If you want your child to be more engaged at school, and give them a shot at learning to love learning, then make sure that they’re full of energy by meeting all of their nutritional needs. Aside from making sure they get out the door with some breakfast in them, this is best done through their lunchbox. Here, we’re going to look at some of the common mistakes made with the average lunchbox, and why fixing them can result in a much better school day for your child!
Don’t overfeed at breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because, without it, your metabolism isn’t going to get the kick that it needs to help you feel energetic throughout the morning. However, you should keep breakfasts on the light side, as the latter half of the school day is the more demanding one. As such, lunch should be bigger than breakfast so that the kiddos aren’t still full when it comes time to refuel. If they don’t eat lunch, they’ll end up feeling sluggish by the end of the school day, which isn’t good for getting homework done.
Not making them eat fruits and vegetables
It’s important, as a parent, to make sure that your child is getting used to eating fruits and vegetables and schools don’t always offer a great selection, so you should make sure their lunchbox has these items. If you’re not ensuring they engage with their greens throughout the day, then they’re a lot more likely to become picky eaters. Of course, switching up which ones you offer will make them more likely to try them out and find their favorites.
Not keeping convenient options on hand
Hand-preparing a lunch, you can make sure that you know exactly what your kid is going to be eating throughout the day. However, it’s not always easy to find the time. As such, you should keep quick options like a chicken salad kit on hand. That way, if you’re in a rush in the morning, you can simply pass them the kit and rest assure that they’re getting a varied and full lunch, instead of relying only on what the cafeteria might have to offer.
Using too many foods that spoil
Using whatever you can find in your cupboard to put together a lunch and making creative use of what’s left over can result in variety and nutritional quality. However, if you’re packing their lunchbox with foods that are going to spoil quickly, then you’re going to have a hungry child. Be aware of some of the foods that can spoil fast, especially on hot days. Some healthy food faves like avocados and berries have a really short shelf life, so if you want to include them, you should try to have them fresh on the morning of or the day before they get eaten.
With the tips above, you can ensure your kids are getting the nutrition they need to get through the day, while making sure they don’t ignore half of what’s in their lunchboxes!
Thank you for reading!
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