LUNCHBOX PRESSURE
The topic of lunchbox ideas for me is one of the most frustrating.
It comes amidst parents lamenting they feel like they spend all their time in the kitchen, parents who are exhausted, parents who selfishly put their own self care at the bottom of their ‘to do’ list, parents who spend enough time on social media to have themselves feeling less than in nearly every area of their lives, parents who slavishly and unconsciously follow food/nutrition trends…
Recently I had a conversation with a friend. She was excited about a new recipe book focusing on lunchbox ideas for school children. I stifled a grrrr – really? and asked her what she had for lunch as a school girl. She told me for virtually the whole of her school years she had the same food most days. I have since asked at least a dozen people and nearly all of them said their school lunch rarely changed throughout their schooling. All examples were fairly similar especially in their simplicity – sandwich, fruit, ‘treat’.
So why today have we complicated something that has always been so simple? Especially these days when everyone constantly complains about how stretched they are? (Tip: never use the term ‘time poor’ around me)
A recipe book to make school lunches?
Really? We need recipes for school lunches?
I would hazard a guess that your child couldn’t really care about the fabulousness of their lunchbox nor it's contents. They’re good with just having some food to gobble down before running off to play.
Unless you’ve put the idea in their head with comments like ‘look how exciting/interesting/amazing/beautiful your lunchbox is today!’ in which case you’ve now set up an expectation for your child and pressure for you – well done!
Sure if creating masterpiece lunchboxes is a creative outlet for you that you thoroughly enjoy and have or make time for then yay – good for you! However if what to send with your child for lunch is angst ridden and time consuming or even foreboding as one parent described it then for goodness sake why would you do that to yourself and your child? – scroll past the Insta lunchboxes or just accept that it’s some Mumma’s thing and not others, or yours... just don’t do the silly ‘less than, guilt, not enough’ thing. Please.
Consider also that it’s only since social media that a parent even knows what’s in another child’s lunch box. My children are now in their 20’s. I have no idea what their friends had/have for lunch and neither did my parents know (or care) what my friends were given for lunch.
I recognize that this whole lunchbox stress is probably a thing for parents who prioritise healthy eating and make the bulk of their food from scratch as opposed to buying packets of processed stuff for their children’s lunchboxes ie crappy muesli bars, fruit straps, chips, cheese & cracker dippy thingys, etc but it really shouldn’t be so hard!
Providing innovative lunch boxes is not going to get you parent of the year. And In fact your child would probably prefer you reduced the physical and mental time spent on labouring over their lunchbox, simplified it and spent more time with them or better still taking some time out for yourself. Children thrive on simplicity and routine and a Mumma who looks after herself.
Yes I know today so many children have allergies, intolerances etc but it still shouldn’t be so complicated.
Give them last night’s dinner. In our home, for years now, when the table gets set, lunchboxes (including my husband and my work ones) are also put on the table. You serve your dinner plate and then you serve your lunchbox. Even a 3 year old can do that. I’m very much into batch cooking and always cook a larger quantity than will get consumed at dinner.. Ultimately it takes the pressure off me. Most of what we eat is mince meat (ground meat) based so I’ll cook many kilos of mince into bolognaise, taco mince, meatballs, burgers, meatloaf, stuffed vegetables. Some excess may go in the freezer. These meals might be served with roast vegetables, salad and/or a grain. Any of these meals can go into a lunch box with a piece of fruit and a home baked biscuit/cake/slice. Again I batch bake so there’s always baked goods in the freezer for the hectic weeks where I don’t get to cook/bake.
If school lunches are a dilemma for you I urge you to stop and think about your own school lunch as a child and whether you even gave its contents or excitement or variety a second thought. Maybe this can now be one less expense of money, time and energy.
Breathe and smile
Note: this post is in reference to schools where the child brings their own lunch to school which is the case in nearly every school in Australia however I reckon the jist of it can be applied for most people.
Next topic in this awareness series is ‘snacks’...
What I share on this page are my views (unless stated otherwise) based on my research, experience and beliefs.
The posts are only provided as 'food for thought'