For Rebecca Zeitlin, packing her 5-year-old son’s school lunch is always full of surprises. Offer him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at home and he won’t touch it. But pack it in his lunch with fruits, vegetables and a small treat and he’ll dive in.
He will “chow down” on applesauce at preschool parties. But if she served him applesauce at home, “he’d look at me like I was crazy,” Zeitlin said.
Like many parents, Zeitlin has been thinking about school lunch ahead of her son’s first day of kindergarten. Lunchtime will be different than it was at his small private preschool, where teachers could more closely monitor whether he was eating. She’s already been eyeing school lunch conversations in mom groups on Facebook, and she’s has new lunch boxes ready to pack.
She plans to start off with some of her usual go-tos. Perhaps she’ll pack him chicken nuggets or pasta alongside strawberries, oranges or watermelon.
“I think it’s going to be real interesting to see what next month is going to be like,” Zeitlin said. “I’ve got my plans for now, but when reality hits, his lunches might look different.”
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For parents of children 5 and under, navigating school lunch can be challenging. Colorful videos fill TikTok and Instagram showing off creatively shaped sandwiches and neatly cut vegetables laid in bento box-like containers. Lunch box styles can make a difference, influencers advise, as they share school-friendly recipes.
It’s easy for parents to worry that they got it wrong when a child returns home with uneaten food, said Anet Piridzhanyan, a clinical dietitian at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. But there are a few basic steps to make school lunches a success.
Zeitlin and son Will in West Hills, CA on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
What should parents put in their toddler’s lunch box?
It’s important to remember that the start of the school year is exciting, but can also be overwhelming for a young child, said Lori Russell, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic. It may not be that they don’t like their food — they may simply be distracted. Either way, lean into familiarity to encourage them. And don’t offer too many options.
“We have this tendency to overdo it,” Russell said. “If parents want to fill that lunch box with everything that that kid might possibly consume that you have in the house, that’s stressful.”
Kids should have one main item in their lunch box and two or three snacks, which could include carrot sticks or an apple and perhaps a small treat such as a piece of chocolate, she said. Piridzhanyan agreed, recommending that parents rotate through the five food groups throughout the week, packing different fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy.
Consistency is key. If a parent plans to offer something new in their child’s lunch box, they should pair it with a food item they know their child likes, she added.
“Every day is a new day,” Piridzhanyan said. “They’ve only been around for two to five years, so it’s not like us where, when we see food, we’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I know what that is.’”
That’s something that Gabriella May has learned as her daughter has grown. May, of Fresno, has been making videos of her daughter’s school lunches for TikTok since she started kindergarten. She’s now in fifth grade. Her daughter has always been a picky eater, so introducing new foods at school without the pressure of having mom and dad nearby was helpful — and still is, she said.
What’s the best lunch box for toddlers?
It’s important for parents to make sure that the food they pack is accessible and that they have the utensils and napkins that they need, the dietitians said. Parents should practice opening containers with their child and make sure the lunch box isn’t too heavy.
“We tend to focus on what’s in it and what’s being consumed, and not the actual container,” Russell said. “And does the child like it? Are they enjoying opening it? Carrying it? All that really makes a difference.”
That’s where, for many parents, bento box-style lunch boxes come in. The compartmentalized containers have been popularized on social media.
For Zeitlin, the PlanetBox lunch box has been a great go-to.
“It’s just kind of convenient,” Zeitlin said. “Everything’s in one place.”
Russell, who has a 4-year-old, said that when a child likes their lunch box or container it can encourage them to eat. That’s why options with beloved characters can be a good choice.
“It’s not just about the food, it’s about the favorite cup, the plate,” Russell said.
How to get your kid to eat lunch at preschool
Parents should ask their children why they did or didn’t eat their lunch, Russell said. Sometimes the bread might have been too soggy, the apple slices may have browned or the texture of the macaroni and cheese may have changed after spending all day in a lunch box. If the answer isn’t satisfying, ask the teacher what they have observed, she said.
It helps to know how the teacher or child-care provider stores the food, Piridzhanyan added. Sometimes kids will have access to a refrigerator, other times the food may be left out in the sun, so it helps to be able to plan accordingly by adding an ice pack or a thermos to help keep food safe and appetizing, she said.
“A lot of times the lunch box bags are left out in the classroom, so that part’s really important,” Piridzhanyan said.
Presentation does matter to a degree, but there’s no need to go overboard. If parents want to do something special, Russell recommends quickly using a cookie cutter on a sandwich or adding a sticker alongside the snacks.
Zeitlin can’t wait until her 5-year-old son learns to read. Then, she’ll start leaving notes in his lunch box expressing encouragement and telling jokes. She’s held on to a book of dad jokes for 20 years just for the occasion.
Sequeira reports for The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed.