Last month we were checking whether you are the parent who is likely to get things right or likely to forget or be disorganised, either way influencing how your child’s school day will go. We continue with our checklist, this time focusing on food.
There is always one who does not bring lunch
As with last month, my main point here is that the one or two times that you will do this in your child’s school career is not only understandable, but is to be expected. I even forget my own carefully-prepared lunch sometimes. It is only a problem if this is a frequent occurrence.
Children need food during the day – it is like fuel for their body. Without it, their blood sugar level dips and this affects concentration. Having said this, however, children who are on medication often do not have an appetite during the day and find it a chore to have to eat. If they cannot be tempted with small healthy snacks, then do not be concerned. As long as they eat at lunch time after school and the paediatrician checks for weight loss, their growth will not be affected.
However, those little souls who creep up to the teacher once every fortnight to mumble that they don’t have lunch, are feeling (besides hungry) uncared for and left out. I keep a few fruit bars for genuine incidents of forgetting, but am not as happy to fund the grocery bill for those who ‘had no bread’ and got sent to school with nothing else.
Now, I am obviously not talking about genuine lack caused by financial difficulty: this is about those families that seem to be a little kitchen-shy when it comes to being organised. It is very easy to run out of bread. So, keep some frozen for emergencies; keep cracker bread or biscuit snacks such as the mini packets of “Cheddars”; keep dried fruit or peanuts and raisins in snack packs. This way you can at least send something when the bread inevitably runs out! Of course if you have fruit or yoghurt, they are also healthy substitutes for bread, but at least with the snacks listed above, they are not dependent on a recent trip to the shops. Stock up and rest assured.
If children leave lunch at home, we normally just ask someone to share with them. We do not let them starve. However, childrens’ goodwill tends to dry up when it is the same one always needing lunch – and provision of lunch is not in the child’s hands.
It is your job as a parent to provide healthy food which they can eat at school, even if they are old enough to pack it or make the sandwiches themselves. It is a different story, however, if you have done your job and your forgetful child keeps leaving it at home. Then a spot of hunger will go a long way to helping them be less forgetful, unless you are the parent who comes running to school with every item that they leave at home. Then they will never need to learn to be responsible, and you will have many a stressed journey rushing home to play fetch.
The magic word is ‘consequences’, particularly if forgetfulness is a persistent problem. And if you are concerned that the teacher will think you callous and harsh for not rushing the lunch over, then a little note or phone call explaining the situation will help get her on your side very quickly. Any inclusion into your reasoning is welcome and we are happy to support growth plans that make sense! A little “tough love” goes a long way.
Lastly, something I nearly didn’t mention because I thought it too obvious, but then judging by the lunches that come to school, I see it is apparently not that clear that junk food is not what we mean by ‘lunch’! Sweets, chips, chocolates and fizzy drinks are treats to be eaten after substantial food such as sandwiches, rolls, savoury biscuits, fruit and yoghurts. We have a rule that children may only eat these treats after school and on a Friday because children loaded up on sugar do not perform well in the quiet, calm structure of a classroom.
We also emphasize the importance of drinking water during the day. It helps keep the brain hydrated, prevents headaches in the heat of summer, and allows the left and right brain to communicate better. Seriously! Even juice diluted with water is not recognised by the body as water. It is recognised as food and is not sent to hydrate the brain in the same way that water is. Pardon the pun, but it’s food for thought.
In Part III next month, there’s always one who …
- Does not have a pencil
- Leaves their books at home
