It is worth the effort...after teaching over 250 kindergarteners, I've witnessed a direct relationship between the quality of school lunches and performance in school. A child with a white bread jam sandwich, a bag of chips and a kool-aid jammer crashes a lot sooner than a child who ate vegetables, whole grains, and quality proteins.
Here are a few tips I've gathered from parents, teachers, and kids over the years:
- Bento-box style lunches are the most popular. These have small containers of various finger foods so the child can pick and chose.
- Most children are not fans of traditional sandwiches, and more often than not they get disassembled then thrown out. If you do send sandwiches, consider investing in inexpensive sandwich cutters. A set on Amazon is under $10, and will pay for themselves by cutting waste. Alternatively, cookie cutters you already have work the same way!
- Make sure your child can open all the containers independently. Some children are too shy to ask for help.
-We can't have ANY nuts or "may contain nuts" products at school...sorry! Please label nut-substitutes so we don't panic.
- Think long and hard before ordering hot lunches. If your child is a good eater, it's worth the money. If not, reconsider. Pizza usually gets eaten, but subs, wraps, spaghetti, and other items are often wasted.
- On the weekend, prepare a big batch of of cut-up veggies and fruit. That way, you don't need to worry about peeling carrots or slicing strawberries during the week.
- Ask your child to help you make the lunch. If they get to chose, it's more likely they will eat it. Having a box in the fridge and the pantry filled with their choices will increase their independence and make your life a bit easier.
- *Please* use the Canada Food Guide's recommendations when planning lunches. Click here to see the recommended servings.
- Lunchables are easy, but are packed with preservatives, salt, and other nasties that affect overall wellbeing. Kids tend to throw out at least half of them too. Homemade bento boxes are the best choice, both nutritionally and economically.
- Consider "sneaky sugar": Read labels and count up how much sugar is in beverages, gummies, granola bars, and yogourt. According to the American Heart Association, children should have no more than 13g of added sugar a day. (Not including natural sugar found in fruits and whole-grain carbs.)
For more ideas, check out our pinterest board!
A healthy lunch makes all the difference in a child's day. Class parents- let me know if you'd like feedback about what your child is eating at school.
Special thanks to Steph Roll for sharing the lunches she made for her 4 1/2 year old daughter Adi this summer!
If you have any other tips or tricks, please add them in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment