School Lunch Period Can Serve As Nutrition Testing Ground

Parents can encourage a lifetime of healthy eating by using school lunch options as a testing ground for good food decisions.

"Students in middle and high school get to make more of their own lunch choices, so it's important to make their options a topic of conversation," said Joan Carter, a registered dietitian at the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "It's a great opportunity to discuss the importance of making food choices that help their bodies feel and perform their best versus simply satisfying hunger."

For many children, choosing what to have for lunch at school is the first time they have total responsibility for what they eat.

"Starting with middle school, a student can choose to bring a sack lunch, eat in the cafeteria or pick something up at the snack bar," said Carter. "Parents can help influence good decisions by discussing all these options."

Carter recommends that parents get a copy of the school menu and talk about which days the child will eat a lunch from home, in the cafeteria or at the snack bar. The child still has the responsibility, but she also has the information and support needed to make good choices, she said.

And, Carter stressed, it's important to remember that the school lunch is only one meal of the day.

"The nutritional quality of a child's diet is determined by the sum of all foods and beverages consumed over several days," she said. "So, if you send your child off to school after having a good breakfast, and prepare a healthy, balanced meal in the evening, just accept the fact that your child is going to choose an occasional school snack bar lunch of burgers and chips and don't worry."

Carter said offering a healthy breakfast and evening meal has another added benefit.

"If kids associate eating healthy foods at home with positive feelings, they are more likely to choose healthy foods when they have the chance to decide for themselves," she said.