Tiffin comes back untouched most days and my 4 year old says she forgot

mango_kite_999325 Oct 2026

Four days out of five last week, the tiffin box came home exactly as it left, lid still clipped. When I ask, she says she forgot to eat. She is not upset about it and she eats normally at home, so I don't think she dislikes the food itself. I pack what she eats at the table: a small roti roll, some cut fruit, sometimes idli. What I don't know is what snack time actually looks like for a 4 year old. How long they get, whether anyone reminds them, whether opening the box is itself the hurdle. Did smaller portions or finger food make a difference for anyone, or was it something else?

3 comments

breezy_sandal_487925 Oct 2026
check if she can open the box by herself. ours couldn't manage the clip lid and was too shy to ask
hazel_puzzle_440025 Oct 2026
Same age here, and we had the same "forgot" story for almost a month. Turned out snack time is short and she was spending all of it chatting with her friends. What worked was two or three things she could eat with one hand. Cubes of paratha, grapes, a couple of small cheese pieces. Does yours sit with the same friends every day?
- mango_kite_999326 Oct 2026
  I don't know who she sits with, actually. That is a good thing to find out. I'll ask her teacher on Monday what the snack break looks like and whether the children are reminded. The one-hand idea also makes sense for how she eats at home, she does tend to hold food in one hand while doing something else.
- hazel_puzzle_440026 Oct 2026
  Replying to @mango_kite_9993
  Ya ask the teacher, that helps a lot. Ours told us they get around 15 minutes and most of it goes in washing hands and finding the box. Once we knew that, the one-hand food made total sense.
indigo_piano_150426 Oct 2026
Smaller portions helped us a little, but there is a tradeoff. When the box looked half empty she ate all of it, but then she came home very hungry and wanted to snack right before dinner. With the full box she ate less at school and more at dinner. I still haven't decided which I prefer.