If he or she drinks a sugary "juice drink," substitute 100 percent juice. You can transition further, to plain water, down the road.

Nancy Fineman, a registered dietitian and mother of three from Lafayette Hill, is concerned about not only the content of the lunchbox, but also the size of the portions. She wants to teach her children good eating habits, which include sensible portions, she says.

But there is another aspect to portion control: Children can be overwhelmed by large portions. Her third grader, she says, "just can't eat a whole sandwich," so she only packs half.

Hark, who recently penned the article "The ABCs of a Healthy School Year" for the University of Pennsylvania (www.lisahark.com), suggests that parents pack lunch - or, better yet, work with their children to pack a healthy lunch - at least three times a week.

Especially as they get older, it is important to help them understand the connection between eating healthy and feeling good and having energy, Hark says.

And she reminds parents that the lunch bag is only part of the picture. Kids, she says, should be encouraged to exercise at least one hour a day, and limited in their pursuit of passive entertainments like video games and television (not only is it passive, she notes, but TV-watching exposes kids to tempting ads for junk foods).

"It's all about balance," she says.

Instead of This ... Try This

Instead of American cheese: Reduced-fat cheese

Instead of baloney and salami: Turkey and ham

Instead of regular peanut butter (not shown): Natural peanut butter, reduced-fat peanut butter

Instead of juice box, soda or sports drink: Bottled water

or milk

Instead of a candy bar: Low-fat granola bar, chocolate chip rice cakes

Instead of potato chips: Baked chips, whole wheat pretzels, mini rice cakes

Try Adding...

Fruit that packs well, including grapes, clementines, Seckel pears (whole apples usually return home uneaten, and cut-up apples will turn brown; you can buy packaged apple slices or pack sliced apples in a bag with a squeeze of lemon juice)

Vegetables: mini carrots, cucumber slices or spears, celery sticks, pickles, bell pepper slices, salad greens with a side of dressing, sliced peeled jicama (tastes like a cross between an apple and a potato), olives, cherry or grape tomatoes

Mixed, unsalted (or lightly salted) roasted nuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

Other Winning Combinations