Of the many daily chores a parent faces one of the most important is ensuring your child's nutritional needs are met. 

If you make school lunches you will no doubt at some point been at a loss to come up with something new - something they will eat. To make it more difficult, as children grow their taste is constantly changing. What they enjoy one week may very well be "boring" the next. 

So what can you give them that will be nutritious, filling, tasty and importantly not make the bread go soggy? 

For starters, spend some time browsing the kitchen department of a department store to discover the various containers and cooling bags that are available.

Experiment on weekends with various breads and fillings, encouraging your children to at least try a variety of tastes. There is so much to choose from.

Involve the children in making choices for their lunch box, Start by drawing the food triangle, 

and discuss the importance that a balanced diet has in helping their bodies to work and grow. Involving them is fun, it gives them an understanding of why they need fruit and vegetables, bread, milk yoghurt and cheese, why chips and lollies, are a treat.

Here are some easy lunch box fillers :

• Put salad items in a separate container and write a note to remind them to put it on their sandwich.
• You can cut vegetables into sticks and and give them some dip.
• Left overs from dinner are always popular.
• Look at various ways of presenting fruit. You can cut oranges and bananas into segments and freeze them just sprinkle a little lemon juice on the bananas.
• Make fruit smoothies and freeze them.
• Fruit salad, is also a favourite.

Once you get into a routine preparation of school lunches will go smoothly. You might like to consider how much you give them in their lunch box as it is important they still have time to play after eating their lunch.

By giving your children a sound knowledge of good eating habits, it seems that as they grow older and start to make their own lunches they will be more conscious of eating a balanced diet.