At what age do you think a child can/should begin making their own packed lunch?

[Earlybird]

Curious to know what others think....

[Barrelofloves]

I can't afford school dinners with 4 children and so we get up at 7.45am, they get the bulk of their lunch box made up the night before but the actual sandwich etc they say tastes soggy unless they make it on the morning.

You get a fair number of nori 'papers' from Sainsbury's for £1.50 and then we cut them into squares for the sandwich box. Wrapped with a squished lump of glutinous rice with tuna mayo inside and dunked in a bit of soya, hey presto! you have a highly delicious sushi roll.

We often make sushi for children's teas and they are always popular with both the children and their mums.

[pigsinmud]

Well I make packed lunches for all 4 of mine plus dh. I have an assembly line going. Would be bloody chaos if I had 4 children trying to assemble their own lunches!

[thedollshouse]

I think ds is more than capable (5) but we are always stressed and in a rush that letting him do would add to the hassle.

[Takver]

I think I would make dd make her own packed lunches if she wanted them - which was always the deal for me as a child. As it is she likes the school lunches & I'm happy to pay for them so its ok. And I don't have to suffer mangled loaves or buy sliced bread. (Or indeed provide nori slices and sushi ingredients - maybe if I did packed lunches would become more attractive . . . )

[brimfull]

Barrel - blimey!! They make sushi before school !What time to you get up?

[teameric]

My DS is 10 and has started to make his own packed lunch (although I always check it before he goes to school)
I'm just trying to get him to be a bit more resonsible for when he starts secondary school next year.

[ATortoiseisBetterThanABlackCat]

3 of mine have packed lunches. They help put bits in but it is quicker for me to make the sandwiches while they eat breakfast/get dressed.
DS1 12 has school lunches but i told him if he wanted packed lunch he will have to make his own.

[pranma]

Should by 14 but can help at any age

[Ixia]

I used to make mine and my Dad's lunch, from when I was about 8. DD is 4 and would love to help, I know I should encourage her, but I'm vile in a morning andd she's not much better - it would be a recipe for disaster.

[Fennel]

Takver, we have sliced bread for packed lunches and unsliced homemade for home and for me, so tjhere's no problem with slicing bread.

we get through lots of bread with 5 of us including DP who loves cheese sandwiches above all other food.

Mine seem to enjoy making their lunches, the 8yo who does it most is a keen cook and generally interested in food and eating. I don't think they see making their lunch as a burden. The 9 and 8 year old like to make quite a few of their own meals.

[Northernlurker]

Well my kids take berries in a pot sometimes - but they're picked from Sainsburys and nobody in this house makes sushi! Respect to you barrel - that's hard core hands off lunch making!

[emkana]

[Barrelofloves]

I would feel very mean if I didn't let my dc make their own packed lunches, I'm a SAHM and they get a sense of pride being able to do it all by themselves. My 3 y.o would do it too if he could!

My dc make sushi rolls, they love the paper thin nori (seaweed) and their friends always ask for it so they take in plenty!

Also, dd takes in a baked potato with mustard, mayonnaise and chopped onions, in fact their own imaginitive combinations are amazing and they have fun experimenting with new tastes.

Their ages range from 6-11 and make their own packed lunches in the morning before school. We sometimes bake our own rolls (dough from breadmaker)but rice or potatoes make a nice change. They also pick some fruit from the garden (raspberries are in season now)and take them in a little pot.

They help write the shopping list and get to choose what's for dinner, we get out all the colourful recipe books and they go through them writing down the name and page number of things they'd like to try.

Has been quite interesting choices across many continents!

[brimfull]

ds 7yr enjoys doing the easy bits like putting the drink ,biscuit etc in the lunchbox and I do the other bit.

It's not written in stone or anything, some days I do it all, but he's at that age where he enjoys extra responsibility and I'm taking advantage of it.

[stinkypinky]

DD is 3, and she helps. She knows what goes in it - sarnie, veg, fruit, drink, frais, and helps prepare each bit (with guidance). DH is 39, but still needs help!

[cory]

Depends on family dynamics, what else they do at home and (as Fennel points out) if you're trying to sell the packed lunches or the school dinners. Dh makes ds's (9) lunch, but that is because he's doing his own anyway, so he might as well. But then ds might be making us all toast- it evens out.

[Northernlurker]

But Emkana - they will always be busy and so are you - at what point will you stop doing it and make them step up? I have to admit I didn't make a conscious decision to do it this way - dd1 volunteered and seemed competent. When I heard a lovely and wise firend of mine bemoaning the fact that she was still making her 15 year old son's lunch every day I felt very glad I had done that!

You provide the food still - it's not like they have to go and slay their own Baby Bel and raisins - but even very young children can learn to assemble their lunch.

[emkana]

I would feel very mean making my children make their own packed lunch - I'm a SAHM and they have so much to get through (reading, spellings, violin practice...) that I think it's only fair for me to do it.

[deaconblue]

my mum was still making mine when I was doing my A levels .

[shockers]

Mine are on school lunches but a friend's children have a production line. There are 4 of them. The eldest is 12 and the youngest, 5. It's really lovely watching them teach each other and work as a team. I think my friend must have started it with the eldest and 'retired' when he was able to take the reins.

[mathanxiety]

1. She uses sliced bread or breadsticks or small bagels, hates butter, so just cold cuts or chunks of cheese or both. All the DCs sometimes take cold leftovers for lunch occasionally (meatloaf, meatballs, burgers, etc. or cold macaroni cheese). She does it after dinner the night before or while I'm cooking so the whole kitchen can be cleaned at the same time. Lunches are a bit boring but they get eaten. I inspect the bags and eat weed out excessive amounts of choc and sugar later.

[Earlybird]

I buy ready sliced bread, so that is not a problem for dd.

On Sunday I got her to sit down and 'meal plan' her lunch schedule for the week. It has helped her in the mornings as she doesn't have to think about anything or make any decisions - just follows her written 'menu'.

[TrillianSlasher]

Depends if you trust them to not steal all the nice things from the fridge.

My mum makes packed lunches for my dad and brother every day. I guess she can't refuse to do DB's when she still does Dad's.

[Northernlurker]

Mine are 11 and 8 and have been doing it for about 3 years. We never have any debate about what goes in it. They know they have to have a sandwich, roll or cheese and ryvitas and something in the way of fruit. They can add anything else that's in the house.

[MayorNaze]

i cannot trust dcs to even pour cereal without making a mess so i am the packed lunch queen here. school age dc are 10 and 7

it would just be far too much hassle to have the argument of what they can and can't have, how much of it, clear up after...ggaaaaah i will do it myself!!!!!

and no, i am not soft, i am a hardcore mutha who makes them do all sorts of other jobs instead