My Son’s Teacher Denied Him a Snack in His Lunchbox Because She Thought It Was Unhealthy
As parents, we make decisions for our kids based on what we know about them. And when another adult steps in and makes decisions without us, we can’t help but feel upset by it.
Ashley Griffiths, a mom in Australia, posted a video on TikTok after having such an interaction. She explains that her son came home with the cake she packed for his lunch uneaten. According to the child, the teacher on lunch duty refused to open the cake because she deemed the food unhealthy.
“I wanna know if you think this is something I could raise up at my child’s school,” Griffiths said in the video.
Does a teacher have the right to make such a decision?
Griffiths revealed in the video that her son is currently going through a growth spurt and is eating everything she feeds him, which is why she was confused when the cake came home in his lunchbox.
“He said that the teacher on duty at lunchtime wouldn’t open it for him because it’s ‘not healthy,'” she says. “I don’t remember asking you.”
She then goes on to explain that she always makes sure her son has a “well balanced” lunchbox, saying she packs everything from dairy products to fruit, sandwiches to cold meats.
“Lots of selection and lots of variety,” she says.
“We believe in this house that it’s our job as adults to provide enough food and variety for our son’s nutritional needs to be met and to allow him to listen to his body and make decisions accordingly,” Griffiths explained.
We as parents should be making the decisions about the lunches we pack
Griffiths wants her son to have an autonomous relationship with the foods he eats, and yes, that includes sweet or sugary foods.
“I know some people call them ‘treats’ or ‘sometimes foods’ or whatever. We just call it food in this house. We do not attach a moral value to food,” she says.
She goes on to point out that it’s her job as an adult and her son’s mother to help him have a healthy relationship with food.
It can be frustrating to have strangers make assumptions about our choices
Understandably, Griffiths is “a little bit annoyed” that the teacher has inserted her opinions into a child’s lunchbox. She points out that this teacher doesn’t know her as a mom. She is likely using her own opinions and views of food to make decisions for other people’s children, which doesn’t sit well with this mom.
“As far as I’m concerned, if my son has eaten his ham and his cheese and his yogurt and his fruit and his sandwich, he can have the f–-king cake if he’s hungry. He can eat the f–king cake because it’s not in there to be a decoration. I made the decision to put it in there for him,” she asserts.
She also feels bad that this played out in front of her son’s friends, and that the boy was possibly made to feel shame over “healthy” food choices.
The question is, should she bring this up to the teacher and the school?
Griffiths ends the video asking her followers if she should “let it slide” or wait to see if it happens again before discussing it. Many in the comments were quick to jump in with their own stories of something similar happening.
“My sons kindy did this… so I just put everything opened in containers and told him to tell them ‘mum said yes and she’s the boss’… he did that.”
“Some schools take this whole lunchbox thing way too far. Parents pack what they know their kid will eat,” someone else said.
“100% say something or write an email. I put everything in Ziploc bags to unfortunately avoid circumstances like these,” another person said.
“Send him with a printed-out copy of the balanced food wheel showing sweet things, then attach it to the cake with a note to that teacher!!” someone said.
Source: www.mom.com
