Is nutrition a parenting decision or a school’s job to regulate? Or a combination of both? Some say an Australian school went too far recently, when it reprimanded a mom for sending a “chocolate slice” (a.k.a. a piece of cake) in her 3-year-old’s lunch.
Melinda Tankard Reist, a friend of the mom, shared the note on Facebook, which read: “Your child has chocolate slice from the Red Food category today. Please choose healthier options for kindy [kindergarten].” The mom who received the note has asked to keep her name, as well as the school’s, anonymous, but Reist shared with Babble that the “slice” in question was a piece of chocolate birthday cake. It was left over from a family party the day before, and per their family tradition, a slice was sent to school as a treat the next day.
She also told Babble that this mom and her husband have degrees in health science. They are the __parents of eight healthy children. Reist herself is a mother of four, who says she believes in healthy eating and fitness but is concerned about where this school’s actions take us. She worries that shaming children for food choices could lead to a negative relationship with food. So Reist’s response to her friend’s note? “I told her to put in two slices tomorrow and tell them to get lost,” she wrote in her post.
Although Reist was appalled on behalf of her friend, the reactions to her Facebook post were mixed. Many parent expressed similar frustrations, sharing stories of being shamed for sending cookies, peanut butter, and even cheese sticks in their kids’ lunches. Others, however, agreed with the school. One response read: “… if a school practices these choices as part of their curriculum I would think __parents would welcome it as it does nothing but benefit children …”
She does have a point, as childhood obesity is an epidemic in Australia, much like it is in the U.S., according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The statistics are alarming! 25% of Australian children and 63% of Australian adults are overweight or obese. And it’s because of these numbers that schools across both the U.S. and Australia are implementing healthy food choices into their curriculums more and more.
Recently, my own son’s second grade class completed a health unit that included a field trip to our local grocery store where the kids tasted healthy foods like hummus and edamame. Schools today are clearly doing more than the simple “food pyramid” handout that we received as kids. And that’s probably a good thing.
However, I pack my kids’ lunches and they get sandwiches, fruit, crackers, cheese … and a treat. Sometimes the treat is a cookie, or a package of fruit snacks, or a piece of Halloween candy. I’d be offended if my children’s school mandated their nutrition to this degree. Where does the line fall between what is my job and what is theirs?
This school’s note seems to be a couple steps beyond that line. Yet, despite the negative reactions that the school went too far, this incident is not unique. In 2015, a mom in Colorado was shamed from sending a package of Oreos in her child’s lunch. Another report says a child’s Goldfish crackers were taken away as they were deemed an unhealthy choice for school.
I do understand that kids need proper nutrition in order to learn every day, but maybe not so extreme. And while school districts usually have food guidelines and restrictions established, they should do their best to ensure that parents know the rules before the school year starts so they aren’t caught unaware. This way, parents like me will know to save our kids’ fruit snacks for after school so we all don’t get an angry note sent home in a lunchbox.