Setting a new Rule for Lunch in School

School lunches often get a bad rap from kids for their awful taste and unidentifiable origins…mystery meat anyone? School lunches get a bad rap from parents because they are generally devoid of nutrition and instead are full of fat, simple carbohydrates (sugar) and salt. Indeed a recent study has shown that children who regularly eat school lunch are 29 percent more likely to be obese than those students who ate lunch brought in from home. Now it cannot all be blamed on the school lunches but it’s true that school lunches are high in calories and low in nutrients because it’s cheaper for the government and school systems. Fortunately school lunches are about to get an overhaul. Under a new law called the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act, school lunches will have new healthier standards for school lunches, a la carte items and vending machine choices. Despite all this, the best lunch you can provide for your child is one you make (or your child makes for herself).

The first step toward breaking the school lunch habit is to look at how many days a month your child buys lunch in the cafeteria. Is she buying nuggets and fries five days a week? Are the majority of her lunches brought from home or bought in the cafeteria? From here try to determine how many days a month can be switched from bought to brought. Also encourage your child to choose the most healthful options at lunchtime: veggies, skim milk and skipping the dessert for example. Small changes like this will add up over time as the pattern shifts and your family get used to the idea of  bringing from home more days than not.

Another great way to set healthy lunchtime goals is to pre determine what days will be “buy” days. Maybe it is a favorite meal that cycles around twice a month, or maybe you and your child determine that the first and last Friday of every month are two good days for buying instead of bringing. By establishing set “buy” days you are removing room for argument for all the other days of the month; those days are all days your child brings in her lunch for home.

The last piece of the healthful lunch puzzle is to lead by example. You can’t urge your child to buy skim milk or water at lunch and serve her cola at dinnertime. Consistency and leading by example are critical for developing healthful eating habits at school and beyond.