What makes a family give lunchables for lunch every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS doesn't like deli meat so he's never had a lunchable. But are they that much worse than say a turkey sandwich with cheese that mom made? Or are turkey sandwiches looked down on now too?

Yeah, maybe I'm the world's worst mom but I don't really get this either. Are all lunch meats evil now? Or is the issue that the kid isn't eating carrot sticks next to it?

My youngest is insanely picky and i struggle to get him to eat protein and fresh fruit and veggies, so if he'd eat a lunchable and a piece of fruit, I'd be happy. (He won't. Only the bread and some dried fruit.) We of course keep trying to get him to try different foods at home, but I think it's better to give a kid a less ideal choice than give them a lunch of carrot sticks and hard boiled eggs or whatever that they'll refuse to eat and then lose it at school because they're so hungry.

[Anonymous]

Kids are picky eaters. I don’t know if picky is quite the right word, because many kids just will not eat… it’s not like it’s just that the food is not what they prefer. They will just go all day not eating at all! I don’t know if this is new, but growing up we are what was served or we didn’t eat. Picky kids might have picked at food but generally found something to eat.

I used to supervise school lunch so have some kid food anecdotes from the last 5 years. These surprised me, so maybe others would be mildly interested:

1. One kid brought Lunchables every single day. I asked about it and she said her parent buys a whole stack every week or two and she just picks one to bring. I don’t know if she liked them or if it was just convenient.

2. Another kid always had Jimmy John’s sandwiches or else was sitting at a lunch table with no lunch. When I asked about it, a teacher told me his dad buys a lunch and brings it to school every lunch period. It’s always Jimmy John’s because that is what the kid will eat. One day the dad forgot and the kid was encouraged to eat school lunch, which was orange chicken, rice, and other standard kid pleasers. He ate a few grains of rice and said he didn’t like it. This was an athletic, goofy kid who was always running hard at recess and messing around with other boys. I wouldn’t have thought he would just starve all day, but I guess he would have not for sub sandwiches.

3. At a recent party I was supervising, a dad came up and apologized that his son didn’t like what was being served. It was cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, and white cake, so I was confused. The dad explained that he can’t get the kid to eat pizza, spaghetti, pasta, or anything with cheese or tomato sauce. I thought pizza and noodles were pretty much universal kid foods.

4. One kid brought a king size candy bar as part of lunch. This wasn’t a one time thing. I did wonder if this was her parent’s way of showing love, even though this is an area where kids have had lots of dental work done (not uncommon for kids to have several metal crowns done before 2nd grade).

[Anonymous]

^ oh, and at least in our district, school provided lunch is not any better than Lunchables. I don’t know what can be done about it, but school lunches absolutely need a major overhaul.

[Anonymous]

Mind your business. There's really nothing else to say.

[Anonymous]

Not in DC, but my DD’s friend has a single mom who often has to work early hours and they live with the girl’s grandma too. The friend typically has lunchables and something like Oreo cookies. I have no idea if that’s fastest for the mom, easiest for the grandmother, or if the girl packs her own lunch. There’s not a lot of variety in our school lunches and they don’t seem that healthful, but I don’t know why they don’t do school lunches. I don’t really care except my DD constantly asks for them. I don’t want to get them because (a) a lot of plastic waste (b) they seem high in fat and sodium (but maybe no worse than whatever I make?) and (c) seem more expensive. I’ve tried sending her with similar ingredients some days, but she’s still intrigued. I just tell her “I don’t want to buy that” and when she asks why her friend gets to have them I just say “different families make different choices.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s laziness. Same reason why many kids buy the crap lunch school sells. Parents don’t feel like putting time and effort into their kids’ food. Just like many adults eat takeout daily or pre-made foods

OP here. What is the point of having kids if you don’t take good care of them? Food is one of the most important things for a kid - affects their physical health, mental health, immunity, mood. I can’t imagine throwing my hands up in the air and saying “Whatever, I am too busy. They can have crap every day.” The extreme picky eating/AFRID syndromes people are bringing up are rare and far between. Also interesting that people have enough time to flame on DCUM but not enough to plan healthy meals for their kids. Priorities, right?

Hmmm…. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963280/#:~:text=Controlling%20food%2Drelated%20parenting%20practices%2C%20including%20pressuring%20children%20to%20eat,10%2C13–15).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS doesn't like deli meat so he's never had a lunchable. But are they that much worse than say a turkey sandwich with cheese that mom made? Or are turkey sandwiches looked down on now too?

Yeah, maybe I'm the world's worst mom but I don't really get this either. Are all lunch meats evil now? Or is the issue that the kid isn't eating carrot sticks next to it?

My youngest is insanely picky and i struggle to get him to eat protein and fresh fruit and veggies, so if he'd eat a lunchable and a piece of fruit, I'd be happy. (He won't. Only the bread and some dried fruit.) We of course keep trying to get him to try different foods at home, but I think it's better to give a kid a less ideal choice than give them a lunch of carrot sticks and hard boiled eggs or whatever that they'll refuse to eat and then lose it at school because they're so hungry.

It's the high fat, sodium (!) and sugar in Lunchables that is bad. "Nutritional Content: The nutritional content of Lunchables is often a concern. They tend to be high in sodium, saturated fats, and added sugars. Many varieties contain processed meats, which are linked to health issues when consumed in excess. "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not in DC, but my DD’s friend has a single mom who often has to work early hours and they live with the girl’s grandma too. The friend typically has lunchables and something like Oreo cookies. I have no idea if that’s fastest for the mom, easiest for the grandmother, or if the girl packs her own lunch. There’s not a lot of variety in our school lunches and they don’t seem that healthful, but I don’t know why they don’t do school lunches. I don’t really care except my DD constantly asks for them. I don’t want to get them because (a) a lot of plastic waste (b) they seem high in fat and sodium (but maybe no worse than whatever I make?) and (c) seem more expensive. I’ve tried sending her with similar ingredients some days, but she’s still intrigued. I just tell her “I don’t want to buy that” and when she asks why her friend gets to have them I just say “different families make different choices.”

Have you looked at instagram and TikTok lately? People think it’s rich and cool to have stacks and stacks of the same stuff organized. People are putting a dozen Lunchables, sugary yogurts, meat sticks, perfect bars, and other junk in the fridge all lined up. Same with soft drinks and seltzers and juice. The pantry is stocked with rows of goldfish, applesauce pouches, individual Costco packs of cookies and other processed snacks. “Larlo is so independent! This is so great he knows to just grab one of each and lunch is done wahlahhh!!”

[Anonymous]

I’m surprised people think Lunchables is healthy. Even if you packed your own store bought crackers, meat, and some fruit, you’d be better off nutritionally than Lunchables. And yeah, lunch meat isn’t great. We still eat it but not every single day.

[Anonymous]

What makes an adult wonder so much about the nutrients of a wealthy neighbors healthy child?

[Anonymous]

MYOB.

My child is on adhd medication that suppresses his appetite during school hours. I send healthy foods but I also send junk food in hopes that he will at least pick at a few things. You have no clue why a family packs what they do. I wouldn’t assume negligence if you don’t know anything about this family other than their apparent level of wealth.

[Anonymous]

Picky eaters that like lunchables.

[Anonymous]

So many DCUM respondents have eating issues as adults and now are passing on that neurosis. I am not surprised

[Anonymous]

Are you the lunch room monitor? This is such a weird thing to post about. Clearly they are bad parents, it's the only answer.

[Anonymous]

Because it is what the kid will eat. If my kid would eat it, I’d pack it too. Instead, my kid prefers fresh fruit and plain vegetables and won’t touch lunch meats. Im sure I look like a holier-than-thou mom when people see her lunches everyday but its only because that is what she will eat.