finleysmaid Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 We're having a few issues with lunch boxes at the moment and i'm concerned about the amounts (either WAY too much or WAY too little!) I would like to produce a display for the hall to give some ideas/guidance ...does anyone have any good links/posters/info etc etc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Will be watching this with interest, we are having exactly the same concerns at the moment. I have never felt comfortable telling parents what they can and cannot put in their child’s lunchbox but a helpful display may be a good gentle starting point! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 On the whole ours are very good, but It’s the serial ‘lazy’ lunches we have problems with, all prepacked processed that must cost a fortune as well as the number of food items, I have a lunch box suggestion sheet that I include in the prospectus (shout if you want to see it), if we then have offenders they have a copy put in their lunchbox to go home, also notes that might say something like “we asked **** to choose one of the 4 ‘treats’ included” and pop it with all the other spare ‘treats’ in a small bag and send home (if still not getting the message we speak to them).....our parents must love us 😂 We also made a poster by saving all the wrappers/bags from one lunch time and with those chn made a healthy/unhealthy chart (we already had pics of healthy food to use and some drew apples, bananas etc)when finished we put the teaspoons of sugar contained in each item into small bags and pinned next to the items...quite a shocker ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 thanks guys...have tried the lunch box notes but maybe i'll have another go Zigzag i kind of felt a display might be a good idea giving suggestions, often parents can't think of anything to put in. My least favourite items are yakults.....SO high in sugar and like most items the recommended amounts are for adults NOT for 3 year olds, takeaway Pizza from the night before and the high salt, high fat lunchables But i am also getting children who have no fruit in their boxes or vegetables...or just very little of anything! One little one has a dosa in her box every day with a small amount of cheese in it....nothing else. We are lucky that our parents donate snacks and we have enough to top up anybody's boxes Have already tried 'the talk' but doesn't seem to be getting me very far so i thought a bright interesting display might hit the mark! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 I would love to see the lunchbox suggestion sheet please Mouseketeer. I also love the idea of using the wrappings to make a poster/display. On the whole they are not too terrible but one little boy comes in with the most ridiculous amount of food over half of it is made up of treats. We also take away all but one treat and send the rest home, but it still keeps happening. We also have two children who come in with the biggest doorstep sandwiches that I have ever seen, it puts them off before they even start! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 I’ll send it zigzag, we find that as well, some parents must think we have a 2hr lunch break ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 We had similar Zigzag, a child whose lunch box was overloaded - but in our case, he was usually picked up by grandparents and mum used to put in extra food for him to eat at their house so grandparents didn't have to supply. In the main I am happy with what's turning up at our lunches at the moment, although I do wish parents would "decant" the bags of crisps to just a few in a little plastic box, rather than a whole bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Is there anything in the recent government healthy eating guidelines they released a few months ago? We emailed the link to all out parents with an explanation in our newsletters recommending that they check it out. On the whole our parents are quite good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 found this ...might be helpful https://www.infantandtoddlerforum.org/health-childcare-professionals/factsheets 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) and the british nutrition foundation also has a downloadable info sheet Edited February 25, 2018 by finleysmaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Funnily enough- its becoming a bit of an issue with some of ours. I printed these posters last week. This may help as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, lynned55 said: Funnily enough- its becoming a bit of an issue with some of ours. I printed these posters last week. This may help as well. Thank You, some nice posters and info there :-) Edited February 26, 2018 by Mouseketeer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Thank you Lyned55 They look very interesting /useful I did find something just before Christmas, I think it was on an Australian website which was called something like 'pick 10'. It was a poster with lots of healthy foods on and you picked 10 for a lunch box - the 10 included a drink and the carb options then how you put it al together. Sounds weird but actually it was very good- so you might pick a wrap then fill it was lots of healthy stuff towards your 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 One lunchbox today contained; 1 doughy roll filled with thick slices of gammon ham, bag of kettle crisps, 4 fingrered kitkat, bag of chocolate animal biscuits, a chocolate mini Swiss roll and a yogurt! In contras5 with another one that contained a sandwich and a few raisins! One extreme to the other🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargrower Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Are the huge lunches we often see a sign of the times? When I was at school, a packed lunch usually consisted of a sandwich, an apple and a biscuit! A packed lunch brought by a three year old today was a sandwich, crisps, cheese biscuits, cucumber and carrots, a mini roll, two yogurts, a slice of birthday cake, raisins, and a fruit leather thingy. He ate almost all of it, leaving a quarter of the sandwich and some of the birthday cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 We have over the last couple of years started plating up the lunches. So if i have a huge lunch i just give the appropriate amount and then add in if the child is really hungry. I hate the beige brigade lunches...you know the ones ..chocolate spread sandwiches and a packet of crisps. We seem to have a load that never see anything fresh and the really boring ones who have exactly the same thing...day after day after day This of course has become much more of an issue since we have 30 hour children...just another problem to add to the list!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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