Mum reveals heartbreak behind 'over-packed' lunchboxes

Man makes sandwich on chopping board while child looks on
A mum has opened up about the motivation behind her kids' very full lunchboxes. Photo: Getty Images

A mum has hit back after being shamed for ‘over-packing’ her children’s lunchbox, revealing a heartbreaking motivation behind her desire to see her children fed properly.

In a sobering reminder that behind every Facebook post is a person with a past, and Aussie mum revealed it was being starved as a child that lead her to send her kids to school with very full lunchboxes in response to copping criticism online over a photo of her kids’ lunches.

The Aussie mum posted the snap of her kids’ lunchboxes to a mums group ahead of the first day of school for 2020, when other parents came out swinging, slamming the spread as excessive.

picture of packed lunches
The photo shows the mum's prepped lunches for four children. Photo: Facebook

The offending photo shows a number of different lunch boxes are filled with sandwiches, lamingtons, potato chips, pretzels, salad and fruit.

Parents lash out

“How do they have time to eat and play too,” one parent wondered.

“My kids wouldn't eat all that in a week,” another wrote.

The mum revealed even the school principal weighed in, wondering aloud if the children could fit anything other than their lunchboxes in their schoolbags.

Mum defends the plentiful packed lunches

Child and mum hold lunchbox
The mum's deprived childhood motivates her to keep her kids' lunchboxes full. Photo: Getty Images

The anonymous mum responded to the criticism, explaining the plentiful spread catered to her four children, two high-schoolers and two primary students.

“There really is not a lot of food there. It is because of the variety of foods that people must be confused. This is for four children in total,” she wrote.

“Clearly some have their knickers in a twist... There is variety because even if your child enjoys eating the same food every day, mine doesn't and honestly, neither do I.”

Heartbreaking motivation behind the spread

The mum took it a step further, choosing to share the heartbreaking reason she feels compelled to ensure her kids are always well-fed.

“I do this to ensure they don't get hungry,” she wrote.

“I was starved. I was lucky to get even three food items when I was a kid.”

The tragic statement explains the perhaps slightly over-zealous lunchbox arrangement, though nutritionists have pointed out it’s the nutritional components rather than the quantity of food that should generally be parents priority.

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