5 Ways to Feed Your School Kid

Among the long list of things to do to get kids ready for school, is helping your young child get ready for school day meals on your radar? If it isn't yet, it should be. Between rushed mornings and cafeterias with beaucoup de kids and few adults to help, nutrition during the week may not happen even if you send the right stuff in the lunch box. Here are a 5 Ways To Feed Your School Kid.

Protein and Fat for Breakfast
Yeah, you read that right. I'm not just going to tell you to make sure your kid eats breakfast, I'm letting you know that for the best brain performance they really should be eating protein and the right kind of fat for breakfast. Carbohydrates are important too as they provide energy for a long day of learning, but I'm pretty sure that between toast, cereal, milk, juice and breakfast bars everyone already has carbohydrates covered. If time permits, feed your kiddo eggs for breakfast. Or oatmeal with nuts. Or anything with nuts, preferably the raw unsalted variety. Fats build your brain.

Practice Using New Lunch Gear at Home
If you've bought new reusable containers, lunch box, thermos or drink mugs this summer give them a few dry runs at home before their first use at school. Serve your lunches at home in them, or tuck their dinner in the gear. They can practice opening and closing lids and reassembling all the pieces at the end of the meal. Kids who can't open their own containers often wait with their hands in the air for 5 minutes or longer until one of the few staffers can make their way over to them to help. Some will get discouraged and put their hands down and return home with closed containers -full of food. Don't forget to teach them to wipe off containers before returning them to the lunch box. My pre-K kid nearly tossed his yogurt thermos back in the box lid off, yogurt dripping down the side, ick.

Get Them Used To Eating Quickly with Distractions
At your next meal, tell your kids knock knock jokes the whole time they're eating and see how much they eat. Talk to them about how important it is to actually EAT their food at lunch. Teach your child that lunch = energy and brain power so they can get smart, focus, have energy for playground and health fitness. When your kid knows what lunch does for him, he's more likely to eat up. Time them at a few meals and see how long it takes for them to eat. If they can eat enough in 15-20 minutes you're good to go. If not tell them they need to take more bites. When they've had enough feel their head and say "Yup, that brain looks big enough, you ate plenty."

Protein for Lunch and After School Snack
Protein is important for kids, but so many lunch favorites are little more than enriched (if that) carbohydrates. Bags of chips, and juice boxes are usually the first thing eaten from the lunch bag, and if kids get a false sense of fullness or are enjoying the company of their table companions they may stop there with no quality nutrients. Talk to your kids every day about what protein does for them and which items in their lunch box are protein items. What protein items do I pack for my kids? Hummus, yogurt, peanut butter, chicken salad, beans (salad, chili, soup), cheese and nuts. Lunch meat and hard boiled eggs would work too. Protein in after school snacks is important because a lot of kids don't get a square meal mid-day even if one is available on their tray or in their lunch box. If you notice your kiddo is cranky, has low energy, is bouncing off the walls, or suffers from headache or tummy ache after school, I suspect she needs some protein.

Make the Food-Smart Connection
I think most kids have the Food-Hunger connection down. They know we eat food when hungry, and will readily eat food to make the hungry feeling go away. But do your kids eat food to get smart? When a kid wants to get smart, and a kid knows which foods make him smart, a kid has relevant reason to eat food. Not just food, but smart food. Fat builds the brain. The brain needs protein to make the right connections via biochemical messengers called neurotransmitters. Complex carbohydrates along with protein provide biochemical synergy that allow the two nutrients together to be more powerful than on their own. Micronutrients found in fruits and vegetables help protect the brain cells from damage by free radicals. I'm willing to wager that the more you make the Food-Smart connection with your kids the more they want to eat wholesome food, even when rushed in the morning or distracted by friends in the lunch room.

More Articles to Ready your Child for School Lunch
Help! My Child Doesn't Eat Enough School Lunch
Get Your Preschooler Ready For School Lunch



It has been over a month since I posted, egads! The short version of the story is work with no child care, spontaneous kitchen remodel, a very much appreciated two week vacation, then getting ready for back to school along with a little more work and no child care. I am looking forward to Monday when the boys are back in school and I can work in peace and quiet. My apologies for my absence and not being clairvoyant enough to realize just how little time for blogging I would have.

Calling all experienced moms, what sage advice can you share about kid and food and school? Share it in the comments! I am nervous about little boo. He eats fine but still. takes. an. age. He won't have oodles of time to eat breakfast now that he'll be walking out the door at 7:10a, and I have no idea how he'll do at school lunch. He ate well at preschool lunch, but there were plenty of teachers helping, that won't be so at the elementary school.