Twenty years ago, a school packed lunch would have consisted of a Penguin biscuit, a packet of crisps with a salt sachet inside and a white-bread sandwich with too much Marmite. But now, like everything else in modern parenting, it’s not so easy.
The contents of that Thomas the Tank Engine or Scooby Doo lunchbox could leave your child ostracised, starving or furious and could even have you called into the headteacher’s office. As a result, many parents are succumbing to a new condition: Tupperware Anxiety.
Tupperware Anxiety (or TA) takes many forms. First there is the fear that your child may feel you haven’t taken enough trouble. “You want them to open their box and for it to be a little gift of love to them,” says Lisa Hynes who lives in Oxford with her three children.
