Awesome School Lunch Ideas (Kids Will Love!)

We solved our peanut butter issue with a product called WOW BUTTER it’s a soy based product that my daughter actually asks for over peanut butter at home. since our school doesn’t allow actual peanut butter due to several severely allergic children we gave it a try.

FYI the WOW butter comes with labels that identify it as non-nut butter. If you lift the jar label where indicated, you will find a set of small square labels meant to go on lunch containers.

your school has a microwave?!? that would make life a million times earlier……

My kids school serves hot lunch for $3 a meal. Never would they allow a meal brought from home to be heated at school an adult would have to run the microwave first and second it would take away hundreds of dollars from hot lunch program if kids could bring their own hot lunch.

I agree about the schools going overboard with the “healthy” lunches. The school my youngest daughter goes too has that “healthy initiative” program and the kids are ALWAYS throwing away the fruit/veggie cups that come with their meal. I never agreed with it b/c you can’t control what they eat at home for breakfast or dinner. IMO – that school lunch isn’t going to make a difference – and it is NOT as healthy as they make it out to be either.

I wish when I was in school I had use of a microwave

I am glad to hear there is still a school left in the world that lets you send peanut products to school. It has become an epidemic in our country (Canada) that no one is allowed any peanut product at all because there may be a child who has allergies. I understand the difficulity it is for a parent that has such a child but I often wonder what is going to happen to them when they get out in the world, after all not one place of work is going to dictate to workers what they can and can not eat. They will have to rely on themselves to keep their hands clean and not place them in their mouths I guess. I also love celery sticks with peanut butter in them 🙂

My kid has 12 food allergies. Should I consider everyone inconsiderate because she might die at the sight of a strawberry? Sorta just have to go on faith with some things. We do all we can as parents and hope and pray for that which is out of our control. My two cents.

I understand your concern about the peanut allergy with your child. But, it is a two sided coin. I have a child that can not eat, and relies on a feeding tube for his nutrition. I make his meals that go through his feeding tube, and peanut butter is one of the ingredients that I use for numerous reasons (it is actually prescribed by the doctor and dietician to be used for him). Because of schools going peanut free, my child is not able to “eat” at school and is expected to go from 8am-3:15pm with only water to drink. I don’t have a solution, but I think getting rid of peanuts/tree nuts is not the best option. Why should my child suffer and be put at risk so others are safe? Obviously the schools have to chose 1 group over the other – but how do you make the decision that Little Sally is more important than Little Billy?

My daughter has a peanut allergy as well. The school is carefull, and she is to, not sit next to someone with foods that have nuts. It is NOT easy. Accidently eating a peanut, or getting peanut butter, on her food could kill her, and almost has. Having a peanut allergy can be deadly, and HAS killed many kids. I have to watch her like a hawk. Most people just don’t “get” it. It can be wierd foods that you wouldn’t think contain nuts. I have educated her from a very early age that she will have to look out for herself. As soon as she could sound out words, I had her start reading labels with me. I have her practice giving herself epipen injections, with the practice pen. The parent that has the child requiring a feeding tube, I understand why peanut butter would be prescribed, as it has a high caloric content and has protein, however, certainly he, or she does not live on peanut butter alone.

As a mom whose child recently was cleared from his allergy I understand your frustration. It is a terrifying idea, the thought of something so trivial as a peanut could kill your child and for people not to be understanding about it, is very frustrating. That is one of the reasons we must teach our own children very clearly about not sharing food and the harm it will cause them. My sons reaction was to the peanut butter itself in that form. I get it. Never apologize for another’s lack of empathy towards your situation.

Shame on you selfish people! My daughter will die if she accidentally ingests peanuts! Why is so hard for others to keep the peanuts at home?? Thankful our school bans nuts and other peanut-like products.
My heart aches when I see negative comments for our little children who we are trying so desperately to protect and live as much a normal life as possible. Bringing a peanut butter sandwich to school is no different than bringing a loaded gun.

When I was going through school, and no it wasn’t that long ago, right from grade primary we had kids in my class and in school that had nut allergies. I am not the only one in the school to eat peanut butter sandwiches, just about every day..and trust me, I didn’t like them that much..lol. But that is what my parents could afford. I sat right next to one boy who was allergic to peanut butter, every day for 2 years, primary and one, and is the same class right though all. No one even knew he was allergic, until after we graduated!! The thing is his parents taught him very early in life about is allergy, and to never take other peoples food, only want his parents packed for him. Yup, he is still kicking!! I also have a daughter now who goes to a middle school 6-9 and not only is it peanut free, but fish free. So, I guess I can see your point, to a point, let the little ones be safe, and be in a peanut free school..but really, once you hit the 12-15 age arrange..these kids SHOULD know not to touch, share or even go near what they are allergic too. My girl only likes peanut butter and tuna sandwiches..she is 15..come on..by then the parents had better educate their children. My daughter goes without lunch most day..she is picky and the hot “healthy” lunch at school are gross! On another note my daughter also has someone on her bus to school, an elementary school on the way to her school, that this child gets dropped off at, that even peanut butter on someone’s breath could harm them..so yes, brush your teeth really well, just before going on the bus..That I get!! Only because she is young..maybe 7, but come one when she gets older is everyone around her going to have to wear a face mask! NO she will have to..hopefully she will out grow the severity of this before she has to go and get a job? Just my option on this subject, everyone has one, and I respect them all. 🙂

my son’s allergic to milk – ban that too? ridiculous.

Wow!! Allergy bullying?? I hadn’t heard that one. I guess there are a million ways to be bullied these days.

My son is 9 now and we found out about his peanut allergy at 9 months.. yes, 9 months, when his dad ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and kissed him on the cheek. Since then he had gone into anaphylactic shock twice.. TWICE i almost lost him. When they are that little they do not know better, the parents and adults are responsible for the health and safety of the kids. Yes there are other allergens and i am not belittling them. what makes a peanut allergy so different is that peanuts become dust and all it takes is a very small amount of the peanut dust to get on an allergic child’s food to spark a reaction. So it may not your child, but if you are responsible for the child at some point during the day, whether it be school, daycare, babysitting, you need to keep that child safe. My son is 9 now and he knows to check every label. If he is given something that does not have a label, he asks an adult and if the adult is not sure even in the least he does not eat it. He cannot eat anything made in a bakery, at all, including birthday cakes at birthday parties made at wegmans, BJs, etc. We are okay with that because he is safe that way. As they get older, they learn what to look for, they learn to check labels every time even if it is something they have had 100 times. Because the factories where foods are made sometimes change their ways of manufacturing or include different items. He cannot have anything that is produced in a factory with peanuts or anything. We are okay with that, he has learned to live with it and to function in the real world.. but when you are talking about elementary school kids, they just dont know better. His school allows peanut butter to be brought in. He sits at a peanut/tree nut free table. This table is washed with its own separate rag and everything separate from the rest of the tables. He is allowed to have friends sit at his table with him as long as they are buying lunch in school and not from home (this way they can monitor if anyone accidentally brings something with peanuts)

I live in Canada too, and my JK son was sent to the office over something that “may contain nuts”. I think that certain schools should allow themselves the option of allowing nuts. I know many autistic children who will only eat something with peanut butter on it. What will they do come school time?

with all due respect i do not think it selfish for a child to want to eat their favourite lunch and to be able to do so at school.
“once in the workforce” is very old , in fact too old to learn good habits. children can be educated from preschool age.
one child”s medical condition should not limit the enjoyment of others to a regular life.
my child has congenital bowel defects but the entire class doesnt miss recess or stay in the bathroom for 40 + minutes each day because he does, and if my son isnt careful and we do not monitor him well he , too, can die. an ill child is a terrrible thing and i mean no harm to yours and no disrespect, but , my point is that my son”s health is threatened by food such as corn, strawberries and raw broccolli and cauliflower. i would never ask others to NOT eat them in his presence, even though he loves them and will be tempted, but i have taught my son to be responsible for his intake and instilled the importance of his health.

a four year old is young, but not too young to know to ask, “does that have peanuts? ” better yet, DO NOT accept food from others, a simple rule that child can follow and teacher can enforce.
in my kids classes teacher had a peanut butter table, so that those who should avoid it , would, and all hands were washed properly. educating all kids is best way, not to throw th baby our witht he bathwater, or offending food out of the life of all kids.

Nothing selfish about parents wanting to send lunches their kids will eat. many feel parents forcing everyone to adapt for their one child is selfish. However, there are many pb substitutes on the market these days. WoW Butter for one is so close to the real thing I have made cookies with it. Both sides need to co-operate but I don’t agree with everyone doing without for one or 2 kids. Where does it stop?

REALLY!!! ARE YOU KIDDING!! It is your job to teach your child as soon as they understand and can read! Not every other child in the school!! WOW! If you educated your child long BEFORE they become adults, this issue would not be a problem..and if you can’t do that, keep them home, it is called home schooling. People/ children have had these allergies for many,many, many,years, but now because their parents don’t want to do the work, every other child in a school, of hundreds, has to be told want they can and can not eat. In my day, it was the child with the allergy who was told what and how to eat!! My goodness, teach your child, and we will teach ours about these allergies! By the way, I have already down with my daughter, starting went she went to daycare, 14 years ago!!

There are so many issues we as parents face. I think the major issue for me is that not all children are accommodated in the safest way possible, and we all want what’s best of our children. I see no mention in the thread of Juvenile Diabetes– I have a son who has this deadly illness and has to have each food calculated and administered insulin. Peanut butter actually is one of the best foods for him- to sustain and maintain his blood sugars so they don’t go too low and cause him to go into a coma. He can’t have peanut products at all at school. We have also asked for a diabetic friendly birthday treat list– but the school won’t share this information– they will only share the peanut free treat list- which doesn’t have the best options for him. One party last year, they specifically asked parents to bring “sugared donuts” and pop. HMMM…where is the logic and equality?

Some kids and adults are so allergic that if they even touch a surface that contained peanuts or peanut containing products they could potentially die. What if that was your child….or yourself???

Is it really too much to ask that other parents take the necessary precautions so that another child WILL NOT DIE?

Instead of being so concerned about your child not having their favorite lunch, why not talk to them about why it is not allowed and show them to have compassion for others? I know I would not be able to stand the thought of potentially harming another child over something so trivial. Look at it as a great opportunity to teach your child a valuable lesson and have fun finding alternatives!

I’m from Canada and my kids attend a nut & peanut free school. I use WOW butter for them instead: http://www.soybutter.com/. If you’re ok with soy products it’s really great. Tastes just like peanut butter, and the school allows it. Each tub comes with stickers under the label for you to put on your kids’ sandwich/wrap so that they know it was made with WOW butter. You can even make cookies and stuff with them. It’s totally nut free. My kids’ favourite is a tortilla, spread with WOW butter, then I spread strawberry jam on half the tortilla and roll up from the end that has the strawberry (put too much and it squirts out at the end lol). Cut it in half so they have two mini wraps each. They love it!! I know you can get it at Superstore and Independent.

We don’t have the option of using *anything* made with soy because of my daughter’s hypothyroidism (soy is a goitrogenic food that affects thyroid health even in people who don’t have thyroid issues. http://www.womentowomen.com/hypothyroidism/goitrogenicfoods-thyroidhealth.aspx).

She also has Type 1 diabetes (auto-immune disorder, NOT caused by diet or lack of exercise) and peanut butter works great to keep her blood sugar from going low due to the high protein content. And she likes it. Low blood sugar can potentially cause death just as fast as anaphylactic shock.

For the first 3 years after her diagnosis with diabetes, we home schooled so that we could keep her safe. I think that home schooling, or finding a nut free school, would set my mind at ease (as a parent…if I had a kid with severe allergies) more than anything else. And it’s really not fair for 1 kid’s health to dictate what the rest of the kids can or can not do. Should I ask that no one else bring anything high carb or sugar loaded to school because my kid might eat it and get sick from high blood sugar? Do we ask that all class parties only consist of vegetables (because fruit is high in sugar / carbs too)? If her blood sugar is low during PE, do we ask that no other kids do physical activity because her continuing with said physical activity could kill her? No. If I thought that any of that was necessary I’d keep her home with me…for her safety as well as for the fairness to others.

It really does taste like peanut butter and the container of the WOW butter has little stickers to put in your child’s lunch to inform the teachers that is lunch is made with WOW butter and not peanut butter. It’s such a good alternative and it actually has more protein then regular peanut butter.

Has a parent with a child that doesn’t have allergies, I still don’t understand the big deal of taking peanuts out of schools. These are kids and kids don’t always make the best decision so why take the chance. Just think if this was your child with the allergy would you be questioning the peanut free rule?

I just looked up WOWBUTTER. It is made from toasted soy, soy oil and granulated sugar along with monoglyceride. It may work for some who have no problem with soy in their childs diet.

I am in the U.S. and my kids are in Charter school I have made my son PB&J almost every single day during school lunch for the last couple of years. It seems the only thing he really likes for lunch. He is in High School this year and He wants PB&J again this year.. sigh. I do know he sits with the same group of boys so no one will be affected by peanut allergies. I have spoken with him constantly about being proactive to protect other kids.

There are potentially 21 meals a week – you are asked to not include pb or nut products in FIVE of these – to prevent another child being hospitalized and potentially dying. I do not think this is too much to ask.
Children who have behavioural preferences for only certain types of food can be worked with to change/adapt their preferences (food chaining, for example, is a therapeutic approach to introducing new food). Children who have anaphylactic allergies have no choice.
Parents live in fear because of the loss of control and the attitudes that are so apparent in this discussion string. My son has been hospitalized once because a TEACHERS AIDE thought it would be okay to give him pizza because she didn’t see any egg on the pizza. Imagine the phone call I got at work that my son is in the ambulance, on the way to the hospital, with difficulty breathing, vomiting and uncontrollable diarrhea. He was four, we had taught him not to accept food, we had taught him to ask, the adult responsible for him told him it would be okay.
Five meals out of 21 – show some compassion, show some kindness, support these kids and parents.

My child is VERY allergic to SOY! But, there is no restrictions for that. Our school has 1 peanut free class room per grade. Peanut free tables at lunch. It works well. She has 2 friends with nut allergies, they have had no issues at school.

If your child was the one with the allergy you wouldn’t be complaining about the fact that the schools are peanut free. Seeing your child’s face swell up so much that his eyes swelled shut plus having problems breathing is not something that you enjoy seeing. If it were you with the child, you’d be happy to know that school was one less place to worry about.

Also, for the record, my work has a list in the cafeteria where people with allergies write down what they’re allergic to so people know what to avoid having near that person. For potlucks they also include a list of allergies in order to either not bring something with that particular ingredient, or so that the person that makes it knows to put a sign in front of it saying that it contains a certain allergen.

I used to teach nutrition education to elementary students (this was just a few years ago). I did it for 3 years. Part of the program was to provide a healthy snack each visit. Over 3 years, 20 classrooms and about 500 of kids, not ONE had a peanut allergy. I went into the poorest classes in our city. I’m certain some kids are actually allergic out there, but the fact I didn’t come across one makes me wonder about the whole peanut allergy (and other allergies) epidemic. In fact, not one of these kids I saw had ANY food allergies.

Our school has a special table for kids with allergies. That way, all the other kids can still eat their food w/o fear.

I have empathy for anyone with any kind of health related issues. As mentioned on this thread there are lots of other allergies and health issues that are not addressed by schools yet the peanut allergy is and that is part of what ppl are not happy about.
Kids with allergies could sit at a different table. If there are that many kids with allergies they wouldn’t be alone.
Teach them what they can and can’t eat.
If the allergy is airborne or they can get it from touching something then how do you handle going to a store with that child? or church? or bowling? movies? playground? etc? They are going to be passing by other ppl who may have PB on their breath. They might touch someone who didn’t wash their hands after eating peanuts. The child could touch anything in the store, movie, playground, etc… that someone else touched that had peanuts or PB on their hands. They could touch money that was touched by PB hands. They are going to go to a dr or hospital where others have eaten or touched PB.
I’m not trying to be rude. Maybe these things are addressed and you do things to prevent allergic reactions in these situations. I think it is unreasonable to ask everyone to accommodate one type of allergy and not accommodate other allergies or medical conditions… such as the one who mentioned diabetes. Why can’t they have a diabetic option party? or no red-dye option? or no gluten option?
It sems it would be easier for parents to teach their children what is acceptable and what isn’t. If they are not old enough to do that then maybe you should home-school. Offering hand sanitizer to everyone, or handwashing, after lunch and a special area of the lunch room for children with allergies should be acceptable??

I’m sorry, but I felt compelled to reply to this comment. It is not a ‘difficulty’ as you say, it’s an actual life threatening reality. I’m a paediatric registered nurse and it astounds me that some people think that their right to have peanut putter for lunch somehow overshadows a child’s right to um…stay alive? Are you kidding me?? And if it was your child?
It is the parents responsibility to look out for their children….furthermore, when a child is old enough they can be taught to manage their allergy themselves. Providing people who are so narrow sighted such as yourself allow them to make it to adulthood.
Good god, what is WRONG with you??????

As a mother with an 8yr old who sadly has peanut and tree nut allergies as well as food allergies to soy, rice, corn, milk and more, I am almost in tears at the insensitivity I read here. Peanut butter sandwiches are more important than the life of my child?? Did I mention I am also a nurse?? Medically speaking the reactions from this particular allergy are scary to see, hear and are often deadly. Epipens do not insure that these children will survive. Here in California a few months ago a little girl who was 13 or 14 DIED after she took ONE bite of a chocolate covered rice krispy treat that had peanut butter under the chocolate. ONE BITE! And her father who is a Physician was there at the family camp with her and administered 3 doses of epi while waiting for emergency team to arrive. Sadly his lil girl died before they arrived. It takes ONE bite. My baby who is 8 now, had an episode of anaphylaxis in the middle of the night while we stayed in a hotel the night before my uncle’s funeral. She did not have any nuts, but perhaps someone who had stayed previously did?? Idk. all I know is my baby woke up clutching her throat and gasping for air (she was 3) and by the grace of God I hadnt been to sleep yet so I was awake.. And by a small miracle the nearest e.r. was in back of the hotel. so barefoot and crying I ran carrying my pretty babygirl to the e.r. and she was saved. I still have her with me in bed most nights out of sheer terror that what if I were asleep and hadnt heard her?!! Wake up people, this allergy is deadly!! Please help us keep our babies safe. Please!!!

My sons go to a school in rural Missouri, and peanut butter is actually what the school feeds them if their lunch account goes below $0.

I also have a child with allergies (fish, milk and eggs). They still serve those items in the lunch room. She is very allergic to fish and can’t even go in the lunch room when they have it therefore she has to eat in the hall or in a classroom by herself. She is now a senior in HS and so far we have been lucky. We never know what she may eat and be allergic to or what the next bite she takes might bring on. She had to learn at the age of 2 that fish was off limits and she loves it. You have to teach the child about it because you can’t be with them all the time. It’s very hard for a parent, but you can’t expect everyone else to give up everything for you.

I disagree. By the time the child finishes school and enters ‘ the world’ they will have learnt the skills needed for ensuring their own safety. Not packing peanuts at school seems like a small inconvenience when you could be avoiding the chance of a child dying. Anaphylaxis is a terrifying and DEADLY consequence. Taking peanut products to school can be just as risky as allowing a child to take a knife – chances are it will sit in the bag and not cause any problems – but would you take that risk?

At our school, they give the kids with food allergies other options to keep from making the same rule for every child. They have a table set aside for students with food allergies & will allow a friend to sit with them that doesn’t have anything that the child is allergic to.

I disagree with not allowing peanut products as well. Children can be allergic to anything. You can’t just ban kids from eating! There are kids allergic to dairy, wheat, strawberries, soy, and lots of other specific foods. Children allergic to these products could eat them accidentally too.

being that my son is one of those kids that have a peanut allergy I will not take any chances. He knows that he is allergic but that does not mean that kids that have lunch at the same time will be as careful. I would rather be safe than sorry.

We have a scent free policy where I work (elementary school in Ontario, Canada) because a teacher has a severe scent allergy. So, yeah, those are banned.

My son has a peanut allergies he is 7. We just teach him how to check for peanuts, how to avoid it and how to be careful with it. I can not expect all his friends houses to be peanut free. I can understand JK, SK class to be peanut free, but we have to teach our children how to be safe

I have read some of the comments here and it is really sad to hear the lack of empathy for children with peanut allergies. This is not something they did or asked to have. It is life threatening……meaning A CHILD COULD DIE and probably would die if exposed to a peanut. I would never want to risk the life of another child just to send peanut butter with my children to school. Can you imagine the anxiety a parent must feel when then send their children to school with this type of allergy. Their children’s lives are at risk everyday. If there is something I can do that will relieve their anxiety and be sure to make this child safe I will do it. No skin off my back and my kids will live without it during school days. People need to really think about the big picture and how it would feel if it was your child at risk.

Peanut allergies are very different from other allergies. I really don’t know why, but if a kid is allergic to milk, they can get away with just not drinking it. Sensible, right? But with peanut allergies, if another kid eats it, then breathes on the one with allergies, the allergy kicks in. Just a tiny amount of peanut protein in the air can kill a small child. It’s very horrible, and totally unheard of in the history of humans. I suspect it’s because of gmo’s, chemicals such as those in pesticides, and other pollutants screwing up our immune systems. BTW, I never actually saw this but my allergist related this story as having happened to another patient of his. And this kid, while having known allergies, had never had a reaction to peanuts before. He nearly died. With allergy shots (immunotherapy), medication, and careful reintroduction of the offending food(s), adults who had food (including peanut) allergies as kids often recover from them. That’s why it’s a problem for children, but not so much for adults.

I love wraps with pb, but most schools near us are nut free, and sometimes they tell us not to send anything that even looks like peanut butter. No soy butter either. Boo 🙁

Some schools here are going as far as ” no high allergy foods” My childs school tried that until I confronted them on weather they even knew what that meant. I asked if they were banning milk, bread, strawberries, citrus, soy, seafood and fish, ( no tuna sandwhiches) apples, banannas.
If we accomidate peanuts why are we not accomidating all allergies? My daughter who is allergic to peanuts ws taught at a very young age to not eat from someone elses lunch, They had a peanut free table and it worked just fine. Guess what happened all those kids who were exposed but didn’t actually eat peanuts, thier allegies decreased. My daughter can now eat about 5-6 peanuts before her mouth starts to itch. This means is she accidently eats something with peanuts she won’t die.
Completly isolating your self from your allergen makes it worse because your body can’t build up an immunity to it.
If your child is that allergic to something that a wiff will harm them then you definatly need to build up an immunity. What will happen when that child grows up and go goes to university or work? Does this child not go to the grochery store, the mall, the movies, any resturant, playdates?
Are you sure it is the food they are allergic to not something it is sprayed with . My sisters severe allergies went away when she was in Europe for a monthThey don’t allow the same pesticides and fertilizers we do.

Because they are children and need to be protected. Sure I can tell my kid to only eat their lunch, but if their classmate eats pb and doesn’t wash their hands, there could be deadly consequences later when they are holding hands while singing an ABC song in class. When they are in the 9th grade and up, they can sit wherever they want. They can move if someone is eating a pb sandwich. She can inject herself with her epipen if she needs to at that age.

I totally agree. We have an allergy of DEET in our family and she can go into anifalactic shock just by walking by someone that has bug spray on that has DEET in it. Do we ask that all schools become DEET free? (even though it’s just as common as a nut allergy) NO. She has an epi pen, knows how to use it and her teacher is aware of it. We also have supplied the class with an alternative bug spray that has been clinically tested and did better at repelling mosquitos than anything else on the market. But we still had each person decide whether they used it or used their own. Even if we control the school, what about the mall, or parks, or super market, or . . . We need to teach our children what’s safe and what isn’t in the world, sometimes that includes what they can eat (although I remember my mom telling me not to take candy from strangers).

The lack of valid information in this comment stream is astounding. Rather than take the time to educate on the origins and risks of peanut allergy, let me just say this. As a Mom, I honestly see it as my duty to protect ALL children. If I saw a child on the street and that child was about to get hit by a car, I wouldn’t hesitate to RUN to save that child. As a Mom of a child with a severe peanut allergy, all I am asking is for some consideration from other Moms, whom I would think *might* understand. My son is 9 and most definitely knows what he can and can’t eat,, not to accept food from any unknown source (including your kids), and knows how to administer epi to himself. We have educated and trained him to be very aware of the nature and severity of his allergy. However, every single day that I drop him off at school, it was a little leap of faith and a prayer as I stepped away from the school. Are many of you aware of how quickly the anaphylactic response takes hold? Sometimes the time it takes for a recess yard duty to gain access than epi pen is too long. And sometimes all it takes is peanut butter on the hands of a child who had his precious PB&J sandwich for lunch to touch a ball or monkey bar and that could mean death to a child like mine. I hope and pray that you never have to put your child in the back of an ambulance not knowing whether they will recover from anaphylaxis. It is the most horrific thing in the world. And if you could just for a moment consider that feeling and put aside silly arguments (like the red dye one, for instance), you might be able to muster an ounce of compassion and understand why parents like me truly don’t give a darn that your child has to “miss out” on his peanut butter crackers for snack.

Your comment is exactly why this debate goes on and on. All that spouting off about how we should show compassion for your child and care and be respectful for you to follow it with I don’t give a darn about your child; so why again should I care about your child if you don’t care about mine

That sounds delicious! I am not a mom but I do make my own lunches for school. Your idea is great.

That is too bad that they don’t like the notes anymore. I have 2 in high school and 2 in middle school and they still like finding little notes from me (that’s what they tell me anyway). I try to find new places to hide them as they don’t always take lunches with them, especially to high school.

I always draw a little heart on their napkins. Even my high school kids notice if I ever forget – “Hey mom – you forgot the heart!” It is the little things done in love they remember!