What To Pack in for Lunch at Nursery School or Day Care

So your child never eats and you are worried that he will go the entire day with no nutrition right? Well have no fear! Children tend to eat when they see their peers eating because they want to be like their friends. Also a good nursery school will not allow your child to go all day without anything in their stomach. So the question then becomes what do I pack? Simply, pack what your child likes to eat. If your child does not eat sandwiches at home he won?t eat them at school. Do not worry about the mess factor. Nursery school children are messy by nature and no its not just they way your child eats.

What you need to remember is that it does not make it easier on the teacher when you pack ?clean foods? that your child does not like to eat because now they have even more work trying to get a child to eat foods they don?t like. So if your child likes pasta and sauce pack it! Something else to remember is that children between the ages of 2-5 are creatures of habit. They may want the same thing for lunch every day for months on end. This is okay. One day he won?t want peanut butter sandwiches anymore, and no one is judging you for giving him the same thing everyday. Remember, at least he is eating!

Something else to remember is the importance of choices. Children like to feel in control so having them help you pack their lunch will entice them to eat it at school. Also, pack a lot of different snack options so that if they day ends up being a day they don?t want their lunch, at least they have snack to choose from. Good options for snacks include fruits, yogurt, crackers and cheese, and dried cereals. A treat food also helps such as Jello, pudding, or cookies.

Teachers can often entice a child to eat by using the treat snack as a reward for finishing meals. I would also suggest that you precut and peel foods ahead of time, and encourage your child with the self help skills of eating. Good teachers will help feed your child, but it helps when a child is able to eat most foods by themselves. The most important thing to remember is that no matter what you pack in your child?s lunch their will be days that he doesn?t eat and their will be days the lunch box will come back empty. Either way he will still grow up to be a happy healthy loving child!