Don't panic over packing child's lunch

If you don't know what to put in your child's lunch box, look to the wide variety of lunch boxes out there for inspiration.

Insulated bags and boxes often come with separate compartments to keep food at different temperatures, and everything in its place. And there's plenty of room for individual tiny containers, so kids can have fun "making" their own food.

"I've had four kids, and if the lunches are fun, parents aren't going to get resistance," says Kit Bennett, founder of the family advice site AmazingMoms.com. "It's worth a little bit of extra effort the night before if you know you are providing healthy food."

For example, in an insulated, multi-compartment lunch box, pack a "make your own taco" kit, complete with lettuce, shredded cheese, meat and salsa your child can use to assemble a have-it-your-way healthy Mexican meal. Or instead of assembling a sandwich yourself, pack the ingredients separately and let your child put it all together at lunch (or eat it in deconstructed fashion).

Of course, you'll need to make sure you're packing foods your child likes in the first place.

"Get kids involved so they are more likely to eat it," suggests Deanna Cook, director of creative development for FamilyFun magazine. "I often talk with my kids about how lunch went that day. I ask them if there was something someone else had that looked good."

Several times a year Cook even joins her daughters, ages 6 and 10, for lunch at school to see what their peers are eating.

Many parents are inclined to underestimate how adventurous their children's palates are. But if your family is like many today who eat out more, often at ethnic restaurants, your child already may have expanded tastes. So don't be afraid to borrow some ideas.

Bennett said her kids enjoy Asian and Mediterranean foods, so she has packed sushi, falafel and Greek salads. And the once-exotic hummus is now so mainstream many children enjoy it as a dip for vegetables.

Once you've sussed out what the little ones want, put as much energy into finding appealing and functional ways of packing it.

Let your children help select their lunch boxes. Many lunch box companies now sell models intended to be customized, either with craft supplies or professional monograming done when they are ordered.

The food itself can be fun, too. Bennett likes to pack lunches with themes. For "zoology," cut your child's sandwich with a lion or bear cookie cutter. Add "bugs" on a log (cream cheese filled celery with raisins on top) and decorate a banana with monkey stickers. If Bennett is going for a circus theme, she'll add sides of popcorn and animal crackers.

She also keeps a stockpile of comic strips, riddles, jokes and Mad Libs and includes one with the lunch.

It sounds like a lot of extra work, but it doesn't have to be.

"Get organized. A little bit of effort on the weekend can save you a lot of stress," says Bennett said. "Keep everything in one place so you aren't running around in the morning looking for things."