How Do I Get My Kids To Eat More Lunch?

Are you planning a well-balanced, nutritional lunch but your little one isn’t eating much? Here’s how you can encourage them to eat more lunch.

It can be frustrating when your kid doesn’t feel hungry or she brings back an untouched lunch bag from school. Especially when you took the time to plan and pack a healthy and nutritious meal. 

Don’t be disheartened! There are many causes why their appetites keep changing. It could be they are bored eating the same type of food or there is an underlying issue, such as shorter meal times at school, change in taste or you have a chatterbox who simply keeps forgetting to eat while catching up with friends. 

Once you’ve figured out the issue, you will be able to plan accordingly and pack healthy lunch for kids. Let’s take a look below at how you can encourage them to eat more than they do now. 

Provide Smaller Portions of Food

Serve your child with a tablespoon of each food according to their age. If your kid is 2 years old, serve 2 tablespoons of each type of food. If she is 3, serve 3 tablespoons and so on. This gives them a chance to ask for more.

If you have a preschooler, pack small portions of food for their lunch. Typically, schools allot 10 to 15 minutes for lunch breaks. Children are expected to finish their meals within the allotted time. Therefore, when you pack a whole sandwich and an apple, it may become overwhelming for them which may make them eat less than they would have. 

For this reason, it is a good idea to serve small portions instead. For instance, instead of a whole apple, provide slices of it. Instead of a whole sandwich, provide them in half. This way they’ll get to finish it quicker.

Another option to get them to eat better is to offer them a variety of choices. Halved sandwiches, steamed veggies, sliced fruits, dips, crackers, nuts, chips and a little dessert along with fresh fruit juices are some examples you can go with. All you need to do is ensure they get a little bit of everything: proteins, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. 

Involve and Converse

Ask your children what they would like for lunch. Involve them in planning the day’s lunch and ask them to help you prepare them. However, some children go overboard, asking for food items that are unhealthy or not available. 

Therefore, when you ask them about what they’d like to eat, give them two choices: an apple or an orange? Broccoli or cauliflower? Egg sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich? This way you get to control what they eat, and also involve them in the process.

While your kids are helping you pack their lunch, this is a perfectly good opportunity to open dialogue and talk to them about the importance of eating lunch. This is also a good way to find out what’s bothering your little one to finish their meal. 

For instance, if your child doesn’t like their food to touch, you can pack each item separately in a ziplock bag. If it’s a change in taste, you can make something new. The main goal is to find out the underlying issue, and you can do that while you pack and prepare lunches together. 

Kid-friendly Lunch Box/Plate and Cutlery

Opening up a tight-lidded lunch box takes away precious time and asking a teacher for help means waiting in line to get noticed, and attended to. This leaves less amount of time for your little one to finish their meal. Purchase kid-friendly boxes that your kid doesn’t have to struggle with to open. This also includes kid-friendly cutlery that they can properly hold and eat.

In cases of toddlers, purchase plates that have a suction underneath and attaches strongly to the table tray. This way your munchkin may not be able to throw the entire plate, along with the food, on the floor. Food will be thrown, nonetheless, so be prepared for a little mess! Even if a little mess makes your child eat, it’s all going to be worth it.

Avoid a Power Struggle Over Food

The power struggle over food between parents and their children have been raging on since the beginning of time. Most parents had the “clean-plate” rule, where children weren’t allowed to leave the table unless they finished the entire contents on their plate, even when they were full. 

This approach doesn’t help children, rather they stop listening to their bodies. And thus began the power struggle over food where kids didn’t want to eat but parents force-fed them to relieve their frustration. 

Let kids decide for themselves! If your child says she’s not hungry, don’t force or bribe her into eating, even if it’s just a snack. Let your kids understand their bodies’ signal for hunger and give them the independence of asking for more.

Limit Screen Time

Watching television or computer during mealtimes makes your child overeat or snack mindlessly. This may lead to them being malnourished, overweight or obese and a possibility of a lot more health risks. 

They’ll be less sensitive to what their body is trying to tell them, and when to stop munching. By limiting screen time, they’ll find active things to do, which in turn would make them hungry. It’ll also help them understand when they feel they’ve had enough, and stop eating. 

Avoid Sweets as Rewards

An occasional munch on a sweet treat is all well and fine, but bribing them with a sweet if they finished their meal is a big no-no! When you place sweets as a prize, your children will place value over that dessert more than their nutritious-packed lunch. The same goes for having McDonald’s; you can allow it, once in a while but avoid making it a habit. 

Be a Role Model

Kids do as you do! So when you start eating healthy, avoiding screen time, avoiding skipping meals, your kids will do the same. Set a good example when teaching eating habits and your kids will likely follow your lead.

Be Creative

When packing or serving lunches, you can become a little creative for your little one to enjoy. Children are visual learners and when they see a fun type of food, they are most likely to try it. You can make a smiley face with oranges, or cut up sandwiches in different shapes such as stars or a heart.

You can also use various occasions or festivals as a theme of the day’s lunch. For instance, make a scary pumpkin face using peeled oranges and food-colored markers. Or serve heart-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Valentine’s Day. You can also use sticky notes to add in small messages or write inspiring quotes for the older ones to boost their confidence. 

Patience is Virtue

Last but not the least, have patience when it comes to mealtimes. Start early on with good eating habits. Children are naturally curious and when it comes to food, they’d want to try it out. And when they try out different kinds of food, as they grow older, they’ll start deciding for themselves which ones they’d prefer. Talk to them about the different types of textures, colors and shapes of the food so they become familiar with the healthier choices.

In addition, be well-prepared for the mess. Toddlers learning to eat on their own, will eat half and throw half of the food. That’s quite basic and natural. Place newspapers underneath their chair and around. This way you can sit back, enjoy that Flash Coffee and watch your child explore new food.

Preschoolers, on the other hand, are a tough bunch. However, once you’ve figured out what they want, it’ll be easy for you to fix a lunch that your child will actually eat and enjoy. So till then, have patience!

In a Nutshell

No matter what you do or how hard you try, don’t force-feed your child when he or she isn’t hungry. Whether a toddler, preschooler or an older bunch, when you see your child skipping meals or not having enough, you’ll know it’s time to change your menu. 

You can try offering new food or serving small portions so your child is not overwhelmed or struggling to finish it as quickly as possible. Limit screen time during meals and encourage more physical activity. This way they’ll be hungry in time for lunch. Involve them in the decision-making process about the day’s lunch.

Trying to keep up with your children’s ever-changing taste can be challenging but with diligence and a lot of patience, even this war can be won!