Big M and Miss J went off to school today and next week Little L starts Big School.
Whilst I am excited my little one is off to big school {so proud}, the reality is I have three uniforms to get ready each morning and three lunchboxes to pack. The school lunchbox always stresses me out. What to pack? My daughter rarely eats her lunch, at one point my husband and I were not sure how she was functioning at all because she would bring her lunchbox home completely untouched. What the hell was she eating? Apart from making sure they we actually eat the lunch you pack I also find it difficult to be imaginative and seem to end up rushing to throw together a sandwich, pack chips, muesli bar and throw in a piece of fruit.
It’s not very exciting having the same lunch day in – day out.
Another big thing is to make sure the lunches you pack are nutritious. Wowsers…so that’s:
- pack a lunch they will actually eat
- make sure it’s nutritious
- mix it up so they have something different each day
No wonder this school lunch caper stresses me out. On a positive note I find planning is key when it comes to the school lunchbox. I find it much less stressful to have some idea what I am going to pack and prepare their lunchboxes the night before. This saves not only time but my sanity during the mad rush in the mornings before work and school. This year I am making a big effort with the kids lunches after starting a bit of a health kick late last year. I am concentrating on minimal sugar and as little processed foods as possible this year for the kids lunches.
IGA have launched a new digital hub, offering simple and inspirational lunchbox ideas for parents. Everyday over the next few weeks you’ll find inspiration on how to create lunchboxes that tick all the boxes for simplicity, ease and health. The lunchbox below looks great but with my new regime I would swap the Up & Go and crackers for a (homemade) muffin – yep I cook too 🙂
Lunch box idea from IGA. If you don’t like too much sugar in your kids diets then make a few swaps. My kids have water (not juice or cordial) for school.
It seems that I’m not alone with my lunchbox stresses with new research* from IGA which shows that parents are feeling the pressure. The research highlights that when it comes to preparing their kid’s lunches, mums and dads are struggling to keep their kids excited by the contents, they are feeling time pressured, and they even believe there is competition among their peers!
Key research highlights:
- Almost two thirds (61%) of parents say they feel pressure from others (such as parents and teachers) when preparing lunches
- A quarter of parents (28%) said they feel there is competition amongst other parents when it comes to making their children’s lunch boxes
- 8 out of 10 (79%) parents say that the feel time pressured when making their children’s lunch boxes, with almost a third of parents (30%) feeling the pressure on a regular basis
- More than a third (38%) of parents have found that their children have been swapping their lunchbox items and a more worryingly, (41%) of parents say they find their children’s lunch boxes come back full
- Almost 9 out of 10 parents (87%) said they struggle to keep their children excited by their lunch boxes.
Do you have any ideas to share about easing the school lunchbox dilemmas? What do you pack your kids for lunch?
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. IGA research findings were provided by – *Pure Profile N 1000 M/F with children up to 16 years
