What do I put in a kids’ lunch box?

[ChequersDog]

I don’t mean the pretend ‘two slices of avocado, six raw almonds and a handful of wild rice’ lunchboxes. I mean what do your actual existing 7-9 year-old eat? I’ve never done one before and DS needs one for a sports day camp. I guess it needs to be quite substantial. He says all the kids with packed lunches at school have sandwiches, crisps and a cake. Coincidentally that’s what he would like, so not sure how true it is.

A sandwich/wrap/crackers
Two pieces of fruit- usually banana and berries
Popcorn
Carrot and cucumber sticks
Raisins
Yo-yo bears
Yogurt... just some ideas!

Sandwiches or wraps
Fruit
Crisps
Chocolate bar
Yoghurt
Plenty of drinks if it’s a sports day

My 7 year old would have
Bread with butter 🤢
Wrap with butter
Banana
Apple
Grapes
Cereal bar

My 10 year old would have
Ham or cheese sandwich
Crackers with choc spread
Apple
Banana

I do this every day. A normal lunch box would contain a sandwich or wrap. A couple of pieces of fruit - easy to eat like bananas or a cut up apple. A little bag of crisps or savoury biscuits. A couple of mini chocolate bars. A couple of cheese triangles. Some of that will come back home , but that way he has a choice.

My 9 year ds needed packed lunch on sports day he had

2 rounds of sandwiches
Cocktail sausages
Baked crisps

Melon
Cucumber sticks and carrot sticks
2 finger KitKat.
Drive

He ate the lot.

Frube not drive!

When my DC had packed lunch every day I'd do cheese or ham (or cheese and ham) sandwiches, a packet of crisps, carrot sticks, a carton of smoothie, a frozen yoghurt stick and an apple. For special outings I'd maybe add a wrapped biscuit or cake too.

my DD has for school (she is 8)
A sandwich
Pack of crisps (quavers or another baked type)
Piece of fruit
cereal bar
and then either a yoghurt or a cheese based snack (babybel or similar)

If he's at a sports camp, I'd put in more than you think he will need.

So

A main...sandwich, wrap, pasta salad, filled roll/bagel.

Veg...carrot sticks, cucumber, pepper, cherry tomatoes

Piece of fruit

Crisps (yes, I know it's a virtual sin for some but every kid has crisps!)

Something sweet...not chocolate, it will melt! My dc have those Mr kipling cake bars which are individually wrapped.

Random extras...babybel, cocktail sausages, hard boiled egg

5.5 year old DD takes cheese sandwich/roll or some pasta, squeeze yoghurt, oaty/cereal bar, fruit smoothie melts(only way to get fruit in her) small cake maybe crisps depending on whether she took pasta or bread.bottle of water

pasta salad was often in out children's lunch boxes as was bagels with fillings. I was never a bag of crisps in lunch box mum that was a very rare thing. lots of vegetables cut up fruit and often a frozen yoghurt to keep it cool that would have defrosted by lunch time. cake or muffins happened but not regularly.

My 7 year old -
Ham wrap or cold tomato pasta
Carton of smoothie
Tub of grapes and/or strawberries
Cheese stick/cubes
Mini pack of biscuits

My 7 year old has

Ham roll or cheese
Packet of mini cheddars
Apple
Orange
Fruit yo-yo
A biscuit
Frube

My 7 year old has

Ham roll or cheese
Packet of mini cheddars
Apple
Orange
Fruit yo-yo
A biscuit
Frube

Sandwich or wrap or leftover pizza
Carrot sticks and hummus
Yogurt
Fruit (usually strawberries, grapes or apple)

If it's a long day and they're going to be active then I'd chuck in some mini sausages / pork pie / scotch egg and a penguin bar or similar?

There was a thread on chat last week with loads of ideas on.

My 7yo has:
A roll/sandwich/bagel with some kind of meat/cheese/tuna. Sometimes he’ll have leftover pasta bake instead of this.
A cheese string or cubes of cheese.
A pepperami/scotch eggs/cocktail sausages.
Sliced fruit/cucumber/pepper/carrot sticks.
A squeezy yoghurt or yoghurt drink.
Popcorn or rice cakes.

For holiday club I’ll put a few extras in as he needs something for snack too. Probably some extra fruit and a snack pack of biscuits/bread sticks/cereal bar, something like that.

I don’t usually give him crisps or cake but only because he always wants these the second he gets home, if he didn’t want them at home I’d have no problem with putting them in his lunch.

My children don't have them often.
Sandwich or roll (cheese, salami, or marmite)
Choice of piece of cheese, or mini pork pie or little pot of houmous and crackers, or hard boiled egg if I have time.
Piece of fruit.
Carton of juice or smoothie
Their choice of a packet of crisps or something sweet like a penguin or cake bar.

This is my 4 yr olds lunch (and a yogurt)

A sandwich / roll / wrap with protein filling
Some veg - pepper / carrot sticks / cucumber / cherry tomatoes
A small biscuit / cake / flapjack
A few crisps
Piece of cheese / Babybel
Fruit - grapes / strawberries / blueberries and an apple or banana
Maybe some raisins / dried fruit

Bearing in mind the camp provides the morning snack.

Thanks everybody. I’m glad I asked because I don’t think I’d have been sending enough food! I bought him an insulated lunch bag and thought it looked massive, but I guess packed lunches are bigger than I thought.

when DS did forest school trips, the little 3/4 year olds always had given to them by nursery -
Cheese or ham wrap
packet of mini cheddars
frube yoghurt
apple or banana

So I can well imagine 7-9 year olds doing sport needing more.

His suggestion sounds fine to me. Sandwiches are substantial, a piece of fruit, something sweet and a drink will be sufficient.

My DS (8) eats very little but I send a bit more so he can eat it if he wants. Sandwich (ham or tuna), pepperami, little orange, carrot sticks and crisps or mini cookies pack. I used to send frubes too but he decided he didn’t like them (and he revealed eventually that his friends laughed at him when I gave him the pink ones ffs). He also asked me not to send a chicken drumstick again though he loves them, as apparently it disgusted his friends. It’s a minefield

He has water bottles so drinks them throughout the day but I guess as a one off at a sports camp I might want to include a drink.