If there’s one area that is frequently discussed among parents and teachers but has no clear solution in place, it is the topic of school lunchboxes. Many believe that poor quality lunches are a big part of the growing obesity epidemic and some schools are taking dramatic steps to deal with the problems of children food. Others believe that parents need to be better informed about what they should give their kids for lunch. So what are the rules and ideas to make for a better, healthier lunch
Educating parents
Others take the view that the solution isn’t about banning or confiscating foods but educating parents on what constitutes a healthy lunchbox and what they should include in it to give their kids the best meal.
In the US, there is also a big move towards giving parents the information to create healthy lunches. This can include elements such as baking batches of food to freeze such as whole gain muffins or breads as well as healthier cookies. A big emphasis is placed on what the food looks like because tasty looking food is more likely to be eaten by the kids – hence the reason that sugary foods are always popular.
Filling a box with veggies sticks and a little amount of a yoghurt dip or hummus are ideas discussed along with healthy crackers with toppings, fruit smoothies and sandwiches made with pitta bread rather than normal white bead. Even leftovers such as grilled chicken breasts cut into sticks or nuggets and served with a dip are easy to make options.
Websites such as Change4life offer a rota of school lunchbox meal ideas to get the right stuff into the kids but to keep the menu varied. There is also a range of recipes on the site to make with the kids and then send into school for their lunch.
Why it matters
While the growing concerns about childhood obesity are at the centre of these concerns, there are other reasons why a good, healthy school lunch is a benefit to children. For starters, eating the right foods can boost the metabolism, making the children feel more energetic and increasing their concentration. This leads to better results in class.
By making all children eat school lunches, there can be a stop to the problem of some children feeling left out when eating a school meal versus a ‘fun looking’ lunchbox filled with poor nutritional foods. Let’s face it, kids love what isn’t good for them and if they see their friends eating fun, sugary foods, they don’t want to eat their own healthy lunch.
Whether banning, confiscating or educating is the way forward, it is clear that a plan needs to be in place to help our kids have a happy, healthy lunch that sets them up well for the rest of the day.
