Good Nutrition should be a key factor when deciding what to put in your child’s lunch box. It does not, however, have to be a source of stress for parents. It does require that we get organized and creative. To keep it simple we have created a few handy tips that hopefully will make this easier for you.

Plan lunches before your weekly grocery shop.

Make out a list of what you will prepare for lunches in the up and coming week. Organization goes a long

 way in making your life easier.

Freeze it or dump it!

I don’t know about you but I do not always make the best of my left over’s. It is understandable that your children don’t want to eat the same thing day after day. But you can cook a bit more of what you are preparing and freeze it in small containers that will fit in your kids lunch boxes. Then you can rotate what you are giving them to keep it healthy and interesting, while simplifying things for yourself.

Capitalise while preparing dinner by incorporating tomorrow’s lunch.
While in the kitchen preparing your family's dinner, use the time to get tomorrows lunch underway.

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good "the morning after," like; pasta, fried chicken or quiche. Plenty of kids like cold chicken. You can peel carrots and cut them up and leave them in water over night to keep them fresh.

There are a number of easy meal plans that you can find for free on the internet, Watch this space and we will advise you.

Chicken Soup for the soul

There is nothing nicer then feeling a tummy with nice warm soup from a thermos on a cold day. You can make minestrone, vegetable or chicken soup. Again when you prepare soup make extra and freeze it. Then defrost the night before, heat in the morning and wa-lah!

Let the kids participate in preparing their lunches. It goes a long way when you can teach your child a life skill to be self sufficient while making your life easier and less stressful. Don’t you agree? Your children can prepare their own lunch or help you prepare by putting things in their lunch box, the evening, before that do not require refrigeration. They can also choose their own snacks. This will also teach your children about making healthy choices for themselves.

Fast Food

It can be tempting to buy your kids fast food and once in a while it is okay if it gets you out of a bind. Surely they will consider it a nice treat. For the most part it is usually fattening and unhealthy. The amount of sodium, fat and preservatives used to keep down the price and guarantee and long shelf life is not what you want your children eating when you can avoid it.

Physical activity is so important for children of all ages. 

When you are active with your children it helps develop their bodies, as well as, their minds. It does not only help to develop and strengthen muscles and skeletal development but also gross motor skills (like throwing, catching and kicking a ball) but also more delicate skills (like eye hand co-ordination.

Any kind of skills that your child’s learns and experiences success at will help build self-esteem. Feeling competent at anything you do is positive and motivates you to do more. Playing physical games and outdoor activities are healthy physically as well as emotionally. It is also just another way in which you can connect with you child and spend quality time together while creating memories that will last for a lifetime.

Active Movement and Physical Fitness help your child to:                

• Move and develop additional communication tools.
• Feel healthy and happy.
• Feel competent and loved
• Develop intellectually
• Develop socially

 Be an Active Role model

Parents and caregivers send messages about movement and learning when they are physically active with children. Being active and playing with children gives adults an opportunity to encourage children and give constant genuine positive reinforcement.

For the most part children aspire to be like their role models so are you sending great message by exercising and participating in sports. Children watch the things that we say and do.

Self-Esteem is Important

Exercise and movement get endorphins’ going which is very conducive to feeling happy. It is also a known fact that people sleep better when they have been outdoors, breathing fresh air and getting exercise. Try and think about how everyone feels after spending time on the beach or at the swimming pool. Children need to be active and they are less likely to get into trouble or engage in naughty behaviour when they are engaged. 

The following activities are just some simply ideas;

• Walk on the sand at the beach. This is great for balance, general fitness and strengthening ankles.
• Walk on the side walk and balance on the cracks or on the curb.
• Kick a ball around.
• Walk up hills in the park or mountains.

All of this contributes to your child’s self esteem. The more they repeat and get good at these things the better they will feel about themselves. The success that children feel as they learn to master a new skills all contribute to holistic health.

If your child is doing something that might be dangerous, express your concern and ask them if they have an idea as to how this activity can be done safely. This is the perfect opportunity to make some positive suggestions and help your child reach a positive conclusion. It is not enough to tell your child “well done” be more specific. Try saying something like “I really think that you did a great job kicking the ball all the way back to me.” This is genuine acknowledgement.

Focus on the improvement and the things that your child does well and do not stress or even point out what they are not doing well. Remember to mind your facial expressions and body language. Body language is very apparent to children and they know when you are truly enthusiastic. Thumbs up and a smile followed by a hug mean so much. You can share the experience and talk about how fun it was. Affection is so important to every child and their sense of well being.