Lunch box season is upon us once again -- a thought that can strike terror into the hearts of even the most experienced parents! Here are some practical tips on making lunches that will score points with score points with your resident food critic.

DO'S
  • Find ways to involve your child in planning and preparing her lunches. She's less likely to complain about a lunch that she helped to make herself.

  • Discover that there's life after sandwiches. There are plenty of other great things to pack in a lunch other than a piece of cheese jammed between two slices of bread. Baked beans, meatballs, cabbage rolls, and leftover pizza all make great lunchtime entrees.
  • Keep a supply of plastic spoons on hand for use with puddings, applesauce, and soups. You'll be less concerned if an inexpensive spoon ends up in the trash at school than if its one of your good kitchen spoons that makes its way to the landfill site.
  • Pay attention to how the lunch is packed. Make sure that canned fruit and other sticky substances are packed in leakproof containers and that sandwiches are packed in such a way that they won't be squished on the way to school.
  • Remember to send in a freezer pack if your child is carrying a lunch which contains perishable items. (Another alternative is to toss in a frozen juice box: it'll keep your child's lunch cold until lunchtime, at which point she can drink it. To minimize waste, use a refillable plastic juice box rather than one of the pre-filled disposable types.)

DON'TS
  • Don't forget to check with your child's teacher to find out what the school's policy is regarding peanut butter. Some schools will allow your child to bring a peanut butter sandwich to school as long as no one in his class has a peanut allergy; other schools have chosen to ban peanut butter outright.

  • Don't fall into the trap of sending the same lunch everyday. Instead, come up with a list of five of your child's favourite lunches so that you can send a different lunch to school with him each day of the week. (Note: Some children get hooked on a particular type of sandwich and wouldn't dream of eating anything else. If this is the case with your child, then simply go with the flow. At some point, tuna will lose its charm. I promise!)
  • Don't overlook the importance of a snack. A sandwich and a drink aren't enough for a growing child. Try to send along a snack that will pack a nutritional punch-something like fresh fruit, vegetable sticks with dip, cheese and crackers, or yogourt.
  • Don't give your child grief for not finishing his entire lunch. Instead, encourage him to bring home any leftovers so that you can keep tabs on what he is-and isn't-eating. If you make an issue about the uneaten portions of the lunch, your child will simply learn to give the uneaten portions of his lunch away to someone else or to toss it in the trash.