At the start of the school year, I struggled with getting my daughter to eat her lunch. Every day it would come home practically untouched. I thought this was because of the food I was packing for her, but I soon realized it was HOW I was packing her lunch that mattered more than WHAT I was packing.
I packed her lunch the only way I knew how -- which is just like my mom did for me many years earlier. I used various containers or plastic bags to separate her sandwich from fruits from veggies, etc. I put a little love note in because that's what my mom did for me.
Every day, her lunch came home barely opened.
And then I volunteered at lunchtime and actually got to observe what was happening. This wasn't an issue of having a picky eater, this was a "too-many-distractions and too-many-steps" issue. Madi would only end up opening one container or bag, and due to various distractions that was as far as she would get. Then lunch was over.
I started researching different lunch packing methods, and this is what I came up with. One container - a bento box style lunch. It's not a new thing, lots of moms pack their kids lunches this way. I just wasn't one of those moms until I realized the benefits for Madi.
It works because now Madi only has to open one container to get to her ENTIRE lunch.
Since she struggles with maintaining focus and following through on tasks, this makes her school lunch experience much easier. She still doesn't eat everything every day, but it's so much better than it was before!
I use silicone cupcake holders to further separate foods as needed, and small condiment containers for dips, etc.
There are a variety of options out there, but these products work well for us. I bought everything from Amazon.
Oh, and don't forget a little love note!
