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36 alaska parent fall 2025 AlaskaParent.comMake Li Make Life Easier: fe Easier:Teach Your Kids to Make Lunch Teach Your Kids to Make Lunch Teach Your Kids to Make LunchBy Pam MolnarIam the %u201cmean mom%u201d who made her kids pack their own lunches in first grade. Yes, I let a 7-year-old decide what to put in her lunchbox %u2500 and it turned out to be a great parenting decision.When I was a kid, my mom packed my lunch. Peanut butter sandwich. Chips. Apple. Not only was it boring, but it was seldom eaten. I am not a fan of sandwiches and I would have preferred cut-up veggies to an apple. But that was our routine, so I never told my mom any different.My friends with older kids complained all the time about how much they dreaded making their kids%u2019 lunch. They too slipped into a routine of the same old menu. I wonder if they ever questioned why the same apple went back and forth all week without being eaten.I was determined to do things differently with my kids. Here%u2019s how I approach the lunch-making routine and streamline the process in our family:MAKE A LIST OF OPTIONSWhen my kids first started making lunch, we had an age-appropriate conversation about nutrition. We made a small poster with pictures under categories like proteins, grains, dairy, fruits and vegetables. I am a big believer in everything in moderation, so they did have a category for less-healthy snacks. You can set your own guidelines about how many items kids should eat each day (or each week), but the visual helps remind kids about the importance of variety and each food group.LET THE KIDS HELP SHOPEvery week I ask the kids what they want for lunch. I always buy the staples %u2013 fruit, yogurt, cracker snacks, lunchmeat, and cheese %u2013 but they often get ideas from their friends%u2019 lunches, which we would try out ourselves. It is nice to try new things like a smoothie in a thermos or a new flavor of chips. Plus, the more input they have on lunch, the more likely they are to eat it.