It’s only day four of my son’s new school year and I already feel a bit defeated by the whole lunchbox packing thing. I started off the week inspired by my favorite lunch-packing experts to try out some creative sandwich ideas, but so far these new offerings have come back virtually untouched.
Today’s lunch? A rather sad-looking peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
In the old days, I might not have felt bad about this. But with the advent of social media it’s easy to feel inadequate when some parents out there take lunch-packing to incredible heights and then post daily photos of their handiwork on Facebook or Pinterest.
In a new article in U.S. News & World Report, “Judgment Day: Lunchboxes Give Parents Another Reason to Compete,” reporter Kimberly Leonard digs deep into this issue and I was pleased to be one of her quoted sources. My ultimate take: you can tell pretty quickly when a parent or blogger’s posted lunch photo is intended to make other parents feel like losers, and when it’s shared in a generous spirit of education and encouragement. (You can find bloggers and writers in the latter category by visiting the Lunchbox Packing tab on this blog’s Resources page.)
Take a look at Leonard’s piece and let me know what you think. Do photos of beautiful lunches posted on social inspire you — or just make you feel like a failure?
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