By Meg Hodson
I've been hearing about a disturbing fact, at least from my children at school. School lunches are rushed, they are fast, and sometimes they don't have enough time to finish their lunch.
When my children get home from school, they know their first task is to put away their lunch boxes. Sometimes, there are leftover items. Now, I know sometimes children get full or distracted and don't finish their lunches. But almost always, their reason for why they still have food in their lunch boxes is that they didn't have enough time to finish.
I suppose I can understand why the lunch hour might be shortened. It's an already tight schedule to the school day and with even tighter budgets for the classroom, they might want to make the most of classroom time. But I also know that kids need proper nutrition. My kids are crazy if they don't have ample food on a regular basis! If children don't have the proper food that they need, their attention span in class will surely wane.
And my kids are good eaters, not too picky at all. I can only imagine what the picky kid eaters are going through at lunch. Are they even getting a full meal?
I interviewed my daughter about her school cafeteria, but this topic had not been an issue when I interviewed her. It most definitely is now.
Bottom line: I don't like when kids are rushed to do anything, especially when it comes to eating their lunch. Shouldn't we be developing a healthy relationship between our children and food? Food should be enjoyed, not rushed. We should enjoy the process of nourishing our bodies and instilling that mantra in our children.
