Teacher's lunchbox note slams mum's food choices
Fair enough or OTT?
So we all know the importance of healthy eating and sending our kids off with a well balanced and nutritious snack or lunch for school or nursery, so this kind of thing can make us suck our teeth a bit in exasperation, right?
A woman called Melinda Tankard Reist shared the snap of the sad face and 'please choose healthier choices' note on Facebook, explaining that it had been received by a chum of hers at the end of the school day.
She wrote:
'My friend (mother of 8 healthy children, what follows relating to no. 7) received this today from her 3 year old's kindy. I told her to put in two slices tomorrow and tell them to get lost'.
She's deffo got her pal's back, hasn't she? And the commenters on her post seemed to be - in the main - agreeing with her too - our kids, our lunchboxes, our rules:
'What nonsense! Teacher is probably just jealous that she didn't have choccy slice... that's Food Police gone over the top,' wrote one, while another chipped in with: 'How do they know it wasn't made from cacao, quinoa and dates?
"Regardless I don't think it's ok for schools to be policing food choices. Guidelines should be presented but then it should be up to parents decision."
(Good point).
Other mums and dads shared stories of being hauled over the coals for jam sandwiches and mini muffins in their children's food boxes, and felt that it was not school's place to dictate to them about their kids' diets.
Some parents felt that the teacher was right though, and that schools and nurseries should have a zero tolerance approach to cakes and sweets in kids' lunchboxes:
"I think it's awesome," wrote one parent. "We have a massive childhood obesity problem in this country. So obviously parents are sending too much crap to school, as well as at other times.
"It shouldn't take a childcare centre to have to remind them, but it seems that's where we are at."
Hmmm, we're a bit unsure on this one - surely the 'everything in moderation' approach is best? Maybe if the mum in question had been sending a chocolate slice in every day, teacher could have had a quiet word (rather than sending home a pass agg note).
But really, if it was a one off - maybe a piece of leftover birthday cake, or a special treat for the child, was it really going to do any harm?
What do you think?
Have you ever come up against anything like this at your little ones' school or childcare? Let us know in comments or on Facebook.
Pic: Melinda Tankard Reist/Facebook
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