7 Things to never pack in your kid's lunch box

Parenting is difficult work, and one of the most important challenges is ensuring that your child receives enough nutrients and minerals for a balanced mental and physical development. Food plays an important role in maintaining kids' health, especially during their growing years. It's very important to keep a check on what your kids are eating and ensure that it is healthy.

We have compiled a list of food items you should avoid packing in your child's lunchbox:

Potato Chips

Kids love chips but they are harmful to children due to the usage of artificial chemicals, extra salt, and bad quality oil. They include a lot of trans fats and calories, which can lead to diabetes and high blood pressure later in life. Giving your child potato chips is an easy option but it leads to bad habits of eating junk as they get older.

Packed food rich with mayonnaise

They utilise low-grade mayonnaise and chemically treated meat that is high in nitrates and salt. They also include bad fats and artificial colouring, which are harmful to children. Salads and sandwiches made with mayonnaise are full of saturated fat. You can give them a homemade veggie roll which is healthy and easy to make.

Also read | Sow the seeds of gardening in your kids, it helps

Energy drinks and juice boxes

If you believe that energy drinks will assist your children to acquire energy after a game, you are mistaken. They will harm them, in the long run, more than they would benefit them. They are high in sugar and caffeine.

Juice boxes on the other hand are also bad for kids' health. Because the word “fruit” is written on the packet, it doesn't make it healthy. Many of these drinks seem healthy, but they’re not. The first two ingredients in most of these drinks are flavoured water and high fructose corn syrup.

Donuts and cakes

They're produced with refined flour and butter, as well as sugars and colours that include more calories. Artificial colours and trans fats have been connected to heart problems. And both these elements are bad for their overall health and growth.

Pasta and Noodles

They're both comprised of refined flour, and adding vegetables doesn't make much of a difference in terms of children's health. Preservatives and harmful flavour additives are still present. Even these noodles and pasta can harm your kid's digestive system and can lead to problems such as stomach aches and other digestive ailments.

Bread

Are you getting late for office, and thinking about packing bread and butter or jam for your kid's lunch? It's a big no! Because bread is highly processed with white flour and starch. And these two things are bad for kids and can lead to obesity and bowel irregularities later in life. Whether it's white or brown, bread is not at all good for you kids.

Chocolates and candies

Candy and chocolates are high in sugar, have no nutritional benefit, and may contribute to cavities and other oral health problems later in life or in childhood also. "Chocolate is bad for your teeth" is a true saying of mothers. Whether your kid is crying for not going to school or asking for chocolates for school lunch. Always say 'NO' to them to protect their teeth and health.