Making a healthy lunch box can be a labour of love for many mums. To get the new school year off to a good start, here are some tips on how to get your kids tucking into a nutritious lunch

Jamie Oliver may have helped transform the school canteen, but for the majority of parents, a lunch box is still more practical. Last year, 1.68 billion packed lunches were eaten at school, according to market research group Mintel. That's just under half of all school children regularly eating a packed lunch.

The pressure is on for parents to give their child a healthy diet. A recent survey of packed lunch trends found that despite increasing awareness of healthy eating for children, many lunch boxes remain unhealthy and loaded with a child's entire recommended daily allowance of sugar.

Over 80 per cent of the parents surveyed by Dole admitted their children's lunch box wasn't very healthy and many were at a loss over what to do about it.

A lunch your child will want to eat

But, while it's easy to research wholesome foods for your child, finding things they actually want to eat is not so easy, especially when you have a fussy eater on your hands. Here are eight ways to get your child into their lunch box.

1. Kids on the run
'It's important to remember that time is limited', says Helen Brown, author of Parenting for Dummies (Wiley, £14.99). 'During the infant years, kids need to be able to eat their lunch fast. They haven't got time to sit around and gently gnaw through an apple or big lunch box. It's got to be eaten quickly.'

Helen advises packing a smallish lunch box, depending on your child's appetite. A sandwich, drink and cut up pieces of fruit will probably be enough. Dashing around the playground is infinitely more fun than ploughing through a pasta salad, so think about food that's quick and easy for them to eat.

2. Lunch box teasing
Peer pressure is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Being teased for a healthy lunch box is a common playground scenario. Getting the balance between packing your child a healthy lunch without risking them being mocked is the key.

'The trick is to pack clever,' explains Helen Brown. 'Products like the 50/50 bread which looks white but is a wholemeal or a granary bun that looks like a burger bun can do the trick.'

It's not worth sending your child to school with a pot of houmous and crudites only for him to be scorned for eating a 'pot of sick'. It's far wiser to keep the lunch box simple and concentrate on variety at home.

3. Avoid lunch box junk
There's always going to be one kid with a packet of crisps, a chocolate bar and cheesy strings. Many primary schools now have a 'no junk lunch box' policy which helps to reduce peer pressure and lunch box competition. For the odd treat, choose fun packaged foods that are nutritious too.

New yoghurt and fromage frais tubes, smoothie pouches, healthy mini cheeses and children's crunch bars are just a few of the ranges on the market. Choose products with low salt and no added sugar if possible. A four to six-year-old should eat no more than 3g of salt a day (for more information visit www.salt.gov.uk).

Watch the sugar levels too. A product is high in sugar if it contains 10g or more of sugar per 100g and low in sugar if it contains 2g or less per 100g. Swap sweets for dried fruit. Homemade popcorn serves as a good snack, that's healthy too and can be used instead of crisps. Simple tricks, such as thinly buttering bread and using low-fat mayonnaise, can make a big impact on the overall fat count of the child's meal too.

4. Stay calm
If your child is coming home with a full lunch box most days, it's important to stay calm. Quizzing him about what he's eaten is not going to result in any answers, so talk to him about his day at school first.

Remember, it's probably just a phase, so if your child's hungry, have an earlier tea or arrive at the school gate with a filling snack like a banana or wholemeal fruit bun.

Start the day with a good, wholesome breakfast of porridge or cereal and fruit or even a boiled egg on toast. That way you're packing your kid off to school with a full tummy.

5. Get them involved
'If they don't eat anything at school, help them make their own lunch,' suggests Helen Brown. 'You will need to allow more time in the morning, but letting them butter the bread and put in the ham or cheese helps them to feel they own it.'

While you don't want to turn your child's entire life into a star chart, there's nothing like a mini bribe to encourage your child to get healthy. Helen Brown plans with her eldest son what he's going to eat for the week.

'He chooses what he has in his sandwiches every day and is rewarded with a jam sandwich on Friday. We write it down together at the beginning of the week and this way he feels more in control of what he eats. Also, it's one less thing for me to think about early in the morning!'

6. Encourage them to eat fruit
A staggering 80 per cent of kids throw out their healthy lunch box items. If your child never touches his fruit or veg, try including a smoothie. Chopping up fruit into small portions or making mini fruit salads can be a good way to encourage them to tuck in as well.

Be careful with cartons of fruit juice, though, as some contain very high levels of sugar, which is bad for children's teeth. Try diluting the juice with water and putting it into a flask instead.

7. Cool lunch boxes
There's nothing more off-putting to a child than a soggy sandwich and leaking bits of food in the box. Invest in a good Tupperware box and sandwich bags to pack their foods. Get the kids to put stickers on their favourite Tupperware which will encourage them to get involved with their lunch box.

8. Keep it simple
Most kids' lunch boxes revolve around sandwiches. Recipe books might list realms of different lunch menus for kids, that make you feel you should whip up a pasta or couscous salad for a change, but remember, kids are quite happy to eat the same food every day.

'If you find a formula that works for your child then don't sweat about it,' says Helen Brown. 'You can offer variety and fill in the missing bits at home.'

Share your lunch box tips in iVillage Connect's Back to School group