Teacher Advises Parents To Stop Bringing Cupcakes To Celebrate Their Kid's Birthday In The Classroom
Her no-cupcake stance sort of makes sense.
LightField Studios | Shutterstock Students who are lucky enough to have a birthday during the school year get to take time out of their normally scheduled day to bring joy to their peers in the form of a sweet treat meant to share.
In general, birthday etiquette seems to be a hot-button issue, and even teachers are getting into the discourse.
A teacher advised parents to stop bringing cupcakes to celebrate their kid’s birthday in the classroom.
“I love to celebrate birthdays in my classroom,” Mrs. Brackemyers said. “I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but please don’t bring cupcakes.”
Her anti-cupcake stance centered around the mess-to-enjoyment ratio that the miniature cakes hold.
“These make a ginormous mess, and the kids honestly don’t eat them that great,” she said. “They’re just a mess. The frosting gets all over, and the kids aren’t sure what to do. It’s just too much for them, and it’s too messy.”
Brackmyers shared alternative options to cupcakes that would wreak less havoc on her classroom.
She suggested bringing sugar cookies, saying, “The kids love them. They have sprinkles, they love them, and they eat them, and they’re not a ginormous mess.”
Kzenon | Shutterstock
“Donuts is also a great one,” she continued. “These are also really small, which is really great… Another great idea is — I had a student bring in these ice cream cups. All the kids love them, and they also just had sprinkles, and they put sprinkles on there; they loved them; it was so fun for them, and they ate it all, and it wasn’t messy.”
She also suggested handing out snack cakes, like Little Debbie’s, saying, “Cosmic brownies are always a favorite in my room.”
“These are just simple, easy snacks that you can bring for your child in the classroom that are not as messy and also the kids love,” she concluded.
The kindergarten teacher’s opinion on birthday treats seemed to focus on how messy they would make her classroom.
It’s a valid take, especially with kids in the 4-to-5 age range, who, let’s face it, haven’t fully developed their coordination skills enough to not get frosting literally everywhere but their mouths.
The teacher’s plea against cupcakes makes sense when you realize she’s the sole person responsible for cleaning up the frosting smears and crumb trails left on every table.
LightField Studios | Shutterstock
Of course, some messiness and chaos are to be expected in a kindergarten classroom, yet the underlying issue is bigger than cupcakes.
It’s well-established that teachers are underpaid. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for kindergarten teachers is $63,680.
The lowest 10 percent made under $45,650, and the highest 10 percent made over $100,390.
Teachers aren’t being paid enough to act as professional cleaner-uppers after a kid’s birthday celebration.
Some might say it’s part of their job to care for their students in any capacity, while others might take a stance that they don’t need to go above and beyond when they’re not being fairly compensated for their labor.
Teacher burnout is a very real issue, and more teachers are leaving the profession to find corporate jobs where cupcakes are never an issue.
Expecting teachers to do it all is a recipe for those teachers crashing, which is the last thing parents should want. If cupcakes make this teacher’s daily duties more difficult, then maybe bringing cookies is a fair replacement.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.