One mother explains why she refuses to try and live up to the impossible standards of the school lunch. 

When it comes to school lunches, there is a huge disparity in both quality of food and care taken in the packing. Some people like to spend hours getting inspiration for dinosaur shaped fruit and crustless gluten-free sandwiches that are nut and nitrate-free.

I am definitely not that parent.

I am the parent who buys the gummies and fake cheese and lunch meat. I refuse to cut the crusts off my kid’s sandwiches because life is full of crusts, and if you don’t learn that in JK, when will you?

Life Skills

I want my kids to grow up to be strong, independent people and that means that while I am instilling my share of life lessons, I am also teaching valuable life skills. I learned early on that my kids loved spending time with me in the kitchen, and once school hit, they also enjoyed packing their lunch box.

My middle daughter loves to be in control, and so does my husband. For him watching her attempt to spread butter over some bread and clumsily cut up cucumber with a butter knife is akin to torture, but for me, it is the perfect solution.

She is learning valuable skills and personal responsibility and I am not having to slave over a plastic box of judgment.

Relinquishing the control

By allowing her some control over what she will eat during the day I find that she is more likely to eat the contents. Along with the restrictions put in place from the school, she must pack healthy snacks and gets to choose one ‘treat’.

Completing tasks like this help to pump up my kid’s self-esteem. Teaching them simple tasks takes unnecessary things off my plate as a parent and lets me focus on what really matters.

Making dinner they won’t eat.