Kids Lunch Boxes - WHat do you put in them?

[tonilee]

Ok yesterday Dylan came home from school with someone elses lunchbox (same design but wrong one!!) so today I put his lunch in that lunch box and explained to the teacher I needed to swap them....

So I am there in the reception class cloakroom swapping lunches over....I have to be honest...I was horrified by what I took out of the other childs lunch box...

Sandwiches, 2 cheese strings, bakewell tart, chocolate biscuit, milkybar yoghurt....NO FRUIT!

In Dylans was

Sandwiches, little bag of carrotts, banana and a chocolate biscuit

Now he also has an apple at snack time so its pretty likely he will not eat the banana but eat it on the way home....

Chloe has the Tuna pasta, carrotts and a biscuit...

I am stunned at not only the AMOUNT of food in this childs lunch box but the lack of nuitrition!! I have noticed this several times to be honest when having lunch with the kids at various open days....Chloe says her friends always say she doesnt get much lunch but Chloe replys "its all I can manage!!"

Am I just an old fuddy duddy or Annabel carmel obsessed woman?? What do you put in your kids lunch boxes??

 

[shell28]

No i agree hun my son had had lunch at school for the first time on tues and he had

Sandwich,apple slices, mini milkyway but when he came home i had a note from pre-school hes not allowed any sweets in lunch box and nothing containing nuts as he had peanut butter sandwiches!!

 

[tonilee]

No i agree hun my son had had lunch at school for the first time on tues and he had

Sandwich,apple slices, mini milkyway but when he came home i had a note from pre-school hes not allowed any sweets in lunch box and nothing containing nuts as he had peanut butter sandwiches!!

Ooopsy, its tricky with allergies isnt it.....I have always seen lunch as a quick refuel stop LOL there is much more interesting things for little people to be doing!! When Chloe and Dylan were at pre school they had gingerbrad man cutters for their sandwiches!! Lol ....

 

[shell28]

Its is tough yes but like ive said they could have said rather than a note!!

I dont put much in vinnies as he still get 2 snacks as he does all day once a week so its almost like hes eating all day!! On top of what i packed him up he told me he had cheese, cucumber and a plain biscuit!!

 

[Bagpuss]

Mine have either pasta or a sandwich...fruit...sausage roll....yogart and a kitkat or twix (1 finger) and a drink.

 

[naturalnails]

Mine have just started secondary school and I give them what I know they will eat - they have sandwiches or sausage roll, crisps, cereal bar and a small pot of grapes or apricots.

As they would rather be playing or doing clubs at lunchtime if I give them anything which takes much time to eat then it comes home.

They eat lots of fruit and veg and other healthy stuff at home when they have more time.

I feel to a certain extent that it is better to give them something they will eat rather than lots of healthy stuff which they wont as long as they are getting a balance with what they eat at home.

 

[TIPTOP]

I give my daughter a pitta pocket stuffed with chicken breast and salad, with a yoghurt, handful of grapes, and I give her the choice of choccy biscuit, we have had note put in the lunchbox regards her choc biscuit choice, but soon went in with two guns blazing lol

I believe at the moment there is a big pot of cash for healthy initiative at schools and they are now weighing kids at my daughters school!!

Sue xx

 

[shell28]

I give my daughter a pitta pocket stuffed with chicken breast and salad, with a yoghurt, handful of grapes, and I give her the choice of choccy biscuit, we have had note put in the lunchbox regards her choc biscuit choice, but soon went in with two guns blazing lol

I believe at the moment there is a big pot of cash for healthy initiative at schools and they are now weighing kids at my daughters school!!

Sue xx

Glad to know someone else has had a note LOL

My son got told on his first day of having lunches your not allowed peanut butter and your not allowed chocolate he was quiet upset ive had words as i dont think they have the right to tell a 4 year he cant have something thats been packed in his lunch box!!

 

[xniceyloux]

You would deff be horrified at my son's!

He has a sausage roll, 3 party ring bic's bag of crisps yog and drink.

He does not eat bread, meat or fruit.
He dont eat chocolate either...

Funny little man is mine! although very very healthy.

 

[kylieb]

OMG thats awfull!!!!! My sons school is very strict and cannot have crisps, biscuits , chocolate etc. I usually send him in with a fruit salad or something for snack and for his lunch a sarnie,cheese string and a bit of fruit. He is so slow at eating and always moans the other kids are out before him so i cant really give him anything more than that. But think thats good enough for lunch?
I was horrified the other morning when a child of my sons age - 7 said to me 'my mums gone to work so im here on my own' (she had dropped him there and just gone!) and he said ive had no breakfast and ate his packed lunch infront of me!!
xxx

 

[xniceyloux]

Blimey thats not good..poor little mite!

Surley the school must notice he has had no lunch??
If they dont I think something is seriously wrong!

 

['chelle]

My daughters at secondary school now so she uses the canteen, but when she was at primary school I was very particular. She got sandwiches (with healthy contents, none of that billy bear crap!), fruit, a drink and occasionally a packet of crisps or a biscuit. Young children need good nutrition to help them grow and learn and those people who cant be bothered to deal with their kids food issues and just feed them crap because its the easy option need to review their parenting skills frankly. Sorry if this offends but I feel quite strongly about this issue, it's no wonder so many of our kids are suffering with obesity and diet related health problems.

I'm actually torn over this issue of schools telling parents what they can and cannot put in a lunchbox. I believe that a balanced diet should be just that - balanced. This means that a chocolate biscuit is ok provided its every now and again. Now I can understand why schools have implemented these rules when you look at the rubbish some people send their kids with, but I remember being told I couldnt put a penguin biscuit in my daughters lunchbox, even though it was an occasional treat. My two main issues with this are that firstly, you shouldnt encourage kids to have food hang-ups, that's a sure way to breed a yo-yo dieter. If you give kids the idea that eating chocolate is a bad thing they will develop a guilt complex about it and I dont think thats a healthy thing to do. My second problem with schools is that they ought to look at their own menus before telling parents what to do! If your kiddie has a school meal, they get frozen pre formed crap thats been coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, and for pudding they get a daily sugar fix, usually some sort of sponge and custard, that's hardly healthy!

 

[xniceyloux]

My daughters at secondary school now so she uses the canteen, but when she was at primary school I was very particular. She got sandwiches (with healthy contents, none of that billy bear crap!), fruit, a drink and occasionally a packet of crisps or a biscuit. Young children need good nutrition to help them grow and learn and those people who cant be bothered to deal with their kids food issues and just feed them crap because its the easy option need to review their parenting skills frankly. Sorry if this offends but I feel quite strongly about this issue, it's no wonder so many of our kids are suffering with obesity and diet related health problems.

I'm actually torn over this issue of schools telling parents what they can and cannot put in a lunchbox. I believe that a balanced diet should be just that - balanced. This means that a chocolate biscuit is ok provided its every now and again. Now I can understand why schools have implemented these rules when you look at the rubbish some people send their kids with, but I remember being told I couldnt put a penguin biscuit in my daughters lunchbox, even though it was an occasional treat. My two main issues with this are that firstly, you shouldnt encourage kids to have food hang-ups, that's a sure way to breed a yo-yo dieter. If you give kids the idea that eating chocolate is a bad thing they will develop a guilt complex about it and I dont think thats a healthy thing to do. My second problem with schools is that they ought to look at their own menus before telling parents what to do! If your kiddie has a school meal, they get frozen pre formed crap thats been coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, and for pudding they get a daily sugar fix, usually some sort of sponge and custard, that's hardly healthy!

Perfect in an ideal world!

 

[tonilee]

I'm actually torn over this issue of schools telling parents what they can and cannot put in a lunchbox. I believe that a balanced diet should be just that - balanced. This means that a chocolate biscuit is ok provided its every now and again. Now I can understand why schools have implemented these rules when you look at the rubbish some people send their kids with, but I remember being told I couldnt put a penguin biscuit in my daughters lunchbox, even though it was an occasional treat. My two main issues with this are that firstly, you shouldnt encourage kids to have food hang-ups, that's a sure way to breed a yo-yo dieter. If you give kids the idea that eating chocolate is a bad thing they will develop a guilt complex about it and I dont think thats a healthy thing to do. My second problem with schools is that they ought to look at their own menus before telling parents what to do! If your kiddie has a school meal, they get frozen pre formed crap thats been coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, and for pudding they get a daily sugar fix, usually some sort of sponge and custard, that's hardly healthy!

Totally with you on that one 'chelle, Our eldest Chloe, who is 9 said she didnt want school dinners any more as she was fed up of chips, chipped potatoes, wedges etc, she said a few times she had asked for 3 portions of vege so she didnt have to have the chips.....but was told she wasnt allowed 2 vege and a carb was her option! So she went back to packed lunches!!

 

['chelle]

Totally with you on that one 'chelle, Our eldest Chloe, who is 9 said she didnt want school dinners any more as she was fed up of chips, chipped potatoes, wedges etc, she said a few times she had asked for 3 portions of vege so she didnt have to have the chips.....but was told she wasnt allowed 2 vege and a carb was her option! So she went back to packed lunches!!

It's ridiculous isnt it? And they have the nerve to tell kids they cant have a chocolate biscuit with their dinner!!

Niceylou, how is it not possible to deal with your childs food issues? I'm not trying to be argumentative but it's a subect that I'm quite passionate about and I really would like to debate it, please dont think I'm being personal or offensive!:hug:

 

[nick]

I don't have a problem with my childrens school dinners . I live in france and they have a 4 course meal everyday (no packed lunches aloud) . A dinner is
starter=salad with toms, tuna etc
Bread roll
meat with veg and always fish on fridayss
cheese and fruit
pudding (cake or custard etc or biscuit
They get water to drink
They only get chips once a month if that infact i feel like going to school and joining them because somedays it sound lovely.

 

[ADiva1]

I had the same problem too, wrong lunch box and was horrified of the contents in the 'other' lunch box.
My son has

• whole meal sandwiches, either ham, tuna & sweetcorn or cheese
• Muiller yoghurt
• Fruit
• And something small but nice - a bit of homemade flapjack or cake
• Squash

I guess sometimes lunch boxes are tricky and mothers just try to put things the kids like without any thought of health, lol.

 

[SunSpray]

Hi All, like most I try to put mainly healthy stuff in my children's lunchboxes. Just wondering what you all think about lunchbox drinks? One mum the other day at a play centre, when she saw I gave my children Sugar Free Fruit Shoots, said she'd rather her children drank Coke. Obviously she/we wouldn't give our children Coke in lunchboxes, but her point was that she felt the Aspartame in Fruit Shoots is far more unhealthy than real sugar in Coke. Her own children were drinking cartons of apple juice, whereas I only give fruit juice with meals as I'm concerned about the fruit acid on the children's teeth. I know, I know, water or milk are the only healthy drinks, but .........

 

[Anna Lee]

My kids have school dinners now, but when they did have packed lunch, I used to send them off to school with fried rice or noodles with various meat or veg depending on what I have in the fridge. I keep it all hot in a insulated food pot.

My daughter tells me that the teachers used to stand behind her everyday when she opens her pot to see what dish she have got for the day...!! Funny. :lol:

 

[tonilee]

Hi All, like most I try to put mainly healthy stuff in my children's lunchboxes. Just wondering what you all think about lunchbox drinks? One mum the other day at a play centre, when she saw I gave my children Sugar Free Fruit Shoots, said she'd rather her children drank Coke. Obviously she/we wouldn't give our children Coke in lunchboxes, but her point was that she felt the Aspartame in Fruit Shoots is far more unhealthy than real sugar in Coke. Her own children were drinking cartons of apple juice, whereas I only give fruit juice with meals as I'm concerned about the fruit acid on the children's teeth. I know, I know, water or milk are the only healthy drinks, but .........

Its next to impossible to get it right tho isnt it, Dylan has a carton of fruit juice (for some reason he will finish that but not a bottle of juice, my concern being he needs to drink more!! ) Chloe has sugar free squash or high juice....I never really let the kids have fizzy.....up to now anyway as whenever chloe drinks it she ends up being sick a few hours later so I put a stop to that...I agree tho its about balancing rather than banning and creating unhealty attitudes amongst kids...