Does your child’s packed lunch contain a treat everyday?

[Mrssheepskin]

Currently DS4 takes a packed lunch 3 days a a week to preschool.
He has a sandwich/wrap (always cheese although hoping to broaden the range soon!), salad bits, fruit and a piece of homemade cake or biscuit (shortbread, cookie, lemon drizzle, cupcake etc.) If he continues packed lunches when he starts school, would it be bad to have a sweet treat like this everyday still? Not sure what to swap it with if not.

Yes, everyday, as he loves a sweet treat. Today was a Soreen bar- so quite low in sugar & malted loaf. Other days it's banana bread or some chocolate chip oatcake biscuits (these are great!).

DC3 won't eat fruit or yogurt (ASN so sensory issues) so lots of chopped veg/ sandwich/ oatcakes/ pretzel & a sweet treat. Only water allowed in school, which suits him fine.

DS2 is 17 & has all manner of cool stuff- leftover curry or Chinese food/ home-made naan/ garlic bread/ natural yogurt & fruit with maple syrup/ raw cashews (allowed in secondary)/ Stilton & crackers/ as well as a chunk of chocolate! He loves his food!

I never used to - up until about year 3 the ‘treat’ was a yoghurt or similar, because the schools packed lunch policy was really strict. DS was always moaning that his friends had chocolate, cake biscuits etc as their treat. I didn’t believe him for ages but he went on so much I eventually messaged the school and turns out they kind of just turn a blind eye to it 🤔

So yes he does a have a sweet treat every day. His lunch is usually cheese sandwich, a little pot with 2 types of fruit, a cheese string or cheese snacky things (he does like cheese) the Aldi version of fruit winders (Dinos) and then usually a homemade cake, biscuit or flapjack type thing. If I’ve not had the time I just put a mini roll or cake bar in.

@oldgreysquirrel

Couldn't agree more. My kids have a chocolate biscuit in their lunchbox (as do I!)

We are quite relaxed about food and our kids can take it or leave it...

Could the sweet thing (if he needs a sweet thing) be a bit more protieny as theres not a lot of protein in the whole lunch, so a nut bar that you make up yourself or something?

Yes good idea. I was also thinking I could add in a yoghurt.

Rarely. Once a week maybe. I grew up without treats during on weekdays so I guess it's my normal. We have treats on weekends.

Mine does but it often comes back home again.

Ours don’t. I don’t see the point. I wouldn’t eat something unhealthy every day, so I wouldn’t give it to my children either. Mumsnetters used to argue that fruit was unhealthy (full of sugar, oh their poor teeth etc), so on that front I definitely perform poorly!

Yes and they often have another treat later on. Especially if having school dinners as the offering for dessert is very boring like crackers or yoghurt.

Oh good shout!! I hadn't thought about this.... you should totally start a thread about language around food at home!

Not everyday, but we also don't consider them treats as such. TBH, the biggest 'treat' mine have is the sushi I occasionally buy and pop in.

we have fussy eaters, so lunchboxes are:

• crackers, wraps, rolls or sushi
• cheese, Quorn ham, tofu, sausage or egg (Filling or on side)
• veg sticks
• fruits sticks
• 1 or 2 of: crisps, yoghurt, cake bar, fruits winder, homemade cookie or cake, breadsticks, chocolate rice cakes etc.

My Dd always does - Kit Kat/small bag of cookies or choc fingers usually. I have a very healthy relationship with food & I want that for her too. It’s great to be mainly healthy but I feel it’s important to treat yourself too!

My DC tend to have school lunches, but when they do need a packed lunch I usually do one protein, one carb, one dairy, one fruit/veg. So chicken wrap, cheese string, apple or ham sandwich, frube and some pepper sticks, or a cheese croissant, hummus and carrot sticks. I do sometimes put an extra thing in like a jelly pot or a winder. I do always meet them from school with something from the bakery though, or some crisps. They need the carb boost to walk home after a busy day at school! So that's when they get their daily treat in

Yes like a biscuit/ cake

Same. Don't understand this modern western obsession that treats=food.

My kids get a sandwich, usually ham cheese and salad (on multigrain bread) cut up fruit and veg usually carrot and apple, then a small muffin, custard donut or some biscuits. They also get a musli bar and either a pack of chips or a salami stick. The older 2 in high school don’t always eat much so I pack the chips ect as I know it’s something they will eat if they are short of time. My daughter takes dried fruit for her morning snack. I don’t have an issue with it. We don’t eat dessert at home and they eat a healthy dinner.

Western obsession?

If you know anything about other cultures food and cuisine and celebration, you'll know that food is very much about treats, sweet things, celebration, fullfillment and fun

From the middle east, to the Indian subcontinent, to Japan, to China, to south Asia, to Russia, all around the world.

Yes he was on hot dinners until Y4 which comes with a cake/cookie and now he is on packed lunches he has a sandwich, yoghurt, banana and something like the little bags of party rings or mini cookies.

Yes. Every day. A wagon wheel/penguin type thing. Always have done. If they have school dinners they get a pudding, so 🤷‍♀️

Yes, I’ll include a biscuit or a snack size chocolate thing. They’re busy at school and the energy boost does them no harm, they eat well most of the time and I don’t want to differentiate “good” and “bad” food.

Yes - we always do 5 things. Sandwich or oatcakes and cheese, chopped veg, some fruit, popcorn/healthyish crisps or cheese crackers and a sweet treat. Often it’s something we’ve made so I can’t control the sugar like small muffins or fruitcake etc. but sometimes it’s something bought eg biscuits. Mine walk 15 mins to school and back up a steep hill and seem to run around all day. I can’t see what the harm is if it’s just something little and often yoghurts and so on have more sugar than a little biscuit.

Mine has preschool twice a week so two lunch boxes. I tend to just use what we have, do a wrap or sandwich. Sometimes pasta salad. Veg sticks in one section. Normally a whole beef tomato as she’s obsessed with them 🙈 Fruit like berries in one compartment and then a big piece like an apple/banana. Yogurt. And either crisps or dairylea dunker. Today I put in a Maryland cookie as there was an open packet in the cupboard, but it’s the first time I’ve given her a treat like that in her lunchbox, as I’m
never sure if the school will confiscate them 😂

However my kids do have puddings or something sweet most days after dinner, be it froyo or ice cream/mini milk/ chocolate milkshake! I never demonise food.

Primary school, no school meals provided and the healthy eating policy includes that ‘treats’ are only allowed on a Friday. Kids don’t question it.

Oh and as above…our walk to school is 20 mins up big hills and we usually half jog it/scoot as we are perpetually running late 😂 so I feel like she burns off any sugar she has!

Yes usually a couple of Jaffa cakes but she’s not been eating her fruit lately so I’ve stopped putting it in until she eats her fruit too!