When I was a kid, my mom hired a sweet elderly lady in our neighborhood to care for me and my sister during the daytime. Over the years, this wonderful woman kept dozens of children at her small home. She was talented at her position. I was never bored. In the mornings, I enjoyed reading a variety of books. During the afternoons, my caretaker played several educational board games with the children she kept. I learned new words, gaming strategies, and teamwork while sitting around her dining room table playing these fun games with other kids. On this blog, you will discover how to incorporate educational board games into your daycare’s schedule.
You might have the best intentions when sending your child to daycare with a packed lunch. However, if your child doesn't eat everything, you'll waste food and you also won't provide your child with the nutrition they need. Luckily, there are a few tricks that will make your child more likely to eat his or her lunch at daycare.
Use an Insulated Lunchbox to Create More Options
If you are concerned about how well the food will keep, send your child with an insulated lunch box that helps keep food cold. Stick the box with the lunch made in the fridge overnight so that it is still cold by lunchtime.
Another way to be certain is to pack options that aren't likely to go bad. For instance, a peanut butter and banana sandwich is less likely to go bad. Sandwiches are a timeless option for a lunch, but do not pack them too often. A lot of kids can get tired of sandwiches. However, you can always make sandwiches more appealing by cutting them into interesting shapes.
Don't Go Healthy if it'll Just Be Thrown Out
Only you know your child, so any advice that wouldn't fit your child should be discarded. For instance, if your child likes veggies, send as many with as possible. But if your child often throws away half his or her veggies, do not pack as much and maybe opt to focus more on serving veggies for dinner.
Separate Individual Items
If your child doesn't like it when his or her foods mix together in a bag, placing them in individual plastic bags can help. Also, Bento boxes or similar products can be helpful because they come in compartments that separate individual food items.
Don't Includet too Many Sweets
Try not to include too many sweets. Your child will be much more likely to only eat the sweets and discard everything else. It is hard to know if your child tossed a lot of his or her lunch in the garbage without a daycare worker snooping on him or her. Try to include options that taste good, but are also good for your child, such as granola bars or fruit.
Add an Incentive to Open the Lunch Box
Pack extra things in your kid's lunch box that let's him or her know that you are thinking of him or her. For instance, leave a note reminding him or her of a joke he or she likes. Leave a small, inexpensive toy inside as a surprise periodically so your child is more likely to want to look inside the lunch box.
For more tips or assistance, contact resources such as Mendon Child Care Ctr.
Share3 February 2016
