“I understand that harried teachers are most likely trying to carry out school policy while not being trained dietitians,” Reist told Today. “But my biggest concern is where shaming around food takes us. When children see food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ it can set them up for eating disorders.”
Preach it, sister.
And as Wisener points out, the problems with food shaming aren’t just rooted in the detrimental effects it may have on our child’s future. How about the underlying things that the school lunch aid can’t see? Things like the food stamps that bought the unhealthy lunch choice you’re judging.
“Maybe a child brought a less-than-wholesome lunch into school because that was all that was in their kitchen cabinets,” Wisener writes.
Is making sure a kid knows that they *should* be eating an apple, worth the insecurity you’re instilling in them to prove that point?
And as mothers, fathers and parents, don’t we carry enough shame and guilt around without having some school lunch police reaffirm our fears that we’re screwing our kids up?
Stop the madness people! We’re all just doing what needs to be done for our kids to get through the day. Your food shaming and scolding is is not welcome here.
Like Reist told her friend who sent her 3-year-old to school with a slice of chocolate cake: “Put in two slices tomorrow and tell them to get lost.”
