A mum has been slammed over the contents of her four-year-old daughter’s lunchbox.
The mum, known as Emily, has shared her shock online, after her daughter’s daycare complained “she did not send lunch” for the little girl.
“Usually we send her a thermos with hot food, but this is what I packed today,” Emily wrote.
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“A container with a huge strawberry, four enormous green grapes, half a clementine, four slices of ham, a cucumber, a Babybel cheese, a pack of Breton crackers, an Oreo, a small bag of snack mix and a large pack of seaweed.”
The mother said she messaged the daycare back when it complained, saying she had “covered all of the food groups”.
She said “the meat, cheese, crackers and fruit are like a kids’ charcuterie”.
“I have never experienced criticism for our food choices, and I hope they are not giving her a hard time about this nor food shaming her,” she said.
“Daycare is not at all my first choice but a necessary thing in our life. Stressed.”
Most people in the comments were quick to side with Emily, suggesting the daycare was out of line.
“Why are they commenting at all? If they want to prescribe what is ‘acceptable’, they should provide lunch as part of tuition,” said one.
Another added: “They’re delusional if they can’t see that’s a lunch. Sounds like someone just wants to start trouble”.
A third said: “I would tell them they are not nutritionists; I’d also mention most reliable and up-to-date daycares have snacks and food included in the tuition”.
However, one commenter disagreed, saying: “You said you usually send a thermos, so they were probably looking for a thermos. I hope you weren’t too rude to them”.
‘Food is just food’
Another mum recently left a brilliant note in her daughter’s lunchbox over a teacher’s ‘archaic’ food rule.
Caroline said her toddler Evelyn came home from school, explaining how her teacher had told her she had to eat all of her “good foods” first before she ate her “bad foods”.
“She couldn’t have her cookie before eating her sandwich and cucumbers,” the mum said.
“Three years old. At three years old someone has told her that foods are good or bad.
“I am so proud that she had sensed something was off — to know that was not right enough to tell me about it.
“In this moment, I felt a little frustrated by the antiquated instruction from the teacher. I thought, Well that’s silly.
“There are no good foods or bad foods. Food is just food.”
The mum, from the US, plucked up the courage to leave a handwritten note in her little girl’s lunchbox.
“Evelyn has our permission to eat lunch in any order she chooses. None of her foods are ‘good’ or bad’ — they are just food. Thanks,” the note read.
Her post has been viewed more than 55,000 times, with many praising the mum for standing up for her daughter.
“Love your attitude — all food is good. Moderation with all food should be taught,” one suggested.
Another said: “As I teacher, your response is the 100 per cent right. The narrative of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food can actually encourage harmful eating habits to develop. Way back when I was in kindergarten my teacher sent out a letter encouraging parents to only send healthy ‘good’ food and to limit ‘bad’ food and ‘treats’ to only one to two lunches a week. My mum purposely sent a lunch entirely of ‘bad’ food in response.”
One added: “As a former teacher, my thought was the parents packed their kid’s lunch with the intent they eat it; in whatever order or amount”.
Another explained: “As a daycare teacher I will always try to encourage kids to eat at least some of their ‘foods that give them energy to play’ but I can’t imagine telling a kid that foods are good or bad — go parents”.
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