Packed lunches - am I the boring mean mum?

[rumpleteaserspaws]

I hate doing packed lunches with a passion and am dreading doing them daily when the DCs return to school!
My DC's have had a few days at holiday club over the past three weeks, and I've had to do their lunches for that. They have been complaining (albeit nicely ) about them having a "healthy" lunch, because their HC friends have nicer (so read more sugary) stuff in theirs.

So, I'll tell you the contents and you can tell me if I'm boring;

Sandwich of choice, usually tuna or egg mayo, or cheese w/ tomato or cucumber.

Veg pot - carrot, cucumber, tomatoes.

Piece of fruit, sometimes two.

Squeezy yoghurt of some kind.

A treat type item, either crisps, a club-type of biscuit, mini Soreen loaf.

To me that seems like a perfectly normal packed lunch, mainly healthy but with a bit of fun stuff. We are not a mega healthy household in that they get sweet stuff more often than I'd really like. They certainly aren't deprived of anything. This type of packed lunch is what they'll be getting daily when they return to school, but I can already envisage the complaints I'm going to get, argh!

Mine usually get a sandwich (in whole meal sandwich thins as they then don't leave the crusts) usually ham or cheese.

Blueberries.

Crisps (or a dairy Lea dunker).

Cherry tomatoes/carrot sticks/cucumber sticks.

Mini cocktail sausages.

Yoghurt.

My dc lunches sound the same as yours. They make their own now ( they take turns to do them for all of us)
Sometimes they also have pasta or wraps ( not made up as they say they go soggy) they know that it can't be filled with rubbish food but I do let them have sweets in there once a week ( it's usually a Wednesday).

DD went back to school yesterday. Currently no school lunches so for the first time DD has seen her whole class have a packed lunch out with a trip setting. She was surprised to see so many treats. Luckily for us her immediate friends are similar to her.

Everything sent must be disposable due to Covid so no salad tubs etc at the moment.
Average packed lunch - 2 mini wraps ham/cheese or 2 rolls ham/turkey/chicken, veg sticks, 1 piece of fruit, a small treat ie. homemade cake, cookie, bag of mini fingers or chocolate rice cakes, mousse or yogurt.

I have seen some lunches which are sandwich, crisps, chocolate and yogurt and that's what your dcs are probably seeing, don't know why anyone is sending no fruit or veg though

Probably because the parent knows the DC wouldn't eat it and doesn't want to waste food.

A child's lunch box needs protein first and foremost then carbs and healthy fats. So a full fat yoghurt rather than one packed with added sugar. "Treat" optional but no need to take the moral high ground if a parent bungs a bit of cake or a Penguin in.

The parent can serve fruit and veg at home where they can encourage DC to eat it.

My younger dc normally has rice with chopped up chorizo, cucumber and sweet corn mixed together in a tub which he loves! He’ll also have fruit and a yoghurt.
Older dc have a wrap, 2 packets of crisps, 2 pieces of fruit, 2 yoghurts, cocktail sausages and a couple of biscuits! They are both tall and very active and their school day is quite long as it’s a private school and they have lunch and 2 breaks. They tend to make their own lunches but I check that they haven’t tried to sneak 3 chocolate bars to school!!!

The pack-up sounds pretty standard to me to be fair, everyone's children are different - they have different likes/dislikes/appetites/energy levels and we are looking at one meal per day from three, so I think its unnecessary for us to be rude about other peoples parenting choices in this instance, we certainly shouldn't be picking apart what other peoples children eat in terms of calories, they're far too young for that!

I think whats happening more than anything OP is your kids are trying it on a tad, there maybe one or two kids who have exciting lunchboxes and they're seeing how much they can get away with with you - 95% of kids at your children's school will have the same in their lunchboxes as your kids

Sometimes it's nice to fit in with your peers.
This is a touch pathetic imo.

🤣🤣🤣

Depending on whether their “lunch” needs to include snacks, the child and the length of the day:

Sandwhich/wrap - ham/egg/cheese, DS (nearly 12) might have 2 on a long day.
Crisps
Babybel/cheese cubes,sometimes also crackers
Crisps
Fruit/veg sticks
Penguin biscuit or similar, possibly 2 on a long day
Water

Bear in mind my dc are 8 and 11, sporty, growing like weeds and eat for England !

@winerack19 they were always ravenous after school

Not surprised Can't believe they made you give them that pretentious show-off-y stuff! Yes it makes the parents look good but that stuff alone will not fill them up!

Sounds very similar to what I'd do, maybe with crisps.

@DeeTractor

Do we have competitive undereaters on lunchbox threads now? 🙄

THIS!!!!

I have not had to do the packed lunch thing yet as DD is only 5 months old but, now, after reading this entire thread, Im scared witless to do it! Do mums always judge each other so harshly? I have a sound knowledge of nutrition and the importance of a balanced diet. (I’m a paramedic so not claiming to be an expert but know enough about how the human body works)
I figure, if it works for the kids, run with it. They obviously don’t need crisps everyday but, if we are already counting calories at a young age, we might be encouraging an unhealthy relationship with food as they get older. NHS guidelines say 1 portion of fruit and veg, starchy grain (bread for example), dairy (if possible) and a protein. The key word is “guidelines”... not a law! Do what suits your children I guess 🤷‍♀️

My 10yo had today
Grapes
Banana
Peanut butter sandwiches (2 slices whole meal bread)
Slice of cheese
Packet of quavers

Probably around 650 calories.

NHS guidelines say 1 portion of fruit and veg, starchy grain (bread for example), dairy (if possible) and a protein. The key word is “guidelines”... not a law!

Well yes that’s a sandwich with protein filling with a side salad or a piece of fruit, so adding a bag of crisps/mini cheddars, plus a yogurt, plus flapjack or biscuits every day is well over the guidelines yet those who say it’s a lot are accused of competitive under eating.

@lazylinguist

Your packed lunch sounds fine and completely normal, OP.

I'm utterly baffled by anyone thinking that a packet if crisps is healthier than fruit. A processed, salty snack food instead of a totally natural source of vitamins and fibre? That is properly bonkers.

I agree

Lol and in the real world my kids have a ham sandwich on white bread, crisps, chocolate roll, fruit, a yoghurt and a fruit winder or yo-yo! Completely honestly 99% of kids in my daughters class have the same thing!!

Thanks @CherryPavlova I've never considered the actual calorie content of their lunch boxes before but you've given me food for thought now (no pun intended) . Both are slim and go to forest school two days a week so are very active on those days. They're also 'grazers' so will take their mid morning and mid afternoon snacks out of their lunchboxes too.

If anyone is reading this thread full of healthy lunches and snacks and thinking Geeeez they ought to see my kids lunchbox..... Today, I got up with a migraine and have a full day at home on my own with a 19 month old, 3 year old and 5 year old and for breakfast (in this heat) my children had two rocket ice lollies each and a fruit winder! Not every day can be a good day :)

@MyPersona

NHS guidelines say 1 portion of fruit and veg, starchy grain (bread for example), dairy (if possible) and a protein. The key word is “guidelines”... not a law!

Well yes that’s a sandwich with protein filling with a side salad or a piece of fruit, so adding a bag of crisps/mini cheddars, plus a yogurt, plus flapjack or biscuits every day is well over the guidelines yet those who say it’s a lot are accused of competitive under eating.

Sandwich with protein filling, salad/crudities or fruit...and dairy? so adding in a yoghurt or cheese meets the guidelines, and we all know that no-one is standard so if it's out of school summer club, they may be more active than usual so extra fruit or a snack on top doesn't seem excessive.

I always gave two fruit or veg with lunch as they might only have 1 or 2 with breakfast so only one at lunch (if none at snack) leaves too much to pack into dinner time if you have veg dodging DC.

@Morfin

My only problem is the egg and tuna, they smell! Kids don't want to be different and someone will make a massive joke about the smell of the sandwich.

The kids choose their own sandwich fillings, I'm happy to make something less smelly. Tuna is my youngest's absolute favourite.But, after week one at holiday club he said that he wanted something else as his friends wouldn't sit next to him due to the smell. When I questioned this the following week when he asked for tuna again, he said "oh I don't care about that anymore"

I do a whole meal bread sandwich, crisps, fruit and a snack usually dried fruit, banana chips, nuts etc.

Annoyingly my son won't eat raw veg otherwise I'd include it.

What's a 'bread sandwich"??

What's a 'bread sandwich"??

Presumably a sandwich with unspecified filling, made with wholemeal bread.

This made me think of 'I can I can't'

Do mums always judge each other so harshly?

Only on MN. In real life no one gives a toss what is in another kid's lunch box.

I read whole meal bread, sandwich as opposed to a white bread sandwich.