Birthday Cupcakes and Candy Canes Banned from School – And Parents are Mad as Hell

{OPINION}

A primary school in Tasmania has banned their students from bringing in birthday cupcakes and Christmas card candy canes in an attempt to promote a healthy eating program. Parents are in an uproar, children are upset, and the school are sticking to their guns. How ridiculous!

Even Tasmania’s Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff  has urged the school to reconsider banning the treats.

‘Christmas comes once a year as do children’s birthdays, so while I appreciate the importance of a balanced healthy diet, I urge the school association to use some common sense and reconsider,’ Mr Rockliff said in a statement.

But Bellerive Primary School are adamant that their healthy eating policy will begin immediately, starting with the abolishment of mini candy canes inside Christmas cards. They concede that any child having a birthday in the last few weeks of this year may bring in cupcakes to celebrate with their classmates, but that the tradition will not be tolerated in 2017.

What the actual hell?

Who died and made this school the Fun Police?

Does the school really think that little of parents that they feel they need to step in and monitor the sugar intake of their students? Because come on. We’re all over this. We’ve kept these children alive since birth. WE are in charge of what our little people eat, not the damn school.

Sure, ban peanuts and any other foods containing nuts. That’s a no-brainer. Nut allergies can kill people very quickly, and I don’t know a single parent negligent enough to willfully cause another child to die just because their little darling only eats Nutella sandwiches. It’s not even an issue.

But to ban all cupcakes and candy canes? That is nuts!

It is one thing to limit the amount of unhealthy options in the school canteen. That’s fine with me. The key word here is “limit” – and still allow the children the opportunity to make healthy choices.

I recently enrolled our youngest child in Kindergarten (we’re from NSW, think Prep or what have you in your state. It should all be exactly the same nation-wide but that’s another rant!). While my five year old was off exploring the school and meeting her buddy, the parents were ushered into the school hall where we were subjected to a lecture by the Cancer Council.

Now, the Cancer Council do good work. I have no beef with them.

What I do have a problem with, however, is a 22 year old lady employed by the Cancer Council to lecture parents how to feed their children. This woman has clearly never attempted to feed a child the foods she was suggesting we pack in their lunchboxes. Chickpeas! Corn kernels! Fresh lettuce! Oh, but no ham or devon (fritz/bologna/whatever) because it is processed and your child will get cancer. Try some grilled chicken or turkey instead. Sushi was suggested. I kid you not.

What. The. Actual. Hell.

No muesli bars, no sweet biscuits, no crackers. All bad for you, you see. Fruit only, not too much dried fruit though. And yoghurt too, but only if it’s the healthy kind.

Now I understand there might be the odd “bad parents” out there that bring their kids a Happy Meal at lunchtime and send them to school with a lunch box full of Pringles and Skittles.  Why not have a quiet word to those parents instead of declaring everyone utterly unhealthy and banning sweets for “our own good?”

It is downright INSULTING to be lectured on healthy eating by schools! They are there to teach students, not grown-arse adults who know what they are doing. Do not tell me what to feed my child.

The schools don’t know what we eat for every other non-school meal of the week. And it sounds like they are assuming that we are keeping the fast food industry propped up and own shares in Cadbury.

The schools need to focus on things they are in charge of,  like bullying, illiteracy and maintaining a positive and stable environment for their students.

Let us do our jobs, and how about you do yours!

Why not run a weekly health class instead? Talk to the children about healthy eating, moving their bodies and general well being. I would be most supportive of this, but only as long as they also include information about all qualities of living a healthy lifestyle, mind body and soul. Teach them to make healthy choices in all aspects of their lives. Include some stretching or calisthenics. Great!

But do not take away the treats that make their time at school special. I will be the judge of that, thank you very much!