PETALING JAYA: For housewife Nur Diyanah, ensuring her two school-going children eat properly means striking a balance between home-packed food and meals from the school canteen.
The 35-year-old mother packs food for them three days a week and allows them to buy from the canteen on the other two days.
She said the various menus at the school canteen partly influence her decision as her children, aged nine and seven, sometimes prefer specific dishes.
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“On days I pack food for them, it’s usually snacks because they have already eaten breakfast or lunch at home.
“The snacks I prepare include nuggets, egg or chicken wraps, paratha, fruits and others, depending on what the children had eaten earlier that day,” she said.
Nur Diyanah believes healthy eating habits should be inculcated from a young age, with parents leading by example.
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“Having a discussion about the lunch or dinner menu together will make them feel more eager to eat what is prepared,” she said.
While Nur Diyanah goes all out to make sure her kids’ meals are properly taken care of, time constraints and affordability remain a challenge for other parents.
A 37-year-old senior manager, who wanted to be known only as Tan, said that with both her and her husband working long hours, her children often resort to outside food for their meals.
“I have a seven-year-old and an eight-year-old. Because of work commitments, we eat out every day. I also stock up on instant noodles and porridge, as well as biscuits and snacks,” Tan said.
Housewife R. Kalyani, 32, said her family also relies heavily on instant noodles, which she purchases using her Sara assistance money.
“With a monthly income of RM2,000, I need to budget heavily to feed my family of six, including two school-going children aged nine and seven. Though I would like to provide them with more balanced meals including proteins, they are not very affordable,” she said.
