Are mothers under lunchbox pressure? An exploration of the experiences of Victorian mothers preparing lunchboxes for their children

Abstract

Issue Addressed: A healthy diet is particularly important during childhood. Research suggests that more than 95% of Australian primary school aged children do not eat a diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, putting them at risk of poor health. Interventions to improve the quality of children's lunchboxes may help address this issue. However, there is limited understanding of the factors impacting lunchbox preparation.Methods: This study explored the experiences of 10 mothers of Victorian primary school students. Mothers took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their views on lunchbox preparation and food choices. The study used a Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology and data were analysed using an inductive, thematic approach. Results: Analysis of the interviews yielded four main themes. (i) Mothers experienced a range of non-nutritional barriers that impacted the food choices they made for their children. (ii) Children's preferences influenced parental food choices. (iii) Mothers experienced and/or perceived judgement about the food choices they make for their children. And (iv) Mothers identified a lack of support and information from schools about what was appropriate for school lunch. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate that mothers are concerned with balancing nutrition and child preferences within the broader context of guidelines, perceived or real judgement and income constraints.So What?: The school environment may be an ideal setting to promote healthy eating but support for parents is needed. This is the first study in Victoria exploring mothers' perspectives on lunchbox preparation and provides initial information on which future research can build.

Unpacking the cost of the lunchbox for Australian families: a secondary analysis

“…This contrasts with commonly available ready-to-eat unhealthy lunchbox product items, which are convenient, food safe, require minimal labour and are acceptable to children ( Jabs and Devine, 2006 ; Bathgate and Begley, 2011 ; Rathi et al , 2018 ). Furthermore, many of these products feature child- or parent-directed marketing ( Watson et al , 2023 ). As a result, there is potential for the promotion of healthy lunchbox provision to reduce food costs, concurrently to increasing the availability and access to healthy, convenient and affordable food, to address the challenges faced by families.…”

Exploring Australian children’s perceptions of a school-provided lunch model using a story completion method

“…There is often also a stigma attached to lunch box contents, including feelings of embarrassment for children regarding what types of foods they bring, or in some cases how much food, if any at all ( Smith, 2021 ). This stigma is not exclusive to children with research indicating that Australian parents also feel stigma and embarrassment relating to their children’s lunch box contents and experience a range of barriers in providing school lunches including financial and time constraints and feel unsupported in providing appropriate food for their children ( Watson‐Mackie et al , 2023 ).…”

Parental support for free school lunches in Australian primary schools: associated factors and perceived barriers

“…There is evidence to suggest that children's diets do not align with national recommendations in school settings where discretionary choices are commonly consumed (8) and home-packed lunches are shown to be lower in nutritional value than school-provided meals (9) . In addition, in a recent study, parents in Victoria (a state of Australia) identified barriers including cost and time to prepare a nutritious school lunchbox and felt that they were judged about the food they prepared (10) . Similarly, parents in Western Australia (another state of Australia) also reported that factors such as convenience, their child's preferences, cost and food safety concerns hindered their ability to include healthier options in their child's lunch box (11) .…”