According to the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, children's lunches which are made from home contain more calories, sugar and fat compared to meals provided by the school. Allison Stowell, a registered dietician, believes that this is due to the lack of nutritional education of the parents.
Thus, she created a list with Parenting about all the common mistakes parents frequently make while they are packing children's school lunches. Make sure to avoid the following no-no's:
Packing too much lunch food.
Stowell said parents normally worry if their kids are eating the right amount of food, so they end up packing too much food. Hence, you should, at least, pack a sandwich, three snacks, fruits and a drink to stop this common mistakes parents make.
You didn't make your healthy lunch box because you were busy watching tv?? Mhmm it's your health #healthyliving pic.twitter.com/vqXgehtBE6
— Stay F.I.T For Life (@Dagr8O) Marso 9, 2016
Choosing food that is meant for kids.
This is one of the most common mistakes parents do: packing food that is marketed as the best food for kids. Stowell said just because the certain products are marketed as healthy choices for kids doesn't mean they are healthy for the kids. Moreover, she said to make sure that your children are eating the healthy food group, she suggested to always review the ingredients list -- making sure it has a healthy levels of sugar, salt and other ingredients.
Packing too little protein.
Stowell said parents frequently forget the importance of balance meals. They just pack their kids with food that are high in carbohydrates and forget the importance of protein in the diet. So to stop this common mistake, Stowell suggested adding a granola bar or a yogurt tube to your kids lunches as they are high in protein.
Forgetting what your kids eat at home.
One of the most common mistakes parents make while preparing their child's lunch is focusing too much on food and forgetting the child who will consume it. Stowell said parents should keep in mind that food is not nourishment unless it's consumed by the child. Hence, parents should pack the healthy food that they know their children will eat.
Including fruit in the lunch box but not veggies.
@Fruits_Veggies Here's a glimpse inside of a lunch box idea with filled with healthy snacks. #LunchSmart pic.twitter.com/0M3C8I4xi5 — My Nguyen (@MyHealthyDish) Agosto 5, 2015
Stowell said not adding vegetables to the lunch box is one of the most common mistakes parents make. They just include fruits and other fruits snacks but forget that kids need to meet their daily vegetable nourishment too.
