WHAT TO PACK IN YOUR CHILD'S LUNCHBOX

Nutrient-rich foods help them to stay alert

- BY LAKSHANA N. PALAT Assistant Features Editor

Please don't pack chocolates every day in your child's lunchbox. And try not to leave them with packets of cookies, either. That's an earnest request from a schoolteacher, and a mother of two, who sees firsthand the chaos it creates. Beyond the sugar rush and mess, it often leads to every child in the classroom clamouring for a share. Be sparing, she urges.

So, what should you really be packing?

Dubai-based mother of three, Malavika Sen, admits she once gave in to overindulgence. "I used to send chocolate sandwiches occasionally," she says. "But I stopped all that. The teachers advised it was far from healthy — the kids were getting sleepy and sluggish in class. At best, once every two or three weeks, so they don't get used to it. Now, I send a hard-boiled egg and a banana."