Mum shares her artfully-prepared lunch for her two-year-old – before being slammed

A mother has been slammed after sharing an innocent photo of the lunchbox she prepared for her two-year-old daughter.

The Australian woman posted a photo of the artfully-prepared healthy lunch she made on Facebook, before people were quick to say it was ‘too much food’ for her young child.

‘Lunch for my 2.5 year old. I’ll consider myself lucky if she eats even half of it,’ the woman called Sadia wrote.

While many were quick to compliment the lunch’s healthy contents – which included boiled eggs, cucumber sticks, grapes, blueberries, chocolate-covered rice cakes, pretzels, wraps and cheese – others had an issue with the volume of it.

‘Less is more with kids. If they have to many choices it can overwhelm them,’ one person commented.

‘It looks fab but way too much which I’ve learnt over the years as a nursery nurse can put children off,’ another added. 

‘Could you send a smaller amount and snacks separately so your child isn’t overwhelmed? You might find they eat more. That’s more than I have as an adult.’ 

A third wrote: ‘It looks great but the portion size is a bit overwhelming for a child that age. 

‘Sometimes less is more in a child’s eyes.’

Sadia was later forced to defend herself after so many said it was too much food.

‘Hi everyone, not that I need to explain myself to anyone, but my child goes to daycare for the whole day,’ she wrote.

‘This food may look like a lot, but she does eat quite a bit of it. And whatever she doesn’t, she will snack on when she comes home most of the days.’

Sadia added: ‘I do have separate containers for breakfast and lunch. Although I appreciate all of the suggestions, I wasn’t looking for help to make my child’s lunch better.

‘I liked the way it looked and I wanted to share it with everyone. A bit less negativity would be appreciated. If you don’t have anything nice to say, well, you know the rest.’

One person wrote: ‘My 2.5 year old eats more than me. Hope your little one enjoys your hard work!’ 

Another said: ‘All kids are different! Looks like a great lunch’. 

When it comes to lunch for her own two kids, Jaime (pictured) favours a ‘picky’ approach – whereby she includes a number of different foods separated into different parts of a container

A dietitian has revealed exactly what the ideal lunchbox looks like for school-age children, and the foods you should and shouldn’t include as a parent (pictured)

Previously, dietitian Jaime Rose Chambers revealed exactly what the ideal lunchbox looks like for school-age children, and the foods you should and shouldn’t include as a parent.  

When it comes to lunch for her own two kids, Jaime favours a ‘picky’ approach – whereby she includes a number of different foods separated into different parts of a container. 

‘Picky lunches’ are ideal for fickle young eaters, Jaime explained, as it’s typical at this age that kids want to ‘see’ the different elements of their meal individually.

For primary-school and kindy-aged children, Jaime recommends trying to keep their lunch food ‘familiar’. 

But, she adds ‘minor adjustments’ which help to widen their palette and provides a broad range of nutrients.

‘Always try to give fruit and veg and other foods that don’t travel well in a lunchbox at other food times,’ she said.