Sending kids back to school with healthier lunches—and actually getting them to eat them—is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.
I was not a lunchbox and thermos kid growing up. My school lunches were strictly brown bag and consisted almost invariably of a peanut butter and jelly (almost invariably grape) sandwich, a banana of questionable vintage (or a box of raisins, similarly carbon dated) and, on rare occasions, a cookie or piece of candy. I bought milk at school, unless I found more interesting uses for my milk money at the confectionery across from the playground. This would have been a healthy, if boring, lunch, if I had eaten it. More often than not, I made it about halfway through my food before bailing and heading for the playground.
As someone who taught elementary school for a few years (and did my share of lunchroom duty), I’m here to tell parents that my school lunch experience was not uncommon. So as we hear more and more about how school performance is linked to nutrition, how do we get kids to actually eat lunch at school—and eat healthy?
First, lead—and feed—by example at home. That’s where healthy eating habits begin. So skip the drive-thru and cook and eat real meals with your kids. And let your kids help in the kitchen. Knowing how the meal gets to the table (and sampling ingredients along the way) takes the mystery out of the food, in a good way.
Keep it hands on making lunches too. Get kids involved in making their lunches—from shopping to sandwich assembly—and they’ll be more likely to eat it.
Regarding the lunches themselves, I read a cool tip from a mom somewhere that I wish we’d known when we were packing lunches for our daughters: Small food is fun food. Baby carrots, sandwiches cut into small wedges, wraps made with small tortillas are all great ways to appeal to kid-sized appetites.
And finally, as any good marketing person will tell you, packaging is key. I can’t help but think I might have eaten more of my school lunches if they’d been packed in a cool Batman lunchbox. For the latest too-cool-for-school lunch accessories, check out my latest post on the USA Character Approved Blog.
Hi Terry
I’m just getting to the last episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (in LA) and the school lunch situation in the US looks scary as hell. I didn’t have a school canteen when I was growing up (in Australia), though we did have a tuck shop where you could buy healthy and unhealthy food. I made my own lunch, so I always knew what I was in for, but I guess parents who make lunch for their kids must be under a lot of strain to keep variety. How many ways are there to fill a sandwich? (well, actually probably a billion, but when you’re a busy working parent it must often seem like only one or two). So, I think any trick like cool accessories is a good trick. Nothing wrong with a little marketing!
=) Marc
Thanks, Marc! Stories of nutrition-caused health issues in kids and adults these days are really scary—obesity, diabetes, heart problems… But I’m encouraged that at least some attention is being paid finally.