Whether your youngster attends a pre-school or is in regular school, goes to daycare, or is cared for in someone's home, packing a kid lunch each day in lieu of the purchased lunch may be an option that parents on a budget should consider.
While packing a kid lunch is not even an option under certain care circumstances, many institutional provider settings have the lunches figured on a cost per child basis and are willing to offset it if a family prefers a packed kid lunch from home instead.
For example, the cost of a meal served at school, can be a good deal if you like the convenience and if your kid is eating what is served. But, if your youngster is picky or talks about the lunches served in a negative way, packing a kid lunch can be a more nutritional--as well as affordable--solution.
The same is true for lunches served by a child's provider. A reduced fee may be possible for brought lunches instead of your child consuming what the others are served. Bringing a kid lunch can be a good option for a youngster with numerous food allergies or a high picky-eating factor. But providers warn that young ones often like to eat what others are eating, and having one kid with a brought lunch when all others are served something different can sometimes become a disruptive and negative situation.
One provider says she has allowed parents in the past to bring a child's lunch, but she found that she was still having to serve the kid her lunch items because the kid didn't understand why he couldn't have some cookies or the red juice instead of the drink and crackers brought by his family. In the end, she said she lost money because she had agreed to reduce the rate and yet was still providing food and drink. However, another provider said she has gone to having parents provide lunches for their children every day, and that it actually frees her up to more easily take them to the park or picnics on nice days. She said so many parents had requests, requirements, and restrictions that she changed her pricing and adjusted it so that lunches were provided. She does continue to provide an afternoon snack.
What are some tips for packing a kid lunch?
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While packing a kid lunch is not even an option under certain care circumstances, many institutional provider settings have the lunches figured on a cost per child basis and are willing to offset it if a family prefers a packed kid lunch from home instead.
For example, the cost of a meal served at school, can be a good deal if you like the convenience and if your kid is eating what is served. But, if your youngster is picky or talks about the lunches served in a negative way, packing a kid lunch can be a more nutritional--as well as affordable--solution.
The same is true for lunches served by a child's provider. A reduced fee may be possible for brought lunches instead of your child consuming what the others are served. Bringing a kid lunch can be a good option for a youngster with numerous food allergies or a high picky-eating factor. But providers warn that young ones often like to eat what others are eating, and having one kid with a brought lunch when all others are served something different can sometimes become a disruptive and negative situation.
One provider says she has allowed parents in the past to bring a child's lunch, but she found that she was still having to serve the kid her lunch items because the kid didn't understand why he couldn't have some cookies or the red juice instead of the drink and crackers brought by his family. In the end, she said she lost money because she had agreed to reduce the rate and yet was still providing food and drink. However, another provider said she has gone to having parents provide lunches for their children every day, and that it actually frees her up to more easily take them to the park or picnics on nice days. She said so many parents had requests, requirements, and restrictions that she changed her pricing and adjusted it so that lunches were provided. She does continue to provide an afternoon snack.
What are some tips for packing a kid lunch?
- Stock up during grocery-store sales on drinks, lunch meat, chips and other kid-friendly treats.
- Be considerate of your child's provider and don't pack items that are extremely hard to open or require a lot of preparation in order to eat.
- Find a kid-friendly lunch box and drink, and you'll save on having to buy lunch bags each day.
- If the kid lunch needs refrigeration, be sure to note it to the provider. Consider including the ice packs to keep certain items cold.
- Don't expect your provider to clean your kid's lunch box, and please don't ask for baggies to be washed and returned and drink containers to be cleaned. Expect to have lunch bags brought home without food or an excess mess, but cleaning it for the next day is a parent's responsibility and not the provider's job.
- Don't put the burden of the lunch on the provider. It can be unreasonable to pack an apple, but then ask the provider to cut it into slices and peel off the skin. She has other hungry mouths and busy hands at the same time as well.
- Don't get caught up into the convenience lunch items sold at grocery stores (i.e. convenient lunch pack items that cost more for less items). Doing so could end up having your packed kid lunch more costly than what is served.
- Communicate with your child's provider or teacher and find out what is reasonable, feasible, and ask if your youngster is actually eating what you are so thoughtfully packing in the kid lunch.
