![]() ![]() Cut up melon, mango, papaya, peaches, pears work better in small containers.ĥ. Grapes, apples, raisins, peeled and sectioned oranges, carrots, cherry tomatoes work well sent in baggies. ![]() Don’t forget the fruit or veggies! Make sure it’s easy to eat and won’t be damaged during transit so the child refuses to eat it. Remind your child to bring the plasticware home to be washed!Ĥ. You don’t want your nice tableware to be thrown away on accident. Be sure to have appropriate plasticware on hand. Splurge on those individually packaged applesauce, kid-size yogurt, and crackers. Keep an eye on your inventory though to avoid meltdowns when you’re out of a needed ingredient.ģ. Buy smaller amounts of a variety of items. Stock up on healthy fixings to ease preparation for kids of all ages. A twist on the old “fish” saying: “pack a child a lunch, feed him for a meal, teach him to pack a healthy lunch and eventually, he’ll do it himself!”Ģ. I HATED taking lunch to school because it was the same baloney sandwich, red delicous apple and cookie every day so I've tried to make things more interesting and exciting for my kids.ġ. On to lunches! I wrote an article for my mothers' club about this years ago when my son was starting first grade. Kids this age just don't understand that their friends can get really sick and even die if they're not careful. Many preschools have a "no-nut" policy no because of allergy problems. They learned to manage their time better and to make school preps the night before.Īll in all, it was a good process for us. My kids learned what makes an acceptable meal: small protein, unlimited fruits and veggies, sugar and fats sparingly. Second, I learned NOT to argue over the little things when it was possible to turn control over to the child (why should I decide on applesauce and then make him eat it when he'd prefer pineapple tidbits and eat it willingly?). First, my kids learned independence and decision-making skills. ![]() Some of the biggest advantages to this plan are long-term. It could be Lunchables or PBJ or crackers and cheese for the main course - use whatever your child likes and whatever ideas you come across. Time was saved because the lunch packing chores were divided in half between me and the boys.Īs far as what to put in the various baskets or to offer for sandwhiches, the sky is the limit. He picked only those things that he felt like eating that day so less got thrown away. I controlled what went into the Station's baskets but my son controlled what went into his lunch. It takes a certain amount of set-up of the Lunch Station and then training of your child on your part but, in the long run, it saves time and money and reduces arguements. I started doing this with my oldest when he was 3 years old. The next morning, part of my kids' routines were to add the perishable items to the lunch box, return the pictures to their places and check off Make Lunch from their To-do list. ![]() The sandwhich picture also went there.īefore I went to bed (usually as a part of my after-dinner clean-up), I'd make the requested sandwich and place it in the fridge (if perishable) or lunchbox (if not). Actual items got placed in the lunch box while pictures were set on the counter by the fridge. When the boys were really young, I taught them to pick one thing from each basket as they got older, I varied the numbers (unlimited fruits and veggies but only 1 chips for example). I used a small cork board to post pictures of available sandwhiches.Įvery night after dinner, my sons were responsible for packing their own lunch from the baskets. The baskets either had the item itself (like a cup of applesauce) or a picture of the item (like a cup of yogurt) if it was perishable. There were several small baskets, each filled with a different type of food: chips in one basket, fruits in another, veggies in a third and so on. ![]()
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