Do you ever find yourself at a loss for what to pack in your childs school lunch box? Ive been there, believe me. Its definitely not easy trying to come up with creative ideas for the lunch box while juggling work, home, and family every day.

The trick is to keep it simple while making it fun (and keeping it all healthy, of course). Im always looking for ideas, and came across this wonderful idea for healthy "Lunchables" from Melissa Iwai, the author of a new book called Soup Day, which celebrates the joy of cooking with children.

Since the real versions of this kid-favorite lunch box item is laden with fat, preservatives, and sodium, Melissa came up with a way to make a healthier version, using multigrain tortillas, nitrate-free smoked ham and organic cheese.

For other ideas, check out my ideas for school box lunches. And hang in there! If you can make lunches fun, and get your kids to help make them, it wont feel so much like a chore.

A Healthy, Easy Lunch Box Idea originally appeared on About.com Parenting School Age Children on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 16:34:43.

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As many as one-third of parents think that playing with their children is boring, says a new study out of Great Britain. The study of 2,000 parents and 2,000 children aged 5 to 15 also revealed that a third of parents play video games with their kids instead of engaging in interactive play such as going to the playground or playing board games with them. But the great majority of kids -- 3/4 of the kids surveyed -- said that theyd prefer to play more interactive games with their parents.

So what does this all mean for parent-child play, and not just in the U.K. where the study was conducted? Parents everywhere are more busy these days, and with high-tech gadgets such as smart phones intruding in on family time, there is less downtime for parents and kids to just, well, be together.

The one thing Ive made an effort to do this summer is to spend more time just being with my child. Weve read a lot of great books, made meals together, spent time with family playing board games, and just hanging out. Yes, we did watch some kid movies and yes we did play some video games. But there was also a lot of playing with Legos and talking about books and using our imaginations.

If you cant remember the last time you spent a languid afternoon with your child, then think about this British survey. Your child may be one of the 75 percent of children who are wishing for some play time with you.

Sad State of Parent-Child Play originally appeared on About.com Parenting School Age Children on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 18:41:37.

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