I happened to come across this paragraph in an e-mail I wrote a year and a half ago, lamenting the amount of junk food that people give my son. I thought it was worth posting here. (I edited his former teacher’s name for privacy.)
Peter had a great time at the party (though he collided with another
kid in the bouncing house and cut his lip a bit, but nothing major).
They gave him a goodie bag full of candy, because of course the junk
food can’t just stop with the party. Meanwhile, his school has been
selling freezie pops and he’s been upset that I won’t give him money
to buy one, and I just checked Madame A’s website this evening
and they’re going to be selling chips and pop. Not even any mention
of what they might be fundraising for, just that they want me to send
in money so they can give my kid junk food. It’s so pervasive!!! I
don’t want to be the mean mom who’s always saying no. I don’t have a
problem with some junk food–I do have a sweet tooth (and I went a
little overboard buying Easter candy myself). But all these people
giving junk to my kid are taking away the opportunity for me to give
him something special. They’re not treats anymore. They’re not
really special because they’re everywhere, all the time. I
particularly disapprove of the schools doing it. At a birthday party,
okay. But in school??? They should be teaching kids about healthy
foods, not trying to make money off of them while ingraining
unhealthy, disease-promoting habits.
