HAVE you heard that classic parenting advice – don’t tell your child to put their shoes on, ask them which pair of shoes they’d like to wear.
The theory is, if they have ownership over a part of the decision, they’re far happier to comply.
Well, one mum has applied this principle to lunch boxes, and both her kids and other mums have gone wild for the idea.
Rachel, from Canada, operates a lunch “bin system” giving her children control over what ends up in their packed lunch.
She explained that she came up with the idea after her children said they were “sick of sandwiches”.
The savvy mum now lines up seven “bins” each with a different type of food, so her children can choose their meal, and it makes mornings far quicker and easier.
There is a “bin” for meat, vegetables, fruit, carbohydrates, dairy, a “fast snack”, a bit of junk food and something they baked for their lunch.
Writing on Facebook, Rachel said: “When my kids complained they were sick of sandwiches, it reminded me that as mums, we all need new ideas for our kids and should help one another out.
“It’s also a great way to give your kids more independence, they love helping to shop and portion the boxes out too.
“Each bin is trying to ensure the total gives a balanced diet.
“Granted, some items are not 100 per cent healthy, but they are better than the fast food many are eating.”
The simple system can be replicated by anyone with a few Tupperware boxes, Rachel explained that the numbers on the front of each “bin” represent how many items the children should take from that section.
From the junk food bin the kids are allow one item each, and these include things like popcorn, pretzels or vegetable straws.
The carbohydrates bin includes goodies like bread sticks, bread or rice crackers.
In the fruit “bin”, the children can choose between a fruit cup or fresh fruit, while the dairy selection includes Babybels, cheese cubes or yoghurt.
The meat and veg section includes sliced carrots, cucumber and chicken breast or ham.
And finally they have the choice of something they baked that week, which could be cookies, granola bars or muffins.
Rachel said: “Whatever they don’t eat at school becomes their snack when they come home.”
Other mums were blown away by the ingenuity.
One said: “Thanks so much for these wonderful suggestions! My kids hate sandwiches, it’s always a battle to figure it out in a healthy way.”
While another said: “This is great! I have two in school and one on the way. Saves so much time in the morning and my kids will actually eat their food with this.”
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In other parenting news, an expert has claimed that this is what a kids lunchbox should look like.
We also shared how an organised mum sparks debate after sharing photos of her kids’ packed lunches which she makes at 3am on Sunday mornings.
Plus organised mums share how they’ve breezed through back-to-school panic with labelling and lunchbox prep.