If you ask any parent what the bane of their daily life is, they’ll probably tell you that it’s the dreaded packed lunch. Not only are these pesky pocket meals surprisingly expensive and time-consuming to put together, but children often return with a box that’s almost as full as it was when they left.
If you’re locked in those packed lunch trenches, then you have our sympathy. We’ve all been there at some point. But you need a break, and your kid needs to eat. So, what can you do to change things?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic fix here, but we do know three mistakes worth avoiding to get yourself back on more even lunchtime ground. Keep reading to find out what they are!
1. A Lack of Familiarity
You may be tempted to mix up lunchbox fillings, but this is rarely a good idea. After all, your child is already absorbing huge amounts of new information during the school day. They’ll be so overwhelmed by lunch that they probably won’t even entertain these unfamiliar additions.
Kids need some level of familiarity with their lunches, you should instead lean into the familiarity that packed lunches can offer. This begins with the containers you use. A reliable, personalised lunch box each day will help your child to feel immediately at ease. Then, try to lean into a balanced diet of foods that you know they already love, which they’ll dive into instead of resisting when lunchtime comes.
2. An Overloaded Lunchbox
Any teacher will tell you that an overloaded lunchbox is one of the most common mistakes parents make. It’s also one of the most fatal, because it switches children’s appetites off right away.
Of course, you know your child’s appetite best, but, if they keep coming home with a full box, it might be time to reconsider your portion sizes. In an ideal world, you should aim to provide small amounts of a few key foods. A great example might be a lunchbox that contains a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a small handful of crackers, and some cucumber. This is ticking most of the major food groups, but it’s an easily manageable amount for most children!
3. Giving Them Absolutely No Say
Imagine if someone else chose what you had for lunch each day, regardless of what you were in the mood for. You’d probably struggle to finish your meals, wouldn’t you? Well, exactly the same thing happens to your child when you don’t give them any say in their lunch box. And, the result is that they don’t eat anything.
While you want to do this in age-appropriate ways (e.g., giving young children a choice between two things, or letting older children pack their own), letting your child have some level of lunch autonomy can be a great way to both increase their food consumption and to support your child’s independence.
Packed lunches are a problem for parents everywhere, but you can improve those food-based prospects by simply avoiding these lunchbox fatalities!