About the bloody packed lunches?

Keep persevering because the weather is hot and appetites fluctuate. I'm actually amazed they haven't cottoned on and thrown the sarnie at school at their ages.

My daughter often complains she doesn’t get time time to finish her lunch as they don’t get a long lunch (45 mins) and they are always in a rush to go off and play. My daughter eats like a sparrow at the best of times but yeah it’s usually the sandwich/roll/wrap that gets left or the fruit or both not the treat! A few times I’ve threatened to only send the sandwich and fruit, no treat, but then it gets better for while (either that or she is just binning the main stuff!)
Seriously though I would just stop sending in the treat. Maybe get them involved in planning what they actually want for lunch? My daughter just isn’t into sandwiches but she does like crackers so sometimes I just send those with fruit and a small treat. They really don’t have time for big elaborate lunches and I always laugh at those cute but impractical ones you see on Pinterest. I’m always thinking they just don’t have time for all that!

Only a treat (eg crisps or a chocolate biscuit) on a Friday. They had to eat it or go hungry. At home, only a healthy snack once they came home, however hungry. Nice treat after dinner.
It seemed to work. One was very limited as to what they ate. They probably had the same lunch every day for 13 years!

I’m a right cow. My kids don’t get treats in their lunchbox as it’s not staple meal food. Treats are given as and when (although usually most days if I’m honest).

sandwich
crudities
yoghurt
fruit

I totally hear you. My girls (6 and 9) have school dinners (one is in infants, so free, otherwise yeh, so expensive for two). But my 9yo has a packed meal twice after school and once on a Saturday for long gymnastics training sessions. She always leaves the sandwich. When I change it up eg. Tub with cheese, crackers, grapes, or pasta pot, we have more success. Also, if you can get your kids to eat homemade, I do a high fibre blueberry muffin that’s nutrient dense and I’m quite happy is better than most sandwiches (SR nutrition and Emily English do great recipes). My youngest devours this in his pre-school lunchbox. The girls have had too many years of processed cake so they’re not quite on board yet - I’m planning a summer snack detox where we cut waaaay back on the processed snacks. Wish me luck!

School lunches!!

Am I doing pack lunches wrong? We've only ever sent a sandwich and a piece of fruit!

My DS is 8 and he went through a stage of leaving his sandwich so I told him straight the next time his sandwich came home I was stopping putting anything else in his packed lunch other than the sandwich and a carton of juice. We now have a rule that sandwich gets eaten 1st and he knows if it ever comes home again it will be the last time he ever takes a packed lunch to school.

The really little ones are pretty much unfrozen by lunchtime so cool rather than cold. Personally I think soggy sounds worse than cold but I guess people can avoid whichever they hate more.

That just makes the sandwiches cold which not everyone likes.

I don't know why everyone is going on about soggy sandwiches sitting around for half the day. Don't you put a mini freezer block in so everything in the lunchbox is cool? They are cheap and widely available. Or just stick a snack-sized box of frozen peas or sweetcorn in - they are nice raw.

i would tackle this like the crazy person I am.

You could give them Dunkers or Swiss roll and only that until that until they get thoroughly sick of it, Then start adding fruit or vegetables but keep on giving them the Dunkers/Swiss Roll it for a few more days until they really don’t want it, then add in the sandwich back.

If they're not finishing their food, give them less. I'd drop the cake personally.

That sounds like hardly any food to me. My 7 year old eats more than that in a packed lunch at school, and that's still a lot less than she'd eat if with us. She struggles with time at school so eats less as she eats it slowly. But she only has it once a week when she has a club.

Anyway, I agree with you, there's no way I would be adding things like "treats" at all if they're routinely not eating their main item. Cut right back and if they're hungry they will eat their butty or whatever.

We often used to have pizza and salad for dinner once a week and would save a couple of slices for DC to take for their lunches the next day.
They always took insulated cool bags with an ice pack in them to help keep the food fresh.

Thinking back to when my kids were young they always used to get treats in their lunchbox.
As an adult each day I have a sandwich and yoghurt and fruit for lunch. Never sweet treats.
Of course they are taking the sweet treat first.
Your absolutely right. For lunch make it a nice sandwich and a healthy side.

Why do they not have school lunch? Surely this will solve the problem

If it’s a piece of fruit fair enough, but a soggy sandwich that’s been in there all day…..🤢

I would ditch the sandwiches and give them chicken, ham, cheese or tuna with some cucumber and pepper strips & pasta or mini breadsticks. Maybe a small pot of hummus for dipping?

Mine were not all that fussed on sandwiches but they did eat wraps with a tuna mayo or egg mayo filling. They liked hummus and veggies or those little packs of sushi, rice salad or pasta salad or couscous with roasted veg too.

I assume that's why she is asking for alternatives for the sandwich.... because it is going to waste.

@Illbefinejustbloodyfine yes go for "homemade" Dairylea Dunkers.
Pot of the cheese and a variety of breadsticks/crackers and things like carrot sticks, sliced peppers, cucumber sticks, apple slices etc to dip in it.
(If they claim the pot of cheese goes "gross" after being in the lunchbox for hours send a Dairylea Triangle still wrapped with a little spoon so they can open one fresh and smush it down).