How much control should a school have over their students’ diets?
This question is increasingly relevant today as more and more schools implement guidelines about the foods students are allowed to eat and bring to school.
Some schools provide healthy snack ideas, like the following:
But are these “ideas” actually guidelines? Is it okay for administration to ask a student to change the food they bring to school?
According to Kidspot, one Australian mom thought she was abiding by the school lunch rules when she packed her daughter a sandwich roll, orange, kiwi fruit, two boiled eggs, and sultanas (an Australian brand of raisins).
However, she was appalled when she received a note from the school, claiming that something she packed was unacceptable.
Share
Source: Oh So Busy Mum via Facebook
Apparently, sultanas, or raisins, were too high in sugar and thus unacceptable to bring to school.
Share
Source: Step to Health
She posted the note on Facebook, and it quickly garnered a lot of attention, with many other moms writing back.
Share
Source: Oh So Busy Mum via Facebook
These moms argued that the school has no right to dictate what kind of food they pack for their kids. They argue that they should have authority over what to feed their children, especially because they are the ones paying for groceries.
Other moms pointed out that the school’s “recommended” list of snacks contained items that are actually very high in sugar.
Share
Source: Oh So Busy Mum via Facebook
If a school is going to exert authority over their students’ diets, then the administration should at least make sure that they recommend items that are healthy according to their standards.
And others laughed at how the school contradicted their own rules, pointing out how “dried or tinned/packaged fruit/vegetables” were actually on the recommended snack list.
Share
Source: Oh So Busy Mum via Facebook
A professional dietician even chimed in, stating that lunch shaming needs to stop:
“I have a VERY strong professional opinion about all this note sending and food shaming: IT HAS TO STOP! It is absolutely crazy and does nothing but upset and stress out already tired mums who are trying their best.”
Whatever your opinion is on how much authority schools should have over their students’ diets, this school administration clearly overstepped its bounds. While this school administration may have been well-intentioned, its contradictory recommended snack list and poorly drafted note resulted in a counterproductive mess that did nothing but lunch-shame a mom who was doing her best to abide by the rules.
While we can all agree that it is important for our kids to have healthy diets, enforcing healthy diets in a way that is both effective and that does not encroach on a parent’s authority is not easy. Hopefully, we can strike the right balance in the future.
Let us know what you think about how much authority schools should have over their kids’ diets in the comments.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
H/T: Refinery29
