# So what do I put in this kid's lunchbox anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807 "2011-08-15T18:42:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/41 "2011-08-16T17:53:19Z")
If he likes cheese, those little \*\*wax-wrapped Babybel cheeses \*\*should be about the right size. Other ideas: a cup of **salsa and some chips** , \*\*nuts \*\*(almonds, cashews, etc.), **pasta salad** , or maybe \*\*couscous \*\*or \*\*quinoa \*\*(if he likes those) with some diced whatever-veggies-he-likes (cucumbers, carrots, onions, etc.) as those are both very good at room temp. When I was a kid, I liked having a little Zip baggie of sugary cereal (Lucky Charms, Count Chocula, etc.) as a snack - crunchy and sweet. Though now that I think about it, that might be best saved for the post-school anti-crankiness snack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/42 "2011-08-16T17:59:01Z")
I always had a thermos of soup and a sandwich. Those insulated lunch bags allow cold cuts. I usually had ham or turkey sandwiches. I’d include a reusable ice block to make sure it stayed cold. Fruit or a banana for desert. Once a week mom let me have a pudding cup or a few cookies. Heck, I carry a similar bag to work once in awhile. Except I’m a grown up and prefer roast beef sandwiches. I’m not sure. Is a thermos of soup ok for kindergarten? Can a five year old pour it safely and eat? I know by eight they can. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/43 "2011-08-16T18:06:58Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > If possible, I suggest getting the kid used to drinking water with meals. Learning that water goes with meals and other liquids are treats is a gift that will last a lifetime. I did this with my kids. Now that they are older, when we all go somewhere nice for dinner they still order water. I try to get them to “live a little” but it is habit now. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/44 "2011-08-16T18:24:56Z")
A little variety is just fine. Most kids get bored with the same stuff every day. Shoot for some consistency and some variety. If you pack crackers, for example, have Goldfish this week and Cheezits next week. One bit of advice I can pass along is not to use a bag lunch to introduce unfamiliar foods. If he doesn’t like the new food, he won’t have much to eat and will be hungry and crabby all afternoon, which is unfair to his teacher, not to mention that he may react badly in a public place, and that’s not good. There should be no unwelcome surprises in a kid’s lunchbox. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/45 "2011-08-16T18:26:06Z")
I’d also caution that variety is important. No one one wants the same thing day after day. Especially a kid. There’s plenty of sandwiches to pick from. Introduce them at home first. Then in the lunch bag. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/46 "2011-08-16T19:10:51Z")
I didn’t really offer up my own experiences earlier, so: The little Torqueling goes to Montessori school from 8 to 12 five days a week. Our thinking is, since her various grandparents pick her up right after noon (I know, we’re super lucky), we just send a little snack rather than a full lunch, since whichever Gramma picks her up that day can supply a better lunch than what we can pack. But, she does like sitting down and eating with her friends, so we gotta send something. I go for variety and try each day to send something from each of three major categories: something starchy/grainy, something dairy, and something fruity, plus a drink. Today it was some pretzel crackers, a sliced plum in a little Gladware container, and string cheese. Yesterday was Goldfish crackers, a bag of grapes, and string cheese. The starchy/grainy stuff has varied from Sun chips to pretzel nuggets to NutriGrain fruit and cereal bars to Cheez-It Gripz. Fruit, well, just about anything the kid will eat: apple slices, grapes, oranges, strawberries, bananas, fruit leather, raisins, blueberries, dried blueberries, applesauce, we’ve even done pineapple or watermelon chunks. Dairy’s a little harder to vary; string cheese is the most common go-to, but I’ve also put in those little Laughing Cow Babybel cheeses and yogurt. Cool thing: GoGurt can be frozen solid the night before, and thaws out perfectly by lunchtime. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/47 "2011-08-16T19:13:18Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Also, Whatsit Jr. refuses to eat PB&J in his lunch because he hates when the jelly soaks through the bread and makes it soggy. That’s the best part, man! Kids these days. Put the peanut butter on both pieces of bread, and then the jelly in the middle. No jelly-soaked bread. I’m with your Whatsit Jr. I don’t like jelly-soaked bread. If you’re doing the PB&J thing, be sure to send potato chips, so he can add them to the sandwich to make it crunchy. THAT was the best part! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/48 "2011-08-16T20:02:04Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Is he in a full day kindergarten? He’s probably going to be ravenous and cranky when he gets out - not because you didn’t pack enough, but because he probably won’t have made time to eat half of it. You may want to bring a fresh string cheese and a few crackers when you pick him up. > > It takes a while for pokey eaters to grok that they really have a limited, short amount of time to eat in, but he’ll get it eventually. 🙂 Yep, he’s in full day kindergarten and aftercare. I’ve got a full box of his favorite granola bars and some string cheese and water with his name on them. Both kids are usually famished by the time they hit the car in the evening, so I regularly keep snacks in my glove box or take them in with me if it’s too hot or the food is perishable. I can’t imagine how he’ll feel with just the 20 minutes he got today to eat his lunch. I’m glad I made dinner in advance over the weekend - all I need to do is stick it in the oven and we’ve got food. I think the next few weeks is going to be a huge adjustment period for all of us. In addition to making faster transitions, his school starts at 7:45, which is when we used to leave to get to daycare/preschool. We only have to take off 20 minutes earlier, but 20 minutes can be a lot when dealing with a kid. I’m trying to steel myself for some serious crabbiness for the next 3 weeks. Then there’s the homework that we’ll have to start doing. I’m hoping they’ll wait a week before they send too much home. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/49 "2011-08-17T05:39:01Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > If he likes peanut butter, why change? Kids love consistency. Yeah! This! Yum! And it won’t be boring… your kid’ll have so many adventures by the time lunch comes along, it’ll be a whole new day. With that comforting PB&J. Plus, don’t you have enough to do without making customized food for a lunchbox? No, the fact that I still have PB&J for ALL my lunches did not influence my advice at all. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/50 "2011-08-17T11:02:11Z")
One time in my entire life my mother slipped surprise Little Debbies in our lunch. Twenty years later it emerged that my sister, who was a timid and cautious child, was so thrown by this that she was sure her lunch had been switched, and after fearfully waiting to be called out for stealing, quietly threw away the entire lunch and went hungry. I guess the moral of this story is to never underestimate the ability of a shy, worrisome child to decide they probably did something wrong, and that if you have a kid that really doesn’t like surprises, don’t ever surprise them. It doesn’t mean to them what it means to the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/51 "2011-08-17T11:41:32Z")
Don’t sweat the transition too much. There will be bumps, but his teacher has (unless she’s very new) gone through this literally hundreds of times before is not expecting perfection out of the gate. And kindergarten homework in particular should not be stressful. It’s designed more to get kids in the habit of doing their homework than it is to really impart new learning. Now’s your chance to figure out what works best for junior too. One of my kids was fine if she did her homework right after school (OK, right after snack after school) but if she waited until after dinner her brain had already decided she was done with school and it was not fun. The good news is college’s almost never ask for kindergarten transcripts so relax, he’ll get the swing of all of it before you know it. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807/52 "2011-08-24T03:44:42Z")
This is a very good point. Turns out I was the one with transition issues. He handled his first week perfectly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-do-i-put-in-this-kids-lunchbox-anyway/592807.md?page=2)