Kid barely eats at lunch - what to pack

[Anonymous]

My son (age 7) barely eats at school. The temptation of the playground is too strong. He’s always been like this and I am not under any illusions I can change it.

He loses his mind every day when I pick him up because he’s starving. I basically feed him dinner in the car (late lunch) which I’m fine with. But I am looking for things to pack with the hope that if he eats one thing, it’ll stabilize his blood sugar a bit.

I already pack a whole range of stuff with the hopes of him eating something — sandwich, fruit, veggies, and then snack food (cookies, crackers, apple sauce etc).

Would love some ideas of things that are higher fat/protein. He won’t eat yogurt or cheese at school. I do peanut butter / crackers / apples. Does anyone pack shelf stable chocolate milk? Other ideas?

[Anonymous]

My DS is the same, all sandwiches/fruits/veggies come back home untouched, and he is so hungry at pick up
I’ve resorted to buying and packing snacks that were never part of our routine, because I just need him to eat, anything.
(I’m talking Cheetos, chocolate chip cookies etc) I still pack the healthy stuff as m option

[Anonymous]

Chicken nuggets?

[Anonymous]

we've done high protein spinach wraps, nuts, pumpkin seeds, granola bars. we're going to try meatballs next.

[Anonymous]

Make him eat his lunch in the car. Rewarding your child with garbage when they haven't eaten their lunch seems counterproductive. He needs to learn the importance of eating his lunch, and if he's crashing, it's a great time to learn the importance of eating 3 meals a day.

[Anonymous]

Meatballs for lunch?

I second that he should finish eating his lunch In the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make him eat his lunch in the car. Rewarding your child with garbage when they haven't eaten their lunch seems counterproductive. He needs to learn the importance of eating his lunch, and if he's crashing, it's a great time to learn the importance of eating 3 meals a day.

Yes. I do this every day with my 7 year old, no snacks til he eats his (hours-old) lunch. I also do the chocolate milk because it is tempting at lunchtime and has fat and protein for my skinny kid. They're expensive though.

[Anonymous]

My kid is 10 but similar. She eats a good breakfast, about half her lunch but then we eat dinner really early, like at 4. Partly because she’s ravenous after school and partly because activities. Then we have a snack around 7/730. I’d rather eat early than late and it works for us. I he is starving in the car at pick up tell him to finish what’s in his lunch box

[Anonymous]

lunchables, koolaid jammers, snack size doritos

My 7 year-old isn’t much of an eater either but they manage to finish this which is better than nothing

[Anonymous]

Stop putting so much in his lunch. Just something like a pudding cup, a banana and a few crackers. Have ultra healthy food ready for him to eat after school.

[Anonymous]

I’ve considered just not packing a lunch any more since so much food is getting wasted. He doesn’t eat anything in it. Even if I pack a granola bar.

I’m sure the school will have something to say about it though. Our school doesn’t have a cafeteria so there is no hot option.

[Anonymous]

My child takes a medication that affects his appetite at lunch. Most of it came home but he would be willing to eat a chocolate covered granola bar or Doritos if they were in there. We had success with uncrustables for awhile. We also had some success having him buy school lunch due to preference for hot meals.

[Anonymous]

I would try a reward system if you haven’t already. If he likes Pokémon cards for example, two if he finishes his lunch and one if he eats the protein. Protein could be smoked turkey, a boiled egg, egg + cheese + veggie frittata baked in muffin pan, meatballs, meat patties with chopped up vegetables, dumplings, etc.

It has to be a reward he really likes. Eventually he’ll build the habit and realize that it’s not that bad to sit down and eat lunch. We definitely talk to our kids about how important this is and make it a somewhat big deal for them to finish or at least eat part of lunch.

[Anonymous]

^^also, our kids eat dinner leftovers for lunch packed in a thermos. Not sure if that could be an option. Usually a grain, veg, protein.

[Anonymous]

Hard boiled eggs
Eggs cooked with cheese and veggies in a muffin tin like mini crustless quiches (Google for a zillion recipes)
Hummus with pita or veggies
String cheese
Nuts if allowed, shelled pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if no nuts