I have two kids in school, in grades six and four, and they take a packed lunch to school every day, except for the blessed respite of twice-monthly pizza lunches. Which means I?ve made about 10 million lunches?or that?s how it feels. And although part of my professional life involves encouraging parents to feed their kids healthy food, I?m not immune to food-prep burnout.
But I recently heard something that made me swell with hope. A couple of friends were describing a nirvana where kids take over lunch-packing duty, as in, they make their own lunches, from top to bottom. Could it be true" Could it work in my home" I asked the kids, and to my surprise, they said they were into the idea. So we decided to try it out. Here?s how it went. Illustration: Alixandriya Schafer
Day 1
Esme wraps some pre-made egg salad in a tortilla and stuffs it into a zip-top bag, no problem. I pull out a small container and ask her to fill it with vegetables. I have to avert my eyes from the way she butchers a red pepper. I put a tortilla on the counter for Julian, and he covers the entire surface with bacon. I teach him that he needs to place the fillings in the middle so it will roll more tidily. I end up rolling it myself.
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