoes are quicker than crunchy carrot sticks. Keep the pack light and healthy, after all, kids have small stomachs and don't need large portions. We as adults wouldn’t sit and eat a full sandwich, fruit, snack bar, crisps and more for our lunches in one sitting.
Problem #3: They don’t like their lunchbox and sometimes it just doesn’t open!
Yes believe it or not my son had both the above excuses; the lunch box was boring!
For the second excuse – I must admit I did laugh initially but then after thinking… there is only two or three dinner ladies around to help in a roomful of over excited kids, it can be hard for little voices to ask for help. Some children may not be eating because they physically can't get to their food.
MY TIP - I made a deal with my son, if he could eat his lunch for one week we would go lunch box shopping together at the weekend and he can choose his desired, ‘all singing and dancing’ lunch box, that he can open himself!
Facts;
Only around 1 in a 100 packed lunches in England meet the nutritional needs for a child. A balanced diet requires eating a variety of different foods to get the nutrients needed, this is a lot more difficult to get into lunchboxes (but much easier to do in a hot meal). So if you’re a parent with a ‘fussy’ child that doesn’t ‘like’ the schools hot meals then going down the packed lunch route, be prepared to put in a fair bit of time and effort.
The cost of a decent packed lunch varies a lot depending on where you shop, but if you’re smart about preparing lunchbox foods in batches, it’s possible to do it very economically. But don’t forget to factor in the effort that good packed lunches take – school meals might seem more expensive, but they do save a lot of time.