Packing their lunch pt 2

[LISA]

I have a question re: packing their lunch..
BIL was talking about how their girls eat EVERYTHING he packs them for school lunch and I asked him if he asks them what they want for lunch..he looked at me like I had 4 heads :lol:
I ALWAY'S ask Paige what she wants/feels for lunch..am I crazy?( don't answer that last bit :lol: )

Do you just pack whatever into their luch or do you ask first?

[TtownAnne]

I ask about some things, not others - and I think it's in the way you ask. For instance, "do you want strawberries or peaches", not "do you want fruit" because the answer will always be NO! But I have found that not asking about things helps to get them to try new things via peer pressure! :nod: If you ask Caroline if she likes ham sandwiches, she'll say no. But she ate an entire one last week because someone else in her class usually brings ham!

[bunkie68]

I'm like Anne - I don't ask Julian if he wants X, but I'll give him choices. If I asked him what he wanted, he'd tell me he wants Doritos and a Pop-Tart. :lol: So there are parameters, and he's got options within those parameters.

[MamaGoofy]

I ask him what kind of sandwich he wants and then ask what he wants along with it. He usually responds fruit, chips and drink. He's a pretty easy kid.

[Connie1222]

Like Anne, I give him a choice - "grilled cheese or PB & J", etc. I do not ask about fruit, the only fruit he's eating these days are Granny Smith apples, so I always give him one.

[Karri]

Like Anne, I give choices. I typically ask if he wants x or x for the sandwich/main dish, the fruit, the vegetable, and the drink. And sometimes, I don't ask at all... I just surprise him w/ something I know he'll like.
But then again, I know I don't have picky kids.

[Jillian]

Janelle always shops with me, so she picks what I'm going to pack (for both her and Caid)...but, like, she will pick the stuff for 2-3 different kinds of sandwiches/wraps/whatever and a bunch of snacks, and I just pack what I feel like the morning of.

But she isn't picky and Caid is so picky it's not worth even bothering to ask...his answer would be peanutbutter, no bread, and orange juice...well if he could talk that clearly...

[Hannabanana]

I don't give her a choice :lol: She eats what she gets.

One thing I like about this school is that the kids are not allowed to throw out their lunches -- they have to put everything back in their lunch bag and bring it home. Mind you, it can be a little gross if she doesn't eat all of something and it's in the bottom of the bag with the saran wrap but this way, I totally know what she's eaten!

[Connie1222]

I don't give her a choice :lol: She eats what she gets.

One thing I like about this school is that the kids are not allowed to throw out their lunches -- they have to put everything back in their lunch bag and bring it home. Mind you, it can be a little gross if she doesn't eat all of something and it's in the bottom of the bag with the saran wrap but this way, I totally know what she's eaten!

Jack's school does ths too and I don't mind either.

[Clare]

I don't ask Harry because he's so picky he doesn't have any options. He eats the same thing every day.

Sometimes I'll give Emily the choice of soup or sandwich or leftovers for her main lunch but I will choose the snacks.

Harry eats everything, his lunchbox always comes home empty. Emily nearly always leaves something but she often eats it once she gets home.

[Cami]

I let them pick what they want for breakfast but I can't handle them taking the time to decide breakfast, their clothes for the day, and lunch too.

So Addison pretty much gets the same thing every day. I only buy one deli meat so that's her sandwich every day. Blackberries and raspberries spoil fastest so she has those on Monday and Tuesday (I shop on Sun), strawberries on Weds and Thurs. Grapes and a yogurt drink every day. Then I add in one other thing~ either dinner leftovers, pretzels, graham crackers... that's something I'll ask her about and let her pick.

[kalm]

When I've asked, I always get the same response. Connor wants "a turkey and mayonaise sandwich cut in triangles" and Lilly wants ham roll-ups (she doesn't do sandwiches, except for grilled cheese). They'll always have a fruit or a raw veggie (like carrots) and either a yogurt or some sort of snacky food (rice cakes, crackers, popcorn are the favorites).

I have been giving them the choice to buy or bring their lunches.

[~Jenn]

Um...no. I don't ask, if I did, well, it wouldn't be a good thing. :lol: I do give choices, and I obviously know what they prefer. I don't pack things that they don't like, so I'm pretty safe in that department.

[bunybomb]

You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!!!


My kids do get the choice to buy lunch on certain days.

[KristenF]

I recently started asking. There are so few choices he has, in the sense that there are only limited gluten free foods that he will eat that don't require to be heated up (and that he won't eat cold) that I can actually send to school and that won't spoil with only having a freezer pack. For quite a long time, he was eating the same thing every day and eating well, so I never asked. But recently I'm getting a lot sent home, so I just started asking. I ask about all of the possible choices (since there aren't many) and he tells me yes or no. (the choices are carrots and ranch, apple, orange, grapes, cheese slices, cheese stick, rice crackers, pepperoni, olives. that's it.) Of course, even after asking and confirming that's what he wants, I still get stuff back. :rolleyes: Whatever... at least he's eating. (He has gained 3 lb and grown over 2 inches since May! :rahrah: )

[Bev]

What a difference the diet makes, eh Kristen? :)

I shudder to think of next year. Right now I only pack an afternoon snack, the contents of which I choose. A drink, either frozen juice or chocolate milk or if he's not at daycare in the morning it might be hot chocolate in a thermos, fruit or veg which is either fresh or an applesauce or something like that, long cheese (string cheese) and something else like a granola bar, fruit roll up thingy, pepperoni stick, cookies, crackers or bits and bites. And NONE of it comes home.

He doesn't eat sandwiches at home other than grilled cheese but he does eat them at Montessori, so I suppose it's an option for next year when he needs lunch and snacks.

[MamaGoofy]

Great!!! David just told me yesterday that he wants to start bringing his lunch. :rolleyes: I told him he could start next week. He'll get a sandwich, carrots with ranch and a fruit. I am sure he can buy milk in the lunch line right???? That way he gets a well balanced meal every day. I don't think he really cares for the lunch room food anymore. The novelty of it has worn off.

[Bev]

Do all the schools in the US have a cafeteria/lunch room? Here, in my city, the elementary schools (or the ones I'm aware of) don't have a lunch room, kids eat at their desks.

And do your kids we are talking about go the whole day on the food your provide, or half a day?

Mason goes for half a day (12:50-3:20pm) on all that food I give him. He gets snacks and lunch at daycare in the morning.

[Clare]

I can't speak for the US, but we don't have a cafeteria or lunchroom. The children eat lunch on the playground.
Our school runs a canteen on Mondays only. All children from kindergarten up can order lunch from the canteen that day, and those from 1st grade up can buy morning tea as well.

We have two meal breaks a day - recess at 10.40am and lunch at 12.30pm. I have to provide food for both breaks (except on Mondays when canteen is running).

[MamaGoofy]

The schools here have lunchrooms.

David goes for a full day. He gets breakfast and lunch at school and a snack at the after school program he goes to. By the time I pick him up he is starving. I think by sending his lunch to school he may eat more. He's weird about food he isn't familiar with. He does pretty good at home..but not sure about at school. Not to mention I know the portions are to small for him. My boy has a hearty appetite.

[TtownAnne]

Our school has a "multi-purpose room" - it's the cafeteria, auditorium, chapel, meeting room, etc. And yes, Caroline goes all day. I provide snack (drink and cheese/crackers, fruit, etc.) and she either brings lunch from home or buys lunch.

[Karri]

Yes, we have a lunchroom. Its not the gymnasium or multi-purpose room, either. Its solely the lunchroom.
We could never eat outside here :lol:

[Connie1222]

Jack's school has a lunch room, but they eat snacks at their desks. Jack is in 1st grade so it's a full day.

[Dawnie]

I pack Victoria's lunch 3 or 4 times a week (she gets hot lunch on Fridays because it's pizza day). I will ask her what kind of sandwich she wants then add the extras like yogurt, granola bar, and fruit. She buys milk in the cafeteria and always brings home what she doesn't eat.

Her school has a cafeteria for lunch at 11:15am and in the afternoons they have snack at their desks. Victoria gets home around 4PM and the first thing she will do is eat what's left in her lunchbox. :rolleyes:

Dawn