Packed Lunch Planner for Kids

Who this is for

Five school days of lunch boxes, planned once. Each child gets a block of rows for main, fruit or vegetable, snacks and drink across Monday to Friday, with the school's food rules and any allergies written above the grid.

Parents packing lunches for two or three school-age children with different tastes, and anyone whose child's school has rules on what can go in a lunch box.

What this helps you track

• What goes in each child's lunch box on each school day
• Break-time and after-school snacks alongside lunch
• The school's food rules and each child's allergies, kept in view
• What to buy for the week's lunch boxes
• Foods each child refuses and foods worth offering again

How to use it

1. Write the week beginning, the children's names, the school's food rules and any allergies at the top.
2. Write each child's name against their block and fill the main, fruit or veg, snack and drink for each day.
3. Add anything you need to buy to the shopping list and tick it off as it goes in the basket.
4. When a lunch box comes home full, note the food in the refuses column, or in try again if it deserves another go.
5. Print a fresh copy each week, or fill it in online where it saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How many children does it hold?

Three, with four rows each. For a fourth child, print a second copy or add rows in the browser version, which saves in your own browser.

Where do the school's rules come from?

From the school itself. Copy any rules on nuts, sweets, fizzy drinks or packaging from the school's letter or website into the rules field so they are in front of you while you plan.

Why keep a list of refused foods?

It stops the same uneaten sandwich going back in every day. The try again column is for foods that were refused once but might work cut differently or paired with something familiar.

How is this different from the weekly lunchbox planner?

The weekly lunchbox planner suits any mix of school and work lunches. This one is laid out by child, adds snacks for after school and keeps a record of what each child refuses.