Back to School Lunches - A Different Perspective

As thousands of families get ready for the start of school, the inevitable battle over the contents of the lunchbox will be heating up.

Summer is over (did it ever really start?) and for many that means kids going back to school. Parents around the country will be pulling out lunchboxes and hoping there isn’t still half a banana leftover from December, and wondering what appealing and healthy snacks and lunches they can muster up to get them through first term. To guide them will be countless expert columns filled with thousands of words and colourful images of the ideal lunch box.

I was thinking about doing the same – setting out my recommended options for low sugar foods and drinks that would be best for young kids and their oral health. Afterall, what kids eat as school plays an important role in their nutrition, and with 40% of 12-14 year old children experiencing tooth decay in their adult teeth and teenagers consuming 80g (20 teaspoons) of added sugar per day, what goes into that lunchbox has important health implications. We know that many snacks and drinks are marketed to parents and kids as being healthy despite being loaded with added sugar. For example, a 250ml apple juice contains 15.5g sugar (4 teaspoons) and is the equivalent of 3 apples without the goodness of whole fruit.

Two things during the week made me reconsider. The first was a discussion with my dad – a former primary school principal. He remarked that he managed to survive on Vegemite sandwiches every day for his entire school life (as a student, not as a teacher) and still turned out alright. Was there really a need to put so much pressure on parents to curate the perfect Instagram worthy lunchbox?

Then I saw the announcement of the 2023 Australian of the Year. Taryn Brumfitt is an advocate for body positivity. We know that many young people struggle with their self-image, and this can have a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing. For many young people, the link between eating, body image and mental health is complex. This suggests that we need to be more careful about how we talk about food and nutrition in the context over overall wellbeing, and balance the importance of healthy eating with the challenges young people are experiencing.

One in seven young people aged 4 to 17 years experience a mental health condition in any given year.

6.9% of children and young people (aged 4 to 17 years) had suffered from an anxiety disorder in the past 12 months.

One in ten young people aged 12 to 17 years have engaged in self-harm.

So what is the most important thing for parents to focus on as they get their kids ready for school next week? Mostly it’s making sure that the lunchbox contains something that the kids will happily eat. No point sending them to school with healthy foods that will find their way into the bin or come back home uneaten. Try and cut down on the sugar, and focus on water over juice. And get the kids into the kitchen to help out too – they’re more likely to eat foods that they have helped prepare, and having some ownership also provides an opportunity to talk about healthy eating. That will pay off down the track when they are able to take control and make their own lunch. There is plenty of time for exploring new foods and changing tastes at home.