Kids get bored with food, just like adults do. But while most of us over the age of eighteen can navigate past our epicurean dilemma, a child’s boredom usually manifests in a singular manner: the refusal to eat what’s given to him. In their parents’ presence, a child can be cajoled, tricked, or threatened into submission. But what about when a kid is in school? For the parents of school-aged children, preparing our kids’ lunches is a major source of ire. How can we make sure that our kids are eating what we given them?
It’s not always easy. But these five tips might help bridge the divide between what is packed for lunch and what actually is eaten.
1. Gotta Keep ’Em Separated
This may seem a little OCD, but try separating all food items into small containers. This makes the amount of food not appear insurmountable, which is one of the reasons for a partially eaten or untouched lunch. It also makes lunch fun as your child can eat a little of this or a lot of that. Separating foods can also prevent what some kids refer to as food “contamination,” when one food item causes another to taste funny or lose its original texture.
Packing food into separate containers makes lunch fun and less wasteful. Put cubed cheese, slices of chicken breast meat, whole-wheat crackers, and grapes in separate reusable containers and be sure to provide your child with a paper plate and some tooth picks. It’s an indoor picnic for one!
2. The Bento Box
Preparing bento boxes are another way to make lunch entertaining as well as appetizing. “O-bento” is the traditional Japanese “packed meal,” which is usually a box with dividers and multiple layers. They are metal or plastic and can be stackable. Children’s bento boxes are available with cartoon characters, like Hello Kitty, and the main aesthetic for these boxes is compact cuteness.
The ingredients to a bento box lunch are usually leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. But with egg molds, rice shapers, and reusable plastic skewers shaped like flowers or animals, many inventive parents are styling their kids’ lunch foods into edible works of art.
