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One Manhattan mom's battle to prevent her children from getting junk food has turned into a food war between parent and school.
MeMe Roth, a 40-year-old mother of two, objects to children getting sweets like popsicles, cupcakes and cookies even during special occasions in public schools like the one her children attend.
While I commend her commitment to stop obesity in her family and schools, I think she's going overboard. At what point is personal responsibility going to come into play with her kids? By the fourth grade, her son should know what he can and cannot eat, and having mom monitor every single thing that may enter his mouth starts becoming a bit silly. Yes, most children would choose sweets over an apple, but if you've taught them about nutrition (which you should have by 4th grade), hopefully, they'll be that one child that chooses the apple. Besides, a cupcake here or there is not going to make one obese, especially if you can get the child active at some point when he gets home.
However, I agree that the amount of sweets available to children for birthday parties, Valentine's Day, and other school activities is a bit much. But when my child comes home, he eats healthy meals and snacks, as yes, sometimes a nonhealthy dessert. Moderation is key.
I would think a simple note to the teacher at the beginning of the year stating her children are not to be given sweets, but instead, a healthy alternative if a child brings in birthday cupcakes should be sufficient.
She sounds like an overbearing control freak, IMO.
No offense, but if you don't want your kid to eat crap food, teach them why it's bad for them, and teach them to say "NO!"; forcing your beliefs on others is not very nice.
The class parties are a sugarfest, but those are (or should be) maybe two days out of the school year. OTOH, a lot of elementary teachers these days seem to be handing out candy as incentives/rewards for pretty much everything, and that's just completely unnecessary.
I went to a party planning thing at the beginning of this last school year. We can't bring in cupcakes and call them cupcakes, we can bring in cupcakes and call them muffins. This was said with a wink and a smile.
So, she can jump up and down all she wants and they will find away around it. And at every party that has been thrown there are carrot sticks and dip.
But, I'm thinking that if she is so wrapped up on it, she should be doing all the cooking for every event. All of the kid's birthdays and all of the special parties. By herself. Nobody else does anything food related and on her dime.
Any nutritionist worth his/her RD (Registered Dietician) will tell you that cupcakes can fit into a healthy diet.
My concern with all this emphasis on obesity is that a lot of people are going to get eating disorders. There are no "good" and "bad" foods.
OTOH, I think that stickers, pencils, etc are better incentives/rewards than candy.
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It just takes one mom
