Are we overcomplicating kids’ lunchboxes these days?

[Alyah]

I’ve noticed lately that school lunchboxes seem to have become a bit of a competition. Everywhere I look online, there are perfectly balanced bento boxes with shaped fruit, colour-coordinated snacks, and little motivational notes.
When I was at school, it was sandwiches, crisps, and maybe a piece of fruit — simple and fine. Now it feels like if you don’t send your child in with a worthy meal, you’re somehow not trying hard enough.
I do understand wanting kids to eat healthily and enjoy their food, but is it just me who thinks we’ve gone a bit overboard? I sometimes wonder if it adds unnecessary pressure on parents (and maybe even on the kids too).
What do others think — is this just the new normal, or have lunchboxes turned into another area for quiet competition?

So many pass agg comments about OP seeing some lunchbox ads on Insta 🙄 unclench everybody

And yet in France, they have a full 3 course meal at the canteen.
And it was like this in the 90s too.
No one seemed to have more issues with weight. If anything they have/had less.

this is another stupid AI post

I do nice lunchboxes for my son to alleviate my mum guilt from having to work a lot and not spend as much time with him as I’d like.

Only just seen this post & I thought this too!

My DS has a sandwich, yogurt, cheese, cucumber, carrot, baby toms, crisps.....

I think the key word there is online!
If it makes you feel better DSs consisted of
Hummus sandwich
Chopped veg
Fruit
One extra like a baby bell or a soreen
Water bottle pretty much everyday for years on primary school.

Some of them probably just enjoy it! I would, if my children liked enough foods to make it remotely possible, tbh. I love arranging their sandwiches appealingly in their lunch boxes, but their tastes are too limited to do much that’s creative. Hoping that’ll change as they get older.
Maybe some mums have also read Lessons in Chemistry and over invested in their identification with beautiful frustrated chemist Elizabeth Zott. Who knows! Either way, I wouldn’t get your knickers in a twist about it. If your kids are eating and enjoying their food you’re doing fine.

Nope, never made a single fancy sandwich let alone a full pretentious full lunch box.

DS refused to eat food at lunchtime so he waited until he got home to eat.

Ignore the ones online, they won't get views unless it's out of the ordinary will they. DD only has one packed lunch a week so she has a ham sandwich with crusts cut off, fruit, cucumber sticks, bag of crisps, yoghurt and sometimes a carton of smoothie if I have them. Not the most nutritious or interesting but she eats it all and won't be hungry at school

Lunch bix threads are always amusing. I remember those videos. I always thought those women had too much time on their hands but they were fun to watch and sometimes I would get an idea! Dd can be tricksy so those small posts gave me the idea of "cute mini" sandwiches or rolls which she would est vs standard size. Drove me mad but I was glad for the tip!!!

My overwhelming memory from school was being permanently hungry. We got a sandwich and some fruit and it was never enough - we were starving. Would come home and eat everything in sight!!! So I have always tried to give more substantial good in lunchboxes. But I can't bring myself to do puddings as a rule - my parents drilled that in!

Of course, according to posters on here, the fact that I sometimes gave ds salami or chorizo meant I was a terrible mum encouraging cancer!! 🤣🤣

My one slightly poncy thing was ds went through a phase of wanting a green salad - lettuce cucumber, peppers, feta, avocado with olive oil and balsamic. I always felt like a right twat adding that but he loved it!

My youngest takes a little separate pot of olive oil and balsamic alongside a salad 😂

I know, surprised at some of the lists on here. Started off doing a sandwich etc when ds was at school but the most he could manage waa a couple of crackers, naybe a biscuit and juice.

Gosh, mine would be starving. My 6 year old is underweight so granted I do try and feed him up, but he has 4 x crackers with blocks of cheese, an apple, a banana, a yoghurt, usually some chopped cucumber and tomatoes and a packet of cookies (he has a limited diet due to his autism).

I do make DD a nice lunch, my DM was not a fan of the kitchen and my packed lunches were never very inspirational.
DD usually gets a thin bagel with cooked meat, chutney, cucumber and sometimes a slice of burger cheese, some Greek salad which she loves, some frozen berries which thaw by lunchtime, a few thin slices of saucisson sec and a small sweet treat (usually mini cookies). She says all her mates are jealous of her lunches and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’m really glad she likes them.

I don’t think posters mean that but while we may have been starving (and yes I remember feeling that way), childhood obesity was far lower in the 90s than now - and what’s more we forget it’s normal to feel hungry in the hour or two before a meal. Otherwise why are we having a meal? It’s good for your stomach to fully empty and not constantly be breaking down relentless snacks.

DD lunch today was a peanut butter roll, raspberries, bread sticks and a banana. That to me is a perfectly acceptable lunch for an average sized 6 year old.

I don’t think it’s helpful for kids to spend their afternoons with rumbling stomachs though (which is likely to be the case if they’re coming home starving at 3.15pm) as it will lead to poor concentration and learning. Mine have enough for lunch that they don’t need to eat again until dinner at 6pm.

Ignore what you see on SM. My DD had pretty much the same every day, a ham and Mango chutney sandwich on half and half bread, 2 babybel cheeses, a box of raisins, a yoghurt and mini pretzels. I gave up sending fruit as it saw more miles to and from school than the average people carrier each week.

I’d love to give my kids a peanut butter sandwich but both the nursery and school are strictly no peanuts ever. So I don’t think that will ever be an option for us. I was surprised to read some schools allow peanut butter as usually in a group of 100 kids someone has an allergy

But what did I learn about healthy eating? Because I was skinny as a teenager, but have struggled with my weight my entire life and I think part of it is that I never learnt about recognising and dealing with hunger signs at the appropriate time. We ate well and I have no complaints about that but we were told feeling really hungry was normal. And when we did, we ate too muchj. And so I never learnt to self regulate on portion control.

I'm not saying that's why i struggled with my weight entirely, but it certainly contributed. And I don't think for an active child, one sandwich and a piece of fruit IS enough between breakfast at 7:30 and getting home at 4. Not least as our sandwiches were usually peanut butter or jam. So I DO try to give my DC a bit extra in the form of more protein and more carbs. A small packet of popcorn or crackers. An extra babybel, few pieces of ham, some feta cheese etc. (and thank god for insulated lunch boxes as I grew up in SA and those sorts of things were awful after a few hours!). This morning DD got a small baguette, some popcorn chicken things, two slices of ham, a small packet of popcorn, an apple and some grapes.

I think compartmentalised lunch boxes started the madness! Love seeing some of the lunches, mine are boring, cheese and crackers, ham/ cheese sandwich, sometimes a cereal bar or a croissant if they’re going to be in longer.

I don’t bother with fruit any more as it sometimes came home so was inedible by then, they have a piece of fruit with breakfast and then another when they get home/ later.

And actually your point is a bit confused. The reason I give mine a decent lunch is precisely so that they don’t need to snack when they get home from school… they can wait until dinner.

Mine were at primary 20 years ago. I counted it as a win if they ate the contents of the lunchbox and if they wanted the same every day then fine. One had jam sandwiches for a year, the other cheese. There was always an apple. The same apple in fact that came home untouched every day.
Both are slim healthy adults who eat well balanced diets and no longer live on jam sandwiches

But the lunch is too big.

It should be a normal sized lunch and no snacking. This was the norm when children were a healthy weight.