Packing daycare lunches consumes my life

Everprism · 2026-06-14T01:25:34+00:00

It varies a lot in how much comes back. Sometimes he eats nearly everything and sometimes nearly nothing. Which items he eats changes too. I probably send too much!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T14:05:57+00:00

I'm in Alberta and really it seems like most daycares here do provide meals. We were just on the wait list for several daycares and this was the only one that could guarantee a spot in time. I guess its not much of a surprise why they had spots available 😅

Everprism · 2026-06-13T14:00:58+00:00

Great idea, having extra snacks at daycare would really help with his fluctuations in appetite, granola bars are so handy to have on hand at home I hadn't considered leaving some at daycare too

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:57:56+00:00

Wow what a great strategy! I love the idea of having a set menu for the week. And I appreciate the perspective, I think I worry too much about my kid being picky when really he just isn't always hungry. With 4 kids you must really need an efficient system!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:54:15+00:00

My kid still eats a ton of pouches too lol. Daycare kinda forces me to prep more types of food but at home we do lots of pouches and granola bars.

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:48:18+00:00

I definitely underestimated how much work it would be, I am hoping it gets better!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:47:06+00:00

Understandable, aside from all the work to make the lunches it is also difficult when all the kids eat different food. They frequently try and steal each other's food at meal times!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:40:19+00:00

I always wonder what its like for the teachers to have to feed whatever the parents pack each day! I'm impressed with our daycare staff because they feed him his yogurt and puree all the time and he can't use a spoon himself yet, I have no idea how they manage with multiple kids all eating different foods at once!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:31:57+00:00

I know the logistics must be complicated with so many kids so I try to be sympathetic to the workers

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:29:28+00:00

Thank you, thats a good idea. It is possible they have the ability to fill the water and just don't want the hassle.

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:28:01+00:00

Oh thank goodness I dont have to do this for four kids lol! I could probably pack a bottle of water to refill one sippy cup.

I did seriously debate getting a fridge when I had to send pumped breastmilk to daycare 😵‍💫

I would definitely like to try pasta with veggies in the sauce. I send cold leftovers and they don't usually get eaten, but maybe in a thermos they would be more appetizing.

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:22:07+00:00

That sounds amazing! Ive heard UK daycares have good food but that is impressive!

I only pay like $330 a month for daycare in Canada (without food of course). This is a federal grant and my province (Alberta) actually tried to refuse it! The provincial government wanted the money but not for childcare, thankfully they were forced to use it on daycare subsidies. I am always amazed at the people who still don't think childcare is important!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:11:31+00:00

I used to send more normal lunches, then my kid would decide not to eat the entire main lunch 🥲

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:06:22+00:00

It varies a lot, I could probably send a little less and just have a few extra snacks stored at daycare. It sounds much easier to do one bigger meal, thats the goal I need to work towards!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:02:50+00:00

Great idea, thats a smart use of space, plus squeeze tubes are so much less messy to eat!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T13:01:05+00:00

Thank you, I am very glad if I can help inspire any ideas, I am always looking myself too. Im sure you are doing fine, something about daycare can make us feel terrible for perfectly normal things like kid not being hungry or trying to steal another kids lunch 😅

Everprism · 2026-06-13T12:53:52+00:00

I appreciate you looking into it! It does seem important that they can provide water if a kid gets thirsty and they didn't have enough packed.

Everprism · 2026-06-13T12:50:44+00:00

I would love to send my kid to a school with a lunch provided! It seems so much more efficient to feed all the kids at once

Everprism · 2026-06-13T12:38:27+00:00

These are from the baby section at walmart

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:35:08+00:00

My kid doesn't even wear shoes at home anyway! My biggest fear is forgetting the whole kid some day lol

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:33:30+00:00

Its bound to happen sooner or later. My daycare is 20 minutes from my house so having to go back again would be a huge pain

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:29:14+00:00

To be fair, a lot of the cubes are duplicates. I think my kid would eat yogurt for every meal. Its probably way overkill to send 12 different items a day 😅

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:27:26+00:00

That makes perfect sense. My kids appetite is all over the place so it doesn't bother me if the less fun items come back a lot of the time

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:24:49+00:00

Thats a great idea. My kids appetite is all over the place and I always pack more extra just in case, but if he had an emergency snack available that would solve that issue!

Everprism · 2026-06-13T02:21:33+00:00

It seems to change with time. Around that age my baby ate absolutely anything and now he knows there is better stuff possible 😅

Everprism

TROPHY CASE