Why you shouldn't make an elaborate Bento box for your kids' lunch? Our firsthand experience reveals the pitfalls.
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For years, parents have faced endless tips on getting kids to eat well—healthy, tasty, and varied meals. Traditional Dutch dishes like meatballs and red cabbage are now seen as outdated by some experts. Kids must keep up with trends like sushi and quinoa. A bit of variety is great; I often introduce new foods to expand their palates (with mixed results). But as schools reopen, marketers target a new trend: the Bento box.
Supermarkets and websites push Bento box ideas, rebranding simple lunches as gourmet experiences. Brown bread with cheese? Outdated. Kids now 'need' full, visually stunning meals—sandwiches cut into stars or hearts.
No plain cheese or ham; think club sandwiches with cream cheese and cucumber, skewered for appeal. Roll bread, spinach pancakes, or wraps for easy eating. Add veggie shapes like roses with homemade dip, skip sugary cartons for smoothies or cloudy apple juice in eco-cups. Salads with olives and feta are options too.
Inspired by Japanese traditions where moms compete on Instagram for the prettiest Bento boxes, I decided to try. No more boring lunches for my kids—they'd get colorful, inspiring Bento masterpieces daily.
I prepared wraps with cream cheese, organic turkey, and MSC salmon flakes, sliced artfully. A star-shaped club sandwich with toothpick flags. Veggies as apple stars, carrot balls, blueberries—skewered for fun. Spinach smoothie in an eco-cup. It looked perfect.
At dinner, they shared: too little food, not tasty. Turkey wrap better without cheese; salmon without salmon. Sandwich devoured instantly (shape unnoticed). Skewers caused finger pricks—hence the plasters. Veggies flew off sticks; one kid slipped on a carrot, bruising an ankle. Blueberries sour, smoothie stained everything. Teachers unimpressed.
Next day, I slept in, packed three or four cheese-and-sausage sandwiches, water in the eco-cup. More sleep for me, satisfied kids. Everyone happier—glad we're not in Japan!
Shutterstock photo bento lunch box by Elena Veselova
