01 Nov 21 Kids Tell Us What They Want In Their Lunchbox

Do you have lunchbox fatigue? Dreading that late night or early morning lunch packing?  Here’s a little insight into what 21 of our reader’s kids want to see more of in their lunch boxes. Some are actually pretty surprising. 

It can be hard to extract information out of some primary kids, but the one thing they all seem to have in common is the ability to request specific lunches.

So what do they want?

Jokes! My son asks for a joke in his lunchbox now. I left him a knock-knock joke in his lunchbox one day and now it’s turned into a bit of a tradition. “Knock-knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad it’s lunch time?” He loves it! – Jacqui

Apples cut into fours (halves are a no go for him), strawberries because Spiderman eats them, cheese and crisps (his muscles grow because of them) and 1 sandwich square…simply because his tummy told him – Kylie

“Only pasta”, that’s penne pasta with no sauce, Bolognese or otherwise. If it was up to her, she’d eat only pasta for brekkie, lunch and dinner. – Yomarie

Homemade sausages rolls, choc bliss balls, and a good old vegemite sandwich cut into triangles, NOT squares… or else there’s trouble! – Melissa

Banana-Grams! I scratch a message onto the skin of a banana using a toothpick. At first the message can’t be read, but by lunchtime it darkens enough for it to be visible, which gets my child excited about lunch and reading. – Kath

My sons love popcorn necklaces that they can wear and snack as they go over lunch. So cute! I thread them onto floss as a double win so they can clean their teeth afterwards . – Sara

Only a ham and lettuce sandwich cut into shapes, because she wants to eat the bare minimum so she gets maximum play time. – Lisa

Homemade sushi or rice balls, hard boiled eggs that have been shaped in an egg mould, the chicken one is a favourite. – Colleen

Fruit kebabs, Greek yoghurt, baby cucumbers, carrot dippers, homemade hummus, and rice crackers. My daughters not a big sandwich fan so we dabble with lots of different ideas like lettuce wraps. – Helen

Chicken Nuggets. My son asks for them for every dinner and occasionally breakfast! We once went on a 12 day cruise and he ate nuggets EVERY night! – Paul

Homemade banana and choc chip muffins. Although my son doesn’t know it’s got banana in it. We keep that bit quiet! He’s also been into cheese and veggie muffins too as he thinks it takes too long to eat a sandwich and doesn’t get enough play time. – Jason

Cheese and olive jaffles. My daughter likes toasted sangas better than bread sandwiches because the fillings stay in and don’t fall out as she’s running around the playground. – Judith

Dinner left-overs. My boys love taking their thermos to keep their food warm. They love pin wheels, potato pie, lasagne and fried rice. – Rebecca

Cheese and vegemite roll or cheese and bacon rolls are my son’s favourite and a nice change from sandwiches every now and then. – Julia

My boy asks for yummy drummies from the school canteen every lunch order chance he gets… otherwise sausages. – Sevi

Popping Candy, chocolate and Whiz Fizz; I counter with suggesting a trip to the dentist and we compromise with a cheese and salad sandwich. – Joanna

Fairy bread. They can’t get enough of it…and neither can I. We all love it. – Karina

My Kindergarten daughter loves her Mayo and Cheese sandwiches cut into dinosaur shapes. – Hayley

Tiny Teddies with the 100’s and 1000’s on them – Charisse

A Vegemite Sandwich EVERY SINGLE DAY… – Rebecca

Whatever their friend had the day before! – Kerrie

What do your kids like seeing when they open their lunchbox? Feel free to add to the list in the comments.

Thanks to our Facebook community for sharing their kid’s lunchbox tips with us – lots of great ideas to try!

Compiled by Jenna Templeton / Images by Baked Bree + Krishnam Moosaddee + Gucki