6 Tips for Packing Lunch Boxes for Children

Don’t aim for gorgeous, don’t aim for amazing, just aim for balanced and you will be doing well.

By balanced I mean, try to ensure that most days you are including food items that cover the main food groups

• Vegetables & fruits
• Protein & fats
• Grains & carbohydrates

Reduce your expectations, Nursery is different to home.

• Children could be distracted
• Children could be keen to get to the playing as quickly as possible.
• Everything you pack doesn’t have to be eaten for the lunch box to have been a success.
• If you have a picky eater, Nursery lunches may not be the time to try unfamiliar foods. Kid food comfort zones don’t have to be tested at every meal. The Nursery lunch box may just not be the best time to get your little one to try new food.
• If you ticked off tip 1 and you have aimed for balance, then lunches can be similar or the same every day. You have covered off variety by providing a variety of food groups. The lunch itself doesn’t have to be different every day. If your kid is happy with it, and you are happy with it then that is fine
• Be realistic

Always remember you are the parent. Which means you set the standards, you set the boundaries and you are the role model. Keep this in mind when you are packing a lunch box.

Make a list of YES foods. These are foods you are happy for your child to eat and foods you know they will eat. Have a good think about it and create the list thinking about all the food groups. When you are stuck check the list and start filling the box with items from there.

This is particularly true for younger children. Make sure your child can open all containers and any packets you send with them. Also make sure they can open the lunch box itself. Test it at home, make them packed lunches and just observe how they cope with everything in the lunch box.

I really like bento style lunch boxes because once a child opens the box they can see everything inside, nothing is hidden and nothing needs to be wrapped. A bonus for the environment as well.

So my top tip for this is to choose a lunch box that will suit your specific child.

So, your child is not eating their lunch. Sometimes this makes us go a little crazy, sometimes this can make us worry, and sometimes this can make us worsen the situation by sending more and more food, more and more options, to hopefully tempt said child.

Try the reverse. If your child is not eating their lunch. Try sending less, not more. Try fewer options and smaller quantities. If lunches look more manageable and not so overwhelming a child who before didn’t bother with any of it before, might just give it a shot.

Yes, I am sure the idea of sending your child off to school with a small or even tiny packed lunch might seem to go against everything you should be doing as a parent. But if they were coming home with untouched lunch boxes anyway, then it is worth a whirl. Once they start finishing the fewer items you send, once they get into their ‘eating lunch groove’.. then you can start increasing the quantity and variety again.

I look at this from two perspectives.

1. A child’s lunch box can account for up to of their daily nutrition intake

Therefore it is worth it to revisit tip one. It is worth trying to send a balanced lunch box with most if not all food groups covered.

On the other hand.

2. When is A Third not a Third?

When it’s a school lunch box!

Yes children can eat up to one third of their nutrition requirements at Nursery. But if you have a non-nursery lunch eater, you don’t have to resort to filling their lunchbox with junk just so they will eat
something. There is still ample time in the day for them to catch up. Just give them a great afternoon snack, maybe two, and a great dinner, and all will be fine.

So that’s it. The 6 things I think parents should keep in mind when packing their child’s lunch box

Here are some yummy child friendly recipes to try!

Savoury Muffins
https://mykidslickthebowl.com/savory-muffins/
Carrot Cake Energy Bites
https://mykidslickthebowl.com/carrot-oat-energy-bites/
Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chips
https://mygoodnesskitchen.com/zucchini-muffins-with-chocolate-chips/
Cauliflower Cheese Egg Muffins
https://mykidslickthebowl.com/cauliflower-cheese-egg-muffins/
Deconstructed Turkey Bento Box
https://carmyy.com/deconstructed-turkey-sandwich-bento-box/
Mini Broccoli Quesadillas
https://highchairchronicles.com/mini-broccoli-quesadillas/