By Laura Bewick, RD
Recently, CBC ran an article interviewing registered dietitian Abby Langer about how teachers have no right to police children’s lunches at school. I couldn’t agree more.
As a registered dietitian and a mom in Sudbury, I know this is going on in our schools as well. Though I deeply believe teachers always mean well, not allowing kids to eat foods sent from home because it is considered a “treat” can be harmful.
How food enters a lunch box can look different in every home and making kids feel ashamed about their food choices could impact their long-term relationships with food.
What makes labelling foods as “treats” even more confusing is that “treat” is not defined.
One person’s definition of a “treat” can be very different from someone else’s. Many parents are frustrated to learn that their homemade, high-fibre muffin was considered a “treat” because it contained chocolate chips, when they felt they had sent a healthy snack choice.
My own kids have shed tears over this in the past, so if you think a small comment doesn’t affect these kids, I beg to differ.
Teachers obviously have a large and important role to play in educating kids and families on nutrition, but once the food hits the lunch bag teachers shouldn’t comment.
Continued education will hopefully lead to a healthier lunch bag, but if not, it should be left out of the conversation.
I am raising my kids to be balanced, healthy eaters (who also have their share of treats). As parents, it is our job to decide what our children eat and when, and it is a child’s responsibility to decide whether to eat it or not.
Sending food in a child’s lunch is a parent deciding what they eat and when, so it is not up to the teacher to decide if they should eat it or not. For parents and teachers looking to help schools deliver effective nutrition education, I would encourage them to check out a new online tool called BrightBites.
This was formerly named “Nutrition Tools for Schools”, and is written and maintained by the Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health (OSNPPH) members.
You can access this tool at BrightBites.ca.
Laura Bewick is a registered dietitian and a parent in Greater Sudbury.
