Packing Lunch for Teenagers

[Anonymous]

Don’t they just grab all the leftovers and go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify: what do your kids pack? I want to have options for them.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

Actually there is something wrong with this. You forget that the goal is raise your children to adulthood. Little things like planning out lunches, doing their own laundry, taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves are all part of that. I guarantee your children are sorely lacking in independence if their mom is crowd sourcing how to make their everyday lunches extra special.

What the heck do you all think is so hard about packing lunch that a kid needs years of practice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify: what do your kids pack? I want to have options for them.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

Actually there is something wrong with this. You forget that the goal is raise your children to adulthood. Little things like planning out lunches, doing their own laundry, taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves are all part of that. I guarantee your children are sorely lacking in independence if their mom is crowd sourcing how to make their everyday lunches extra special.

NP> So, my kid is a senior and independent in almost every way. AT this point, the only thing I do for him anymore is food. So I make breakfast most days, lunch every weekday, and dinners any night he is home (which is like twice a week if we are lucky).

I know my kid can cook and pack, and he has. We leave him by himself at home for a few days every month (I am sure I will get blasted for that!) and he takes care of himself.

But I feel like at this stage, the only real thing I can do for him anymore is feed him, so I do.

So maybe PP you don't actually know everything about every kid and every situation.

[Anonymous]

OP, I make sure there's *something* - leftovers, prepared frozen stuff from TJ. DC hates cold sandwiches.

That said, the food is there, but my kids have to pack it themselves. They have to figure it out, plan, and pack it.

I now have a DS in college who actually cooks, eats very little fast food or frozen foods.

Even my younger DC who is a bit immature and responsible packs their own lunch. Sometimes they will cook themselves some pasta and leave leftovers for school lunches.

A PP is correct, you want to teach your kids to be responsible and take care of themselves *before* they go off on their own to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify: what do your kids pack? I want to have options for them.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

I think you’re getting blowback because:

1) They’re boys. I’ve heard more than a few moms of teen boys in real life laugh about how helpless their boys are and how they can’t possibly be expected to do things like pack their own lunches. Not a good look.

2) If #1 is not the case, and they are fully capable young men, they should be able to at least verbalize to you what they want to eat for lunch.

If you’re really looking for food ideas, you might be less flack in the food forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify: what do your kids pack? I want to have options for them.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

Actually there is something wrong with this. You forget that the goal is raise your children to adulthood. Little things like planning out lunches, doing their own laundry, taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves are all part of that. I guarantee your children are sorely lacking in independence if their mom is crowd sourcing how to make their everyday lunches extra special.

What the heck do you all think is so hard about packing lunch that a kid needs years of practice?

You tell me. Apparently your kid can’t do it.

[Anonymous]

DS eats school lunch and supplements it with a PBJ or frozen burrito and a cliff bar or whatever else he grabs from the pantry. Sometimes leftovers

[Anonymous]

I have them decide what they want. It’s not on me to come up with ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify: what do your kids pack? I want to have options for them.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

Actually there is something wrong with this. You forget that the goal is raise your children to adulthood. Little things like planning out lunches, doing their own laundry, taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves are all part of that. I guarantee your children are sorely lacking in independence if their mom is crowd sourcing how to make their everyday lunches extra special.

You sound fun...

[Anonymous]

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with packing for your kid. It’s a really nice thing to do if you have a hardworking teen. Mine are way busier than I am, so I sometimes like to do this for them.

That's totally fine, but is not at all the case in our household. Not that my teen is lazy, but his responsibilities and obligations, including a part-time job on one weekend day, clubs, sports etc. just do not compare to being a full time working parent of two children.
We will sometimes pack his lunch together, he will buy at school about 1/4 of the time, the rest of the time he makes it himself. We always have bread, sandwich meat, cheese, peanut butter, and vegetables available.

[Anonymous]

Actually there is something wrong with this. You forget that the goal is raise your children to adulthood. Little things like planning out lunches, doing their own laundry, taking responsibility for cleaning up after themselves are all part of that. I guarantee your children are sorely lacking in independence if their mom is crowd sourcing how to make their everyday lunches extra special.


You sound fun..

I don't disagree with this post. I don't think the point of being a parent is to be "fun." I will sometimes pack my teen's lunch if he is studying for a test or otherwise tied up, but he'll be out of my house in three years, and needs to be moving towards independence. FWIW, he did a program at a college in another state last summer, and because we had been doing his laundry for him, struggled with staying on top of it and figuring out how to do it. So now, we make him do some of his own laundry (he can put it in with ours sometimes), so that he's moving towards being a functional, independent adult.

[Anonymous]

I pack lunch for my teen and often my spouse. They do other stuff.

The over the top make kids be wholly independent for everything is exhausting. My kid gets more sleep when I make their lunch. Sleep is so important for kids.

Leftovers. We freeze burgers and rolls then defrost. Quesadillas. Pasta.

Always fruit and veggies.

[Anonymous]

I stopped packing lunch when they finished ES. I did the grocery shopping, designated certain ingredients off limits because they were intended for meals at home. And I stepped out of the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pack lunch for my teen and often my spouse. They do other stuff.

The over the top make kids be wholly independent for everything is exhausting. My kid gets more sleep when I make their lunch. Sleep is so important for kids.

Leftovers. We freeze burgers and rolls then defrost. Quesadillas. Pasta.

Always fruit and veggies.

Good ones. My kids went through a huge quesadilla phase and yes, I made them in the morning (or the night before) for them and had a great method. They can be eaten cold. It's a good opportunity to add chicken and cheese and then include lots of vegetables.

[Anonymous]

The over the top make kids be wholly independent for everything is exhausting. My kid gets more sleep when I make their lunch. Sleep is so important for kids.

Sleep is also important for adults. I cannot believe how dependent this generation of American male teens is compared to when I was a teen (and I am only 49). I was discussing this with my mother and MIL, and they said the same. It's really frustrating. My son had friends sleep over last weekend, and they slept through the alarm, and then begged me at the last minute to drive them to their part time jobs/sports etc. I cannot imagine having done this as a teen, I would set an alarm, wake up, and made sure I had a way to get to where I needed to be. My son take a medication in the morning (not for ADHD, which would be understandable), and is constantly saying he needs us to remind him to take it - no, we got him a medication reminder alarm.
His friends who are immigrants do not seem to be like this, so I am guessing it is something about our culture.