Kindergarten Teacher Told A Boy He Wasn’t Allowed To Eat The Breakfast His Mom Packed Because It Was ‘Too Unhealthy’
"My poor boy was so confused and hungry when I got him."
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock The relationship that adults cultivate with food often starts from a very young age. That's why it's important for adults to be careful about the words they use in association with certain foods.
Posting to the subreddit "r/mildlyinfuriating," a mom admitted that she was incredibly frustrated with her son's teacher after hearing that he was deprived of eating the food packed in his lunchbox because of its supposed health value.
Her kindergartener wasn't allowed to eat his breakfast because it was deemed 'too unhealthy.'
In her Reddit post, she explained that her son is picky, so she often has to experiment with different foods just to get him to eat.
Reddit
She managed to make him a breakfast platter that he was actually excited about, which rarely happens. In his lunch container for school, she packed him apple slices, a freeze-dried banana, some chips, sunflower seeds, and a croissant.
However, her son wasn't able to eat his breakfast after his teacher claimed the contents of his lunchbox were unhealthy. "Safe to say I went ballistic on the teacher. My poor boy was so confused and hungry when I got him," she admitted.
Pressuring children to follow strict dietary rules will only lead to a negative relationship with food and with themselves, including feelings of stress, anxiety, or low self-esteem.
It can also lead to them feeling isolated from their peers due to the foods that they're allowed to eat and aren't allowed to eat. On top of that, this teacher had no right to police the kinds of food that his parents packed.
Sharomka | Shutterstock
Young children, especially picky eaters, should not be saddled with any anxiety regarding nourishment. It probably takes a lot of work to get him to finish a meal, and any win is a good win.
A parent knows what's best for their kid, and this mother clearly wants her son to eat a well-rounded breakfast to start his day. Her decision shouldn't have been undermined by a teacher without speaking to her first.
Children shouldn't have to associate food with morality.
Labeling foods as good or bad or putting any negative connotation to a certain food group can create feelings of guilt and shame. As children grow up, this can often lead to an eating disorder, which affects at least 9% of the global population.
A registered dietician named Jennifer Anderson shared a viral post in 2020 where she urged parents to stop shaming certain food groups around their children.
She pointed out that labeling certain foods as not "good enough" could impact them into adulthood, resulting in an unhealthy relationship between eating and wellness.
ElenaYakimova | Shutterstock
"Please, don't tell your child school lunches are bad, unhealthy, or only for 'poor kids.' One, these statements are false. And two, you have no idea how one comment from an unhungry child to a child at risk of hunger can cause long-term damage," Anderson wrote. "When stigmatized kids skip a school lunch, they miss tons of nutrition that they can't get later."
Teachers should be creating safe and positive environments for the kids in their classroom, and shaming them for the food that their parents pack for them to eat does the complete opposite of that.
Unless a parent makes it clear that their child can't have a certain food for health reasons, a teacher has no right to intervene in something that just doesn't concern them.
Food is food, and as long as a child is eating, there should be no problem.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.