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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

in thinking this is a totally suitable lunchbox contents for a 2.5yr old?

182 replies

LifeIsButtercream · 12/10/2011 21:41

I send DD to preschool with a packed lunch - several people have commented that I don't put enough in there (a friend was round once while I was packing it, and I discussed it with someone else - don't ask me how we ended up talking about it!)

Her lunchbox today contained:

  • sandwich made with one slice of brown bread and cream cheese
  • 3 cherry tomatoes
  • matchbox-sized piece of cheese cut into cubes
  • carton of watered-down apple juice
  • 4 mini Organix gingerbread men (ones from the little bags) - ok one didn't have a head lol!
  • packet of raisins
  • Innocent smoothie tube
  • yogurt

Just to explain - DD is a fruit-fiend, if I had put 4 bananas in there she would have been just as happy - it's hard work to get any carbs or protein into her sometimes! I do vary her lunchbox, and serve her something similar at home (and she rarely eats all of it) - someone commented that I should "chuck a pack of crisps in there to make it into a proper lunch" - in my experience DD would eat a whole pack of crisps, the fruit, and leave the rest........

She is a healthy weight and height.

OP posts:
woahthere · 12/10/2011 23:18

pissing myself laughing reading this to be honest...home made bread, organix crisps and sushi showing off ...snortle.

sunnyday123 · 12/10/2011 23:36

mine get the same basics each day

sandwiches made from 2 slices milk roll - alternate egg, turkey, ham and tune sweetcorn
1 dairy item (cheese, or yoghurt, frube etc)
1 fruit - either whole banana or grapes, blueberries/ fruit bag
1 treat - rice crispie cake, flapjack, cake
water

sometimes i'll give little sausages but only as a substitute to something else - 4 items is way plenty i think!

they are 4 and 6 and never eat it all -some of these lunches are massive! my 6 year old really only eats the sandwiches and treat!

they dont always eat the fruit but they get fruit at 10am so i understand they dont want another piece 2 hours later

FearfulYank · 13/10/2011 00:48

I'll fess up to "real food"...dinner tonight: cheddar cubes, baked beans from a tin with diced chicken, and roasted broccoli. And water.

Sometimes I feed him "smug" food, sometimes I'm frazzled and make processed Toy Story Mac n Cheese and call it good.

It depends on the day...balance people, balance!

iscream · 13/10/2011 01:06

Can you not send something in a thermos like chicken stew, wieners and beans or pasta? Will she eat pizza? A deviled egg? Tuna and cottage cheese mixed up?
I don't think you didn't send enough, but I don't think it is heavy on the sugar.

SlinkingOutsideInSocks · 13/10/2011 02:32

God, it's loads.

In NZ we took packed lunched right until the end of high school - I'd get one sandwich, some fruit, a yoghurt and maybe a biscuit or some other baking for morning tea. This was aged 17, and i was never hungry. How on earth can the list in the OP not be enough for a 2.5 year old ?!

No wonder obesity levels are climbing. Little ones really don't need much to fill their small tummies and they will let you (or whoever's looking after them) know if they're hungry.

tryingtoleave · 13/10/2011 03:30

Us too, Slinking. I made my own packed lunch all through high school, and I'm pretty sure it was just a cheese or peanut butter sandwich for lunch and a piece of fruit. There were no fridges at school or insulated lunchboxes in those days so your options were fairly limited. Some carob (yuk!) buttons from the tuckshop for a treat.

Having said that, I make my dcs a much bigger lunch than I know they eat - I just really don't want them to be hungry at childcare, and I think the childcare is very stingy about what they give them for afternoon tea (which is when my dcs tend to be hungry). So today they went with a tuna, carrot and mayonnaise wrap, a yoghurt, a cheese stick and a couple of plain crackers. The other children have massive lunchboxes, so I have no idea what their parents are filling them up with.

MumblingAndBloodyRagDoll · 13/10/2011 08:25

woahthere what on earth do you feed your kids if you think home made bread and a bit of fish and rice hysterical?

BatsUpMeNightie · 13/10/2011 08:29

Of course it's hysterical mumbling - of course it is and you know it! Sushi and the like in a lunchbox? You know that's just showing off to make yourself feel better. Grin - you so need to get a grip!

Original poster
LifeIsButtercream · 13/10/2011 08:35

Lol, well at least now I don't feel so silly for being worried about disclosing that I (whispers) make homemade bread!

I enjoy making it - kinda like a hobby - and it's way cheaper than buying loaves in the supermarket.

Nothing against parents who feed their child processed food - but I like to home-cook cos I enjoy it too, and I know what's gone into DD's food, and she enjoys it! I didn't realise that it made me laughable.

Thanks for the pointers and ideas!

OP posts:
Seona1973 · 13/10/2011 08:37

my 2 have a 2 slice sandwich, some fruit (strawbs, grapes, apple slices, etc) and juicy water drink, a fromage frais pouch thing and a biscuit type thing e.g. mini cookies, animal biscuits, etc.

Bonsoir · 13/10/2011 08:37

No, I don't think that is a suitable lunch box, OP. There is far too much fat and far too much sugar in it.

She should be drinking water and eating more vegetables and meat.

MumblingAndBloodyRagDoll · 13/10/2011 08:50

Bats the only hysterical thing is some people's need to laugh at others in order to make themselves feel better about their bad habits.

Some parents ENJOY making things for their DC lunches...it's nothing to do with showing off. Others think they're showing off because they're ignorant.

Its that kind of attitude that puts pressure on DC to have shite like Froobs in their lunchbox so they can "be like" the kids who'se parents snigger at anyone who makes an effort.

belgo · 13/10/2011 08:55

'Is anyone on this bloody thread going to admit to giving their child ordinary food....'

yes me!

Two slices of bread, one with cheese, the other with nutella. Easy to make, easy for ds to eat. He gets water at school, and fruit and vegetables tonight with his hot meal when he gets home from school.

AKMD · 13/10/2011 08:57

:o at her telling the lady about eating the elephant's bottoms!

I do think that there are too many 'treats' in that example but plenty of other people have said that. Your friend is a nutter if she thinks that isn't enough for a 2 year old. DS would burst if I gave him that much!

MumblingAndBloodyRagDoll · 13/10/2011 09:00

Well I give the same Belgo...a sandwich, some fruit and yoghurt...but I dont' like seeing people snigger at people who make an effort to be creative with their DC food. ome people really enjoy it....and it's good for them!

FairhairedandFrustrated · 13/10/2011 09:09

Me!

Mine are 6 & 9 and are both off with 2 slices w/meal bread with salad cream & ham. A tub of fruit salad (melon, strawbs, orange, kiwi, grapes, pineapple) just small cubes of each and an apple quartered.

They have a pepperami & a tube yoghurt too and a drink.

They both had weetabix for breakfast and will have chicken stiry fry when they get in later.

They're always hungry.

Hotpotpie · 13/10/2011 09:18

My SD's school insists that she only gets a sandwich (Jam or ham she wont eat anything else) or a sausage roll and some fruit, she cannot eat a yoghurt without it going all over her, the table, the teacher and the other kids so they asked that it no longer be sent. Oh and a drink. They have asked that the contents be limited because at the moment she cannot concentrate long enough to actually eat her lunch she does however get a large breakfast, a snack morning and afternoon at school and a good tea to finish the day off

  • thats far less than OP's lunch!

Her mum regularly sends her to school with a PACKET of meat, sometimes a jumbo sausage roll as well, crisps, uncut apple (she cant eat them yet) a drink and on good days a pack of four yoghurts or half a packet of biscuits- everytime the teacher shouts me at the moment I cringe because I know im getting the telling off for the packed lunch I have no input in to (sigh)

Anyway YANBU thats fine for a dinner its a small child, so long as she is full and happy thats all that matters

jugofwildflowers · 13/10/2011 09:21

Japanese people are amazed at how plump English people are so I think it's fair to say it's worth looking at what mums pack for their dc, especially as there is an obesity crisis in our country which is set to worsen. I think it's interesting, it isn't necessarily bitchy.

Sushi is given in dc lunchboxes daily in Japan and I don't mean faffy sushi, just where you put a mixture of rice with egg mayo or tuna etc on cling film and wrap it.

We have sushi moulds to put the cling film in so there's no mess from the Japanese equivalent £ store but you can get them here on line. They are fab and take less time than to make a sandwich (we've been making them since the dc were tiny toddlers).

You can also get tiny fish shaped soy bottles (people who are familiar with Japanese food will know what I'm talking about) which you can put in lunch boxes and re use.

Some things we have leftover from dinner before like cous cous, roast chicken or pasta etc the dc like to take for lunch, so no, it doesn't take any extra time at all and I certainly wouldn't make it specially for their lunch boxes.

As I've worked abroad a lot, it is a fact that what in England mums would regard as 'ordinary food' would be considered a load of junk in other countries. It is cultural, but hey, we are very lucky we have such choice because there are huge parts of the world where mums cannot find the food to feed their children at all.

makingmama · 13/10/2011 09:23

It sounds like a lot to me too, just for lunch. My ds 2.4 has a sandwich (2 slices or whole pitta) with goats cheese and ham (or something similar) and a yogurt, with a drink of water. I feel mean now? I feel full on that for a lunch so assumed it was more than enough for him (he's a piggy!) He then has fruit and rice cakes/oatcakes for snacks either side.

squeakytoy · 13/10/2011 09:25

There is far too much fat and far too much sugar in it.

She should be drinking water and eating more vegetables and meat

Yes OP, god forbid she have anything that might actually taste nice...

Still not seeing where all the evil sugar and fats are in that lunchbox.. a growing healthy energetic child NEEDS sugar and fats in moderation. And what if she was a vegetarian? no need for meat at all. Plenty of protein in the cheese.

minimisschief · 13/10/2011 09:26

i used to survive on some sandwiches, chocolate bar, yogurt and a packet of crisps.

i do not think it actually matters how much you put into the box or what it is. you know what your child eats at lunchtime and how much.

BakeliteBelle · 13/10/2011 09:31

God, I'm having a bad mother moment after reading this...

I have given my children crisps, white bread and Fruit Shoots on occasions. I have never hand-rolled my own sushi

Please call social services

TheRealMrsHannigan · 13/10/2011 09:37

I think it sounds like a good sized lunch, but a bit high on sugar, maybe swap the smoothie tube or yogurt for some sliced cucmber or pepper/carrot etc? She is getting plenty of calcium from the cream cheese and cubed cheese so you could replace the yogurt with no worries.

DD is almost 3, her favourite lunch is: quarter of a raw sliced pepper (red or yellow), small pot of wholewheat pasta (about 2-3 tablespoons with a tomato and herb sauce, sometimes I chuck in a bit of chicken or beef with it, a babybel or a bit cubed cheddar, mini box of goodies raisins and she will probably have some strawberries later on.

She refuses to eat sandwiches, will happily much on toast or bread alone, but if I give her a sandwich she just eats the filling and leaves the bread Hmm...unless of course Daddy is eating a bacona nd egg sandwich, she will try and scoff the lot!

AKMD · 13/10/2011 09:41

Bakelite I've never rooled my own sushi either. Am tempted to give it a try though, it sounds fab! DS's nursery would have a fit if I sent him in with cold rice so it would have to be for me Wink

bytheMoonlight · 13/10/2011 09:42

Lunch in our house is a houmous/cheese and tomato/cheese and pickle/banana sandwhich followed by a piece of fruit and water for a drink.

She has a mid afternoon snack of carrot sticks dipped in houmous/bag of crisps (occasionally)/ fruit/toast.