When each of the kids entered the third grade they were given the responsibility for making their own lunches. They got to choose what foods they wanted for lunch. All I requested was that each lunch included a fruit, a vegetable and a protein. They found no problem with my menu requirements. The kids were also given the task of adding their lunch food choices to the weekly shopping list that hung on the refrigerator.

When Andy, my son and first child, entered the third grade he was excited about his new “grown-up” duty of making his own lunch. (His two younger sisters were very jealous and wanted to have this job, too. But they would have to wait.) I never had to remind him to make his lunch. He happily handled this job and, amazingly, he packed mostly healthy lunches. His enthusiasm was repeated by his sisters when they each reached the third grade. And, like their brother, they, too, made fairly good food choices.

My problem was solved by making the kids more responsible. Along the way they learned what was needed for healthy eating—a lesson that has served them well over the years. By the fifth grade, I was able to get rid of another hated duty. At this grade level, they became responsible for ironing their own clothes. Who knew that I would be such a smart mother?!