Packing their school lunchbox can be hard can’t it… you start out with really good intentions in kindy, you’ve got what you think they should be eating down pat. But they’re so busy with school five days a week, they sometimes forget to eat. Your child who once devoured all her food is now not! What to do?
Of course, investigate all the possible reasons your little one is eating less, or not at all. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the food and everything to do with what kind of lunchbox they have – it’s true – this stuff starts early. Their lunchbox could also be hard to open or it’s not the “right kind of bread”… any number of variables come into play.
Then there’s also the “why can’t I have what so-and-so has? She has yummy tiny teddies in little packets and she has this and he has that” and so it goes on.
If you’re the kind of mum who likes to pack a healthy lunch – and if you’re reading this then I’m sure that’s you – then I’ve got one thing to say about it.
Balance.
It’s important to strike the balance between healthy food and joining in on the social fun side of eating. Yes it’s important to be healthy but it’s also important that your child is able to feel good about themselves in terms of their emotional relationship with food.
It gets so complex but my personal go-to rule is:
- keep it simple at school and give them a bit of what they want so they feel happy and listened to and can join in on all the fun with the others
- keep it much healthier on the other ends of the school day – breakfast, arvo tea and dinner.
A trick I keep up my sleeve is to try to have dinner prepared early so they can have a little when they get home for afternoon tea. That way, veggies and protein are in – and tick, you’ve got that sorted.
What to put in their lunchbox
School lunchboxes are getting trickier and trickier to put together as there can be a lot of restrictions. Basically all schools won’t allow nuts but there many that also don’t allow eggs for the same reasons – more children are allergic to them.
So some examples of what to give in a lunchbox include:
- Wholemeal sandwich with tuna, salmon, butter, cheese or free-range salami/ham/chicken. If you can get a lettuce leaf in there, go for it – in the early years this can be harder to manage. Persistence is key!
- Dumplings for breakfast that then can be given as lunch in a little thermos (you can buy them already made and there are free-range ones available from Australian Farmers Direct online store)
- Fruit – of all kinds
- Rice crackers
- And perhaps a few times a week something they really want that the “others” are having so they don’t feel left out. Alternating each day can help.
What are your lunchbox secrets or go-to options?
Learn more nutritious lunch box ideas plus how to use food as medicine to improve your child’s health in our home study program for mums, The A-Z of Home Remedies for Children’s Health.