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Children, not parents, primarily decided contents of school lunches

The content of school lunches packed at home were heavily influenced by the child’s desires rather than the parent’s choice, with reports of concerns about price and anxieties about whether their lunch was eaten, according to findings from the United Kingdom published in the Journal of Nutritional Education and Behavior.

“School lunches play a key role in the overall nutrition of a child,” Hannah Ensaff, PhD, lecturer in nutrition at the School of Food Science and Nutrition within the University of Leeds, England, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “Depending on the relative nutrient quality of a child’s school lunch and home food provision, they can, in some instances make a substantial difference to their overall dietary intake.”

To inspect the process of preparing children’s school lunches and the factors that influence parents’ choices regarding these lunches, the researchers conducted a qualitative study that included a semistructured focus group. The researchers also conducted individual interviews with members of the focus group, which included 19 mothers and one father.

Ensaff and colleagues recognized categories and themes from the interviews and the focus group by using an inductive thematic approach, and internal discussion and review was conducted by the researchers until an agreement was reached on the information provided.

Those who were interviewed had children within four primary schools located in urban settings in the U.K. Free school meals were given below the national average for two of these schools (16.8% and 13.3%), whereas two schools had participation that ranked above the national average (18.3% and 22.5%).

All parents included in the analysis frequently made lunches for their children, all of whom were aged between 5 and 11 years. A nearly even split was observed between girls and boys, and most households that participated in the study included two parents and two children. The families were predominantly white, British and had a degree.

Analysis revealed that children, not parents, were the primary decision-makers about what was included in their lunches. This ranged from parents considering their children’s food preferences to inquiring about what items the child would like while making their lunch. Some children made specific requests regarding the contents of their school lunches while grocery shopping. If a child did not like an item included in their lunch, parents reported that the children were “not shy about giving feedback about anything they do not like.”

The most important concern of the parents, according to the researchers, was whether their child ate their lunch. Other important concerns were that parents included a treat with the justification of whether it was similar in size and type compared with what was provided in a school lunch. Additionally, parents tended to include these treats in their children’s lunches because other children would have them.

An added concern was the price of the packed lunch. Parents often selected items while shopping that were on sale, in addition to making sure that their child would enjoy the item. Prepackaged lunch items were generally avoided because of their price but would be considered for special occasions.

Furthermore, parents expressed several anxieties related to packing their children’s school lunches, including whether they were interesting to the child and whether they were eaten; however, packing their children’s lunches allowed parents to observe their children’s eating habits and change contents, if needed, based on what was left in the lunchbox. This reassurance was not held by parents whose children received school lunches.

According to the study, school lunch policies were in place for the four schools. The knowledge of these policies, however, varied. Parents recognized that chips, chocolate and soda were not allowed in packed lunches and generally supported this guidance. Although these policies prohibited “all the things you would assume,” parents were unsure whether these rules could be enforced because the contents of school lunches were ultimately the responsibility of the parent packing them.

“Positive recommendations and suggestions are valuable for interested parents in improving the variety of what they provide in packed school lunches,” Ensaff said. “Quite often, positive changes can include involving children in the preparation, making contents easy to eat and introducing any changes gradually, including the exclusion of some foods. With regards to the foods themselves, it is important to consider that parents play a critical role, and one of the best strategies is to model the food choice behaviors and practices that they would like to see in their children.” – by Katherine Bortz

Disclosures

: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.