School lunches   It’s back to school for many people, or perhaps off to school for the first time for some! Back to school usually means lunchboxes, so here’s some advice to try and help some families!  

Packing and storing food in lunchboxes can

sometimes need as much thought as the food itself! Things to think about

-          Will it leak? (for yoghurt, fruit with juice or anything else runny)

-          Can your child open it? Little hands may not be able to open tight cling wrap. The lids on plastic containers may also be too tight to get off. A good test is to pack your child a typical lunchbox and go and have a picnic somewhere (hey – even the back yard is good!) and watch them eat it. Don’t help them, see if they can get into the food themselves. Try wrapping the cling wrap more loosely, or perhaps leaving one corner of the container undone. Sometimes cheaper plastic containers have a looser seal and are easier to open than the good quality ones!

-          Keeping it cool. Some lunchboxes will be sitting in hot bag racks for up to six hours. Frozen drinks can help to keep food cool, or small freezer bricks can help too. That said, sometimes food like lunch meat or dairy may just have to be off the menu for lunchboxes, depending on how hot it gets in your area.

-          Put names on everything. Container, lid, drink bottle, everything. Sometimes cheap containers are better for school than expensive Tupperware ones – the lifetime warranty doesn’t cover lost property!  

Sometimes it’s the little extras which will make your child’s lunch that little bit special. Put a paper towel or a wet wipe in to wipe sticky hands. Put a small cut in the top of a banana to make it easier to peel. A small treat every now and again (eg on birthdays).  

Many schools now ask parents to send ‘nut free’ lunches. This is to help keep children who have severe anaphylactic reactions to nut products. Children should be told not to share food, but even if they don’t it is still a concern. For example, if one child eats a peanut paste sandwich and then breathed on an allergic child, that may be enough to give them a reaction. Foods to avoid – nuts (eg peanuts), peanut paste, chocolate with nuts in it and some muesli bars (check the label). If one of your child’s friends has severe reactions to nuts (or any other food such as egg or whatever) then make sure you child knows what to do. That is, make sure your child knows if Mary is having trouble breathing or her mouth and eyes are swelling up, then you child needs to go and find a teacher straight away. Keep this in mind when baking birthday cakes etc as well. If you are unsure, contact your child’s teacher before sending along any class food so that you know if you need to avoid any foods. Can you imagine how the child who never gets to eat the birthday cake because it has nuts/ egg/ dairy/ colouring in it feels?  

Some parents like their child to eat all the lunch in the lunchbox, and check at the end of the day to make sure that they have. Different things work for different families, but as a teacher it has been my experience that the kids who have parents who tell them that they must eat all their lunch are the kids who throw out all their uneaten food at then end of the day so the don’t get in trouble. There are many reasons why kids won’t eat all their lunch – some are nothing to worry about, some are. Either way, wouldn’t you like to know as a parent if they weren’t eating, rather than having your kid throw it out so you don’t know? Reasons why kids may not eat lunch – they were too busy chatting to friends, they wanted to go out to play before they finished eating, weren’t feeling well, too much food was sent, they don’t like the food sent, they couldn’t open the packaging, or maybe they just weren’t hungry. Chat with your child and, if necessary, your child’s teacher to see what the reason is. But if your child is happy and healthy, there probably isn’t anything to worry about – just send less food!  

Preparing lunches in the morning can be stressful, especially when you are trying to get everyone (including yourself) out of bed, dressed, packed up and ready for the day. Try doing some things earlier if you can. Can you make lunch (or some parts of it) the night before? Can you make a few day’s worth at the one time so you jsut have to 'grap and go' in the morning? Can you do other things (like packing school bags and laying out clothes) the night before to make time in the morning?  

Convenience leads to individual packaging. Individually packaged things can make things much easier to get ready in the morning. Although, it is also possible to but one large packet and split it up. One box of biscuits spilt up into several small reuseable containers will be cheaper and better for the environment that individual bags. It does mean more washing up and more preparation on your part – but not a lot more. (Although, sometimes you only same a few cents by doing this, and you might think the convenience is worth the extra money.) If you do use individual packaging, consider the message that we send our children; that every time they eat, they have to have some plastic to throw away? That said, different things work for different families. Consider and try both using individual packets of things and splitting up large packets, and then decide what works best for your family.  

I hope that these ideas help some of the lunchbox challenged amongst us! What lunchbox tips do you have?