ADVICE RATING |
 4.69 (Highly recommend) from 20 votes (498 Visits) |
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Back to School and Lunches |
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by OzBinky  (February 2007) (rank 17th) |
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So the kids are back at school again, some for the first time and some who have just started pre-school. I was one of the odd few that hated this time. I much preferred to have my kids stay home with me. Mind you, this soon changed as they developed
teenage personalities – then I didn’t mind so much.
One thing that I noticed during my years with kids at school is something I named ‘the lunch drain’ – where parents change their children’s once good-lunch time habits, to less desirable ones. It’s much easier to prepare a good wholesome meal while they are still at home then packing one for school. School lunches are also promoted by companies selling snack size chips and soft-drinks or those unhealthy snack bars which look great, but aren’t.
While you still can, encourage good eating habits at school by packing healthy lunches. There are many cheap but great options to choose from and they don’t all have to consist of the boring sandwich and fruit packs. For fussy children include them in making a healthy menu, something with variety and that they can choose from each day. For children who don’t like sandwiches you could try cutting bread into different shapes using a cookie cutter, substitute bread with pita or Turkish bread and offer yoghurt with canned fruit as a substitute for chips, biscuits and typical fruit.
During winter I would send Mic off with home made stews, stir-fry or noodles – all which he was able to heat up in the microwave at school. During summer time I would make long lasting salads such as sweet & sour pasta, potato salad and creamy pasta. I would use insulated lunch packs and ice coolers to keep them cold or his class would allow him to place it in their fridge.
There are so many options to choose from and ones which offer a healthier alternative than the typical lunch packs and ones which are financially friendly.
One other bit of advice, find out if your school or pre-school allows anything which contains peanuts in it - as there are many that don’t allow it due children with allergies. It is best to find out before you send the old peanut butter sandwiches to school and then find out that your child’s lunch was taken from them. I have heard of this happening a few times…
Cheers
Lavinia
