Lunchtimes, recess, snack or crunch and sip times are an important part of a child's day. It's a time to refuel, socialise and have some time-out from the structured timetable. In most classes and schools there is a short amount of time to eat and children are then required to pack away lunch boxes and make the most of playtimes. Here are my top tips for packing lunch boxes:
- Try not to overwrap. Most containers are airtight and no plastic wrap or snap lock bags are necessary to keep lunches fresh.
- Can you littlies open their own packaging, drink bottles and containers? It might be worth having them practise or try this at home. It can be frustrating for small children to have to wait in line for an adult to open their packages.
- Don't overfill. Your little one can only eat a small amount at a lunch break, most schools require children to eat their sandwich first so it may be worth considering how much your child could eat on top of that.
- Keep them cold. School bags can sit outside on hot days and there isn't always room to keep lunches indoors so keep lunches cool with small cool bricks or frozen drinks especially when they contain dairy or meat.
- Label EVERYTHING. Lunch containers can cost a small fortune and it's easy for kids to lose or mix-up containers. Write your child's name on all parts of the containers to avoid a draw full of containers with no lids :)
Preparing lunch boxes for kids' school is quite tricky considering we may not fully know what the kids are capable or not capable of doing. Your tips serves as a very helpful guide to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Claire, the time factor is worth considering when packing lunchboxes as well as little fingers opening tricky packages and containers :)
ReplyDeleteWe should take time in getting to know our kids more. That way, we may be able to lessen the hassle of little fingers opening tricky containers. :)
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