Prince George, B.C. – When  school is back in session, it’s a  daily question, what should I put in the  lunch for my kids?

With the new school year just a couple of weeks away,  some thought now, may help relieve the pressure. One thing  that shouldn’t make it into the lunch bag, is  an energy drink.

There  is no legislation  or  School District 57 policy  banning  energy drinks  from being consumed by children, but  Northern Health Population Dietitian Lise Luppens, says energy drinks such as  Rockstar, Red Bull and Monster contain caffeine and that’s not healthy for  kids. “Children would be more susceptible to the effects of caffeine” says Luppens, “If you think  of yourself,  if you’ve had  too much coffee and what you might feel like, you might feel jittery, you might feel nervous or anxious, certainly there’re effects on sleep and we definitely see that would be more so with children.”   

She says  energy drinks contain  not only caffeine, but  large amounts of sugar and other possible  ingredients such as  artificial sweeteners, herbs, amino acids and vitamins,  “Less is known about the affects of those items, especially  consuming them in larger quantities or frequently over time.”  The cautionary labeling on the drinks  indicates they are not recommended for children, pregnant or breast feeding women or  individuals sensitive to caffeine.

While energy drinks are not allowed for sale in schools,  that doesn’t prevent  the drinks from being consumed by someone  who brought  it  from home.

The key to making sure kids have the energy to get them through the school day is the good old Canadian Food Guide, making sure lunch  covers   the  basic food groups. 

“Parents are definitely in charge of what’s in the lunch or what’s available to be in the lunch, but the kids  can be involved to some extent, especially as they get older. One good thing to keep in mind for lunches, just like other meals,  a goal to aim for is to have three or four of your Canada Food Guide items present at that meal.”

But the days of the peanut butter and jam sandwich are long  gone  as schools  are aware some students have  serious allergies to nuts. 

So what to do?   Luppens offers up a couple of ideas.

• raisin  bread with apple butter and cheddar cheese slices, a boiled egg and some carrot sticks
• a wrap of, beans veggies and cheese  along with salsa
• or a pita pocket with egg salad and lettuce,  along with apple and yogurt.

“I think parents feel some  pressure  to be creative” says Luppens “There’s concern about  things ( lunch items) that get brought back home. I think we can remind parents they have a job to  do when it comes to feeding their  children  and providing healthy foods, but it really is  up to the child whether  they eat it or not.  We  can do what we can to support healthy eating habits, but we can’t police everywhere we go.”