PACKING our kids' packed lunches is one of the last things we do before going to bed every night – so let's just say, they're not going to win any prizes for creativity.

But if you've ever felt guilty for sending your little one to school with the same cheese sandwich and crisps every day, then these teachers are about to make you feel a whole lot better.

From an old McDonald's takeaway to a can of shandy, teachers on Facebook have been sharing some of the worst packed lunches they've ever come across.

As the Mirror reports, one teacher said she was concerned when she saw a primary school student sipping on a can of Red Bull.

After asking his mum about it, the parent said she only put it in there because she thought he seemed tired.

The teacher was told: "He’d had a late night on his Xbox and seemed like he needed a pick-me-up."

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What's more, a Birmingham-based teacher says a student was given an old McDonald's Happy Meal for lunch.

When they raised concerns, the child's grandma said the student hadn't wanted it for dinner the night before and she didn't want it to "go to waste".

Meanwhile, a teacher from Manchester says her eight-year-old student swiped what he thought was a soft drink from the fridge before heading to school.

But it was only when lunchtime rolled around that teachers noticed it was actually a Dark Fruits cider.

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Another teacher in Halifax, West Yorkshire, says they were stunned to find a pupil tucking into a pork pie and a shandy because "that was all there was in the fridge".

Sharing their own experience, a Leeds-based teacher was heartbroken when a student was given a pack of ginger biscuits for lunch as their mum was "too tired" to go food shopping.

What the NHS recommends children have for lunch:

The NHS gives a number of suggestions and guidelines on their Chnage4Life website.

• Base the lunchbox on foods like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes – wholegrain ideally – too keep kids fuller for longer
• If your child isn't keen on wholegrain, try making sandwiches with one slice of white and one slice of wholemeal bread
• Try to keep lunchboxes interesting by using a variety of shapes like bagels, pittas and wraps
• Make food fun as lunches can be more exciting if the child has to put them together, like having foods for dipping and makes a change from sandwiches every day.
• Opt for low fat foods, like lean meats or fish.
• Cut down on the amount of spreads you put into sandwiches
• Always add a bit of salad and vegetables to the meal
• Cut down on the crisps
• Chop up some fruit or peal satsuamas and add those instead of sweets
• Cheese can be high in fat and salt so pick strong tasting ones or go for low-fat varieties
• Get the kids involved in making the lunch – they'll be more likely to eat it if they helped make it

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