Kid’s lunches- the reality

[Anonymous]

Do people really make cute bento lunches for their kids or is that an only on pinterest thing? I have seen some
Really cool bento lunch boxes I was rhinking of getting for my three yr old starting preschool but wondering what parents really send. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

omg I can't get over how much work it must be to wash those bento boxes nightly. That's what stops me.

[Anonymous]

If you get a bento style box, it's quite easy to fill it up and have it look nice with no extra effort. Most of the parents in our preschool send a bento box. However, if you are asking about making a sandwich into hello kitty or cutting all the vegetables and fruit into flowers, I only do this on halloween. Nothing else, just halloween. I can handle once a year. And turning a clementine into a pumpkin isn't really doing much.

[Anonymous]

I use the divided lunch trays but I don't get really creative with kids because mine simply won't eat a lot of variety for lunch. Dinners are better for them - they are hungrier and things are prepared fresh which they like. For example, they won't eat raw broccoli with ranch as can be packed for lunch, but they love roasted or steamed broccoli at dinner.

Our lunches are pretty boring but they get eaten. Sandwiches. Baby carrots/cucumber/snap peas/grape tomatoes. Some kind of fruit. Maybe a cheese stick or yogurt.

Alternatively, a thermos filled with chili, Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets or soup, also with a veggie and fruit.

[Anonymous]

I think the appeal is more than looking cute, but a way to cut down on extra packaging that's wasteful. So instead of lots of baggies etc, you use one re-usable box for everything.

[Anonymous]

You can fill the box with boring normal stuff - crackers, hummus, fruit, veggies, a sandwhich. It's just a convenient way to keep everything in one spot.

[Anonymous]

Thanks- just didn’t want to send my kid with a regular sandwich if every other kid was getting a heart shaped one or something ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks- just didn’t want to send my kid with a regular sandwich if every other kid was getting a heart shaped one or something ?

Oh, dear! There's a long road ahead. Don't sweat the small stuff!

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what other people send, but I use a Bentgo box (just the insert and the plastic storage lid) and it forces me to diversify their lunch and reduces waste. I don't do cutesy stuff, just fill it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks- just didn’t want to send my kid with a regular sandwich if every other kid was getting a heart shaped one or something ?

Oh, dear! There's a long road ahead. Don't sweat the small stuff!

+1

Or do it once a week, or a few times a month. It will feel more special and not become an expectation.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been teaching preschool for 10 years. The first week or two there are cute drawings/notes and heart shaped sandwiches. Rarely after that.

[Anonymous]

Yup, we use the bentgo box for preschool each day. Fits half a sandwich, a cheese stick, various fruits/carrot sticks, and crackers. Nothing pinterest-y, just easier than my kid opening a zillion containers or wasting ziplocks. We have two that we alternate, and the pieces pop apart and go in the dishwasher easily.

[Anonymous]

He, my kids had regular lunches, pasta, fruit and cut up meat, potatoes and carrots(oven roasted) all the time. There was no "art" to it! It was in a container with a coolers and it looked like a mess. Pintrest lunch boxes, that is just a photo shoot for posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:omg I can't get over how much work it must be to wash those bento boxes nightly. That's what stops me.

I line them with paper cupcake liners and I have 3.

[Anonymous]

We have 3 metal bento boxes (really just a box with 4 sections). That way I don't have to wash the same one every day.

I like it because I can keep her food organized and it prevents me from having to send in lots of little containers. I normally try to use 2 sections for a grain, 1 for a fruit or veggie, and 1 for protein. For example, today I sent in rice, baby carrots, and turkey cold cuts. Then I give her a yogurt pouch and an applesauce pouch for snack time. She also gets cheerios and a banana for breakfast.

Her preschool teacher actually asked that I get a bento box for her rather than the little containers we used to use because the kids put their own lunch things in their cubbies after lunch and she said it's a lot easier for them if there's only one container to put back.