Genetically my son was pre-disposed to allergies from me and diabetes from his dad. I think I carried a first aid kit with a epi pen, allergy cream, and anti-biotic cream until he was 8! Early on, he had to watch his weight by learning how to eat healthy. So when he started school, he took his lunch so he had more control over the foods he ate.
Having a family history of diabetes, it was important to control salt, sugar and fat in his diet. We found a wonderful program through our pediatrician and local hospital that taught children how to plan meals and snacks, read labels and exercise. Every time we went to the grocery store, he would read a product’s label and if it didn’t meet the requirements of his program, he would but it back. Many pre-packaged grocery items marketed for children’s lunches have as much or more salt, sugar and fat in one serving than the daily allowance! And don’t even get me started on nuts! Peanut allergies are very common in children. Yet you would be surprised by reading the product label, how many items contain nuts. A friend of mine found nuts on the ingredient list for toothpaste!
And then there is the finicky eater. If they only eat certain things at home, what choices do they have at school? By packing their lunch, you can be assured that they eat something. It might not be a typical lunch, but if it works, who cares?
Now in school programs, they have a “cooler” approach to get children to eat healthy by telling them to eat a rainbow. In other words, eat as many foods that you can that represent all the colors of the rainbow.
I’m not saying that all school lunches are bad; I’m just saying that not everyone fits the school lunch mold. Believe me, when I went to school it was fish
sticks and tator tots every Friday and catsup was the vegetable of choice. I still pack my lunch. The cafeteria at work is way too expensive to do every day, going out for lunch is expensive and time consuming (not to mention the traffic) and I too fight the battle of the buldge, so I try to pack items that control my caloric intake.
My son is now getting ready to start high school, is slimmed down and has his blood pressure and cholesterol under control. I can still remember his first grade teacher saying to me, “I never met a kid who knew how to work the microwave!” Thanks to B.C.’s Provincial Nutritionalist, Lisa Forster-Coull for her insightful video on lunch packing.
http://youtu.be/PGkOADVkcpg
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Ulster Weavers has a great line of children’s aprons and matching chef hats. Television food channels are more and more popular and spark interest in creativity in people of all ages. Cooking is a life skill that everyone should learn. In my generation, many house-hold tasks were seperated by sex. A woman learned how to cook and a man assumed that his mother, girlfriend or wife would cook for him, and a man took care of the yard. So men didn’t learn how to cook or do laundry and women never learned how to cut grass or take out the garbage. I’m sooo glad we are past that phase of growth as people!
