I was lunchbox shamed at a preschool

Lunch box shaming is something that some parents can relate to. Like your child’s teacher calling you aside to talk about the food you pack for how child, how it’s not healthy enough. Kids too do suffer lunchbox shaming from fellow students/pupils.

There are few parenting shames greater than being told the food you are giving your children is not up to scratch.

IN A NEW SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

My third child started preschool while I was living in Tokyo — the only non-Japanese kid in the class — and I learnt the hard way that making a school lunch in Japan is not only about a full stomach, or even nutrition. It is an artform.

One afternoon when I went to pick up my little son, the teacher called me aside. All the staff at the school had noted a problem with the food I had packed that day, he said.

“Sandwiches,” the teacher told me, “are not appropriate because they are not healthy.”

MY CHILD’S TEACHER COMPLAINED

He took out his phone and up flashed a picture of my son’s school lunch. Together we peered at the image: two wholemeal vegemite sandwiches (the jar had been carefully, lovingly, carried to Tokyo from

Sydney), a banana, a cheese stick, slices of capsicum and carrot and a home-made muffin.

I had to admit that it looked very yellow.

I told him this was a pretty typical lunch for a young child where I came from — so what should I do differently?

The teacher promptly produced more photographs on his phone. “These,” he told me by way of explanation, “are some of the lunchboxes that other children brought with them today.”

REAL FOOD NOT BOX FULL OF SNACKS

I scrolled past elaborate combinations of food featuring balls of rice that had been crafted to look like Japanese cartoon characters — Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, Doraemon, Pikachu.

These rice sculptures with sweet faces cut from seaweed and cheese were nestled into an elaborate landscape of food. There were eggs in special shapes, sausages sliced to look like an octopus, “flowers” made from carrot or ham and toothpicks with tiny ladybugs on the end that held together artfully rolled pieces of omelette. Cherry tomatoes and florets of broccoli filled out the gaps.

I thought the teacher was joking: it could not be possible that any parent would produce such a thing for a preschooler’s lunch. I waited for him to burst out laughing — gotcha!

But the teacher’s face was stern.

WHAT I LEARNT ABOUT KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCH

I discovered that many  mothers believe the beauty of the lunchbox reflects the love they have for their child. It is important for bringing joy to his or her day and encouraging picky kids to eat healthy food.

In other words, my sad lunchbox effort did not just expose my sloppy cooking skills, it implied I was not a good enough mother. Ouch.

Each lunch box is created with a set of important principles in mind: at least four colours should be present (low marks for my yellow-toned effort, then), a careful ratio of protein, starch and vegetables must be planned, and a design created that is visually appealing and yet firmly packed to prevent it from being damaged in transit.

The perfect box, we were taught, comprises about 50 per cent rice, 25 per cent protein and 25 per cent vegetables.

 

CHECK OUT THIS Nigerian school lunchbox timetable for four weeks.

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