Parents perplexed over lunchbox rules
Parents and early childhood education centres are scrambling to come up with nutritious and easy lunch ideas as new rules come into play next week to reduce the risk of choking in children.
The rules from the Ministry of Education take effect on January 25 and ban early childhood education centres from feeding kids risky foods such as whole nuts, chips, dried fruits and sausages.The ministry also provides instructions on how some non-banned foods should be prepared, such as grating raw carrot and apple for children under three or removing strong fibres from ‘‘stringy foods’’ such as pineapple for children up to age 6.
However, some childhood centres, dietitians and parents are calling the change an overreach that puts even more pressure on caregivers to provide a lunch that is nutritious, avoids nuts and other allergies, fits the budget and now, adheres to choking hazard rules.
The new rules were originally drawn up by the Ministry of Health as guidelines and then adopted by the Ministry of Education as requirements for centres.
‘‘Catering to all of this can be an interesting balance,’’ said Rachel, a
Christchurch mother of a threeyear-old with an egg allergy.
She was one of hundreds of New Zealand parents discussing the rule changes in online parenting groups this week. Many parents expressed confusion over whether they were required to follow the rules for school lunches and what to pack in lunchboxes.
Under the new rules, dried fruit, seeds, sausages, cheerios and popcorn are among foods on the banned list. Stone fruit must have the seeds and skin removed.
The rule change came after a 22-month-old boy choked on apple while at a daycare centre in 2016 and was left brain-damaged.
Peter Reynolds, chief executive of the Early Childhood Council, said keeping children safe was paramount, ‘‘but we also have to be careful not to over-react’’.