How to Get Kids to Help Pack Their Lunches

Mornings can be hectic, especially if you have to make lunch for your child or children. But by getting your kids to make their own lunches, you can free up time for yourself. There are many ways you can do this, like by involving your kids in lunch decisions, turning lunch making into a game or challenge, or encouraging lunch packing with rewards.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Getting Your Kids Involved

1
Let your kids pick out lunchboxes or bags. Your children will be more excited to bring their lunch to school if they have a lunchbox or lunch bag that has a design they like on it. For example, your children might choose one with a favorite cartoon character.^{[1]XResearch source}
- You should also consider buying lunch boxes with built in dividers. Many children do not like their food mixed up, and these lunchbox compartments will also make packing lunch easier for your kids.^{[2]XResearch source}
2
Have your kids help you shop. When making your shopping list, ask your kids to contribute. You might ask them to choose a vegetable, fruit, and so on to add to your shopping list. When your kids feel like they had an active part in lunchtime decisions, they'll be more likely to want to continue helping by packing their own lunch.
- When shopping, you can continue this involvement by having your kids help you find items as you shop.^{[3]XResearch source}
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3
Prep lunch items with your kids. Some foods, like vegetables, may need to be cut into smaller pieces before putting them in a plastic baggie for lunch. Do prep work with your kids ahead of time so that they can grab these prepared items and assemble their lunches quickly and easily.^{[4]XResearch source}
- You can pre-cut items, like vegetables, fruits, and so on, then put them in re-sealable containers. Store these in your fridge for lunches throughout the week.
4
Create a lunch packing station with your kids. When kids are given something, they often become possessive of it. Use this to your advantage, and make a lunch packing station for your kids to make them more invested in making their own lunch. Some ideas for a lunch packing station include:^{[5]XResearch source}
- Allocating some cabinet space for your kids' snacks. For younger kids, you may want to put these in easily accessible containers (like open-topped baskets) on easy to reach shelves.
- Using a separate shelf for lunchboxes and clean plastic containers. This way, your kids always know where to store and find their lunchbox and plastic containers.
- Use safe labeling techniques to differentiate shelf space between kids, to designate lunch boxes, plastic containers, and so on.
- You can also turn this into a craft and get your kids involved by allowing them to add personal decorations (within reason) to their lunch packing station.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Incorporating Games or Challenges

1
Decide on a game or challenge. There are many different games you might use so that lunch making is more enjoyable for your kids. You could have a time attack game, where every day your kids try to make their lunch as quickly as possible. You might also:
- Use "lunch goals." For example, for one week, you might set the lunch goal of "making a healthy lunch" or "making the most delicious sandwich."
- Create a challenge where you tell your kids what ingredients they can use. Then have them create their own lunch from those ingredients.
2
Add special limits or conditions to keep things interesting. This is also an effective technique for coaching good habits, like time management and cleanliness, in your kids. If you have less time than usual, you might add the special limit of, "all lunches must be made in less than 10 minutes." If you've noticed your kids haven't been cleaning up after themselves, you might add the condition, "the kitchen must be clean after making lunch."
- By calling these "limits" and "conditions," or giving them a special name, it'll sound less like you're telling your kids what to do, which may make them more willing to participate.^{[6]XResearch source}
- An example of a special name you might use for a time limit could be "The Final Countdown." You could even play the song "The Final Countdown," which contains these lyrics, during the time limit to make it more fun.
3
Award points and encourage your kids' progress. Most games or challenges involve completing activities to win points. These points don't have to be exchanged for anything special, like a prize, but can be a useful way of tracking progress.
- When you notice your kids doing especially well and earning many points, tell them what a great job they're doing.
- You can award points any way you see fit. For example, you might award one point for packing veggies, one point for fruit, one point for a sandwich, one point for cleaning up, and so on.
- You may want to make a point chart, so your kids can see their progress. Hang this chart somewhere visible, and mark points earned each day.^{[7]XResearch source}
4
Encourage healthy competition among your kids. A little bit of competition might be just the thing to engage your kids in their lunch making. Beyond that, competition will likely lead to the job getting done faster. Do this by praising the efforts of your kids as they learn and develop good lunch packing habits.
- Involve your kids in their own lunch making improvement by asking questions like, "how do you think you could pack your lunch better?" or "is there anything that would help you make your lunches more easily?"
- Be sure to focus your praise on the applied effort of your children, on their work ethic, on their improvement in certain areas, and so on. This will help prevent children who are lower performers from feeling like they are not as good as higher performers.^{[8]XResearch source}
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Encouraging Lunch Packing with Rewards

1
Establish clear, firm limits for rewards. Make sure you kids know exactly what the consequences are for not packing their lunch. For instance, you could institute a "three strikes rule," where if they don't pack their lunch three times in a week, they lose privileges.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Be firm with your limits for rewards. Even if your kids beg or throw a tantrum, calmly remind them of the rules and their decision to not follow them. Stick to your limits.
2
Have your kids earn privileges through lunch packing. This is a great skill for kids to learn even at a young age. Privileges, like TV time, video game time, and even sports, cost money. Even though your kids can't contribute money, they can help out by packing their own lunches. Some privileges you might have your children earn through lunch packing include:
- Doing a hobby (like chess, music, model building, etc.)
- Participating in sports
- Playing tabletop games (like board games or cards)
- Playing video games
- Playing with friends
- Watching TV^{[10]XResearch source}
3
Set weekly and monthly rewards. This is good way to encourage consistency in your kids. By setting a weekly or monthly reward for not missing a day of lunch packing, you'll encourage your kids to pack their lunches every day. Some ideas for weekly and monthly rewards include:
- A favorite dinner or desert
- A new video game
- A new book
- A small party with friends
- A trip to the movie theatre
4
Set up a calendar or progress board somewhere visible. Many children respond well to visual confirmation of their progress. Display a calendar or progress board on a visible surface, like on your refrigerator or a prominent wall.
- You may want to use a special colored felt tipped marker, stickers, stamps, or some other similar marker to indicate on your calendar or progress chart when your kids have completed their lunch making responsibility.
- By using a calendar or progress chart, your children will not only be reminded of their lunch making responsibility, but they'll also see the direct correlation between their efforts and their progress.
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Tips

Keep in mind, just as you are sometimes overwhelmed packing lunches and getting ready in the morning, sometimes your kids will be, too. In these cases, let your kids know that you have trouble sometimes as well, and work through the difficult morning together.
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