A Third Of Parents Eat Kids’ Lunchbox Leftovers For Dinner

Most parents go out of their way to try to get their kids to eat healthy, nutritious foods, but just because we buy them, prepare them and serve them doesn’t mean they’ll actually eat them. This is painfully obvious when their lunchboxes come home at the end of the school day, still holding the veggies, nuts or other good for them foods they refused to eat. A new survey finds that parents estimate 21% of their kids’ lunch comes back uneaten after school.

According to the poll of 2-thousand parents with school-age children:

• Moms and dads are trying to give their little ones good food, and 17% of parents say their child’s lunch is much more gourmet than what they had as a kid.
• More than four in 10 (43%) of parents say today’s school lunches are healthier than theirs ever were and 28% say they have more variety.
• When those lunchbox rejects come back home, a third of parents eat them for dinner, a quarter offer them for a snack, some put leftovers back in the fridge or pantry (22%), but 41% admit they just throw them away.
• The most popular lunches for kids include the classic combo of sandwich (61%), chips (56%) and juice (52%).
• Parents say kids’ least favorite lunch foods include snap peas (40%), green beans (36%), tuna salad (36%) and hard-boiled eggs (32%).
• Moms and dads prioritize nutrients (54%), taste (45%) and cost (33%) when food shopping for their kids, and say their kids prefer quick foods (50%), fresh foods (38%), food they can pack themselves (31%) and non-messy foods (30%) in their lunches.
• To entice their kids to eat healthy stuff, parents know the trick is in the presentation, so they buy things with fun packaging (31%), and rely on cute containers and lunchboxes (24%).

Read the article at Talker