Teacher dictating which parts of daughter's lunch she can eat in which order?

[Anonymous]

Unpopular view here but just give the teacher a large ($200+) cash gift at the earliest gift-giving opportunity. Tell her you know it’s tough watching so many kids and all their idiosyncratic diets, but you appreciate knowing Larla is getting to follow the DOR method at school and eat whatever you pack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular view here but just give the teacher a large ($200+) cash gift at the earliest gift-giving opportunity. Tell her you know it’s tough watching so many kids and all their idiosyncratic diets, but you appreciate knowing Larla is getting to follow the DOR method at school and eat whatever you pack.

You want her to pay the teacher to let her child eat whatever order she wants of a lunch the child’s mother packed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here. I NEVER tell kids what order to eat their food in. That’s a setup for future food/body issues. If it’s in their lunch box, they can eat it in whatever order they want. Trust me, policing food like this is a bad idea.

I'm also a teacher and lots of my kids bring garbage snacks to school. I would NEVER comment, not because I don't think its a problem for them, but because I am not paid enough to get in the middle of that and who the heck wants to deal with a parent nastygram?

[Anonymous]

Pack everything you listed but not the cookies. Yes, they're healthy, I get it, I've made many a similar "cookie" and muffin and cake myself. But just make your kid's life easier and the teacher's and your own, too, and have the healthy cookies as an after-school snack. Done.

And an early PP was right to note that teachers see some kids who gobble the sweet stuff or other treats first, and then run out of time to eat the foods which will actually keep them full and energized longer.

Yes, again, I know your oatmeal cookies will do that, they're not commercial crap. But the teacher doesn't have time to parse what ingredients are in them or whether they're healthier than the Oreos the next kid at the table wants to eat first. The teacher does have a vested interest in getting slow-eating preschoolers as a group to eat the stuff that sticks to their ribs and not the things that burn off too fast. It's preschool. She's not a sixth grade teacher snatching away your kid's chips because, unhealthy. (That was an ancient thread here I recall.)

Why put your kid in this position again? Pack a sandwich, berries, yogurt or cucumber slices or whatever and make it the habit not to pack whatever your kid thinks of as cookies. It can be a nice ritual to have the oatmeal cookies or healthy mini muffins or whatever after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Pack everything you listed but not the cookies. Yes, they're healthy, I get it, I've made many a similar "cookie" and muffin and cake myself. But just make your kid's life easier and the teacher's and your own, too, and have the healthy cookies as an after-school snack. Done.

And an early PP was right to note that teachers see some kids who gobble the sweet stuff or other treats first, and then run out of time to eat the foods which will actually keep them full and energized longer.

Yes, again, I know your oatmeal cookies will do that, they're not commercial crap. But the teacher doesn't have time to parse what ingredients are in them or whether they're healthier than the Oreos the next kid at the table wants to eat first. The teacher does have a vested interest in getting slow-eating preschoolers as a group to eat the stuff that sticks to their ribs and not the things that burn off too fast. It's preschool. She's not a sixth grade teacher snatching away your kid's chips because, unhealthy. (That was an ancient thread here I recall.)

Why put your kid in this position again? Pack a sandwich, berries, yogurt or cucumber slices or whatever and make it the habit not to pack whatever your kid thinks of as cookies. It can be a nice ritual to have the oatmeal cookies or healthy mini muffins or whatever after school.

Nope, the child can eat whatever the parent packs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Pack everything you listed but not the cookies. Yes, they're healthy, I get it, I've made many a similar "cookie" and muffin and cake myself. But just make your kid's life easier and the teacher's and your own, too, and have the healthy cookies as an after-school snack. Done.

And an early PP was right to note that teachers see some kids who gobble the sweet stuff or other treats first, and then run out of time to eat the foods which will actually keep them full and energized longer.

Yes, again, I know your oatmeal cookies will do that, they're not commercial crap. But the teacher doesn't have time to parse what ingredients are in them or whether they're healthier than the Oreos the next kid at the table wants to eat first. The teacher does have a vested interest in getting slow-eating preschoolers as a group to eat the stuff that sticks to their ribs and not the things that burn off too fast. It's preschool. She's not a sixth grade teacher snatching away your kid's chips because, unhealthy. (That was an ancient thread here I recall.)

Why put your kid in this position again? Pack a sandwich, berries, yogurt or cucumber slices or whatever and make it the habit not to pack whatever your kid thinks of as cookies. It can be a nice ritual to have the oatmeal cookies or healthy mini muffins or whatever after school.

Nope, the child can eat whatever the parent packs.

And the parent should pack foods that don't create drama in preschoolers' heads. This is so easy--except for parents who feel they just have to assert themselves by including "whatever." But you do you, and wonder later why your kid is so grumpy at the end of the preschool day, when you find their substantial food is still in the lunch bag but the Oreos (or "cookies") are gone. Enjoy that after-school sugar crash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Pack everything you listed but not the cookies. Yes, they're healthy, I get it, I've made many a similar "cookie" and muffin and cake myself. But just make your kid's life easier and the teacher's and your own, too, and have the healthy cookies as an after-school snack. Done.

And an early PP was right to note that teachers see some kids who gobble the sweet stuff or other treats first, and then run out of time to eat the foods which will actually keep them full and energized longer.

Yes, again, I know your oatmeal cookies will do that, they're not commercial crap. But the teacher doesn't have time to parse what ingredients are in them or whether they're healthier than the Oreos the next kid at the table wants to eat first. The teacher does have a vested interest in getting slow-eating preschoolers as a group to eat the stuff that sticks to their ribs and not the things that burn off too fast. It's preschool. She's not a sixth grade teacher snatching away your kid's chips because, unhealthy. (That was an ancient thread here I recall.)

Why put your kid in this position again? Pack a sandwich, berries, yogurt or cucumber slices or whatever and make it the habit not to pack whatever your kid thinks of as cookies. It can be a nice ritual to have the oatmeal cookies or healthy mini muffins or whatever after school.

Nope, the child can eat whatever the parent packs.

And the parent should pack foods that don't create drama in preschoolers' heads. This is so easy--except for parents who feel they just have to assert themselves by including "whatever." But you do you, and wonder later why your kid is so grumpy at the end of the preschool day, when you find their substantial food is still in the lunch bag but the Oreos (or "cookies") are gone. Enjoy that after-school sugar crash.

The good news is you don’t get to decide what a parent feeds their child. Enjoy that every day.

[Anonymous]

Why do I get the feeling that this is more about taking a stand against the man than feeding your child?

[Anonymous]

I haven't read everything, but if the banana mash thing is perceived by all the kids as cookies, then how does the teacher explain to all the kids who would eat the junk cookies first/only when your DD gets to eat hers earlier.

At that age, sometimes broad rules need to be applied, especially when it really isn't terrible if your D has to eat the banana mash last.

Just a thought....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read everything, but if the banana mash thing is perceived by all the kids as cookies, then how does the teacher explain to all the kids who would eat the junk cookies first/only when your DD gets to eat hers earlier.

At that age, sometimes broad rules need to be applied, especially when it really isn't terrible if your D has to eat the banana mash last.

Just a thought....

Huh?

[Anonymous]

Maybe focus more on reading comprehension than making political points vial baked oatmeals?

[Anonymous]

Frankly I would try to sue her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do I get the feeling that this is more about taking a stand against the man than feeding your child?

Obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Preschool teacher here. I NEVER tell kids what order to eat their food in. That’s a setup for future food/body issues. If it’s in their lunch box, they can eat it in whatever order they want. Trust me, policing food like this is a bad idea.

You sound like a teacher who has kept on top of the current best practices— your students are lucky to have you.

She sounds like a sock puppet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read everything, but if the banana mash thing is perceived by all the kids as cookies, then how does the teacher explain to all the kids who would eat the junk cookies first/only when your DD gets to eat hers earlier.

At that age, sometimes broad rules need to be applied, especially when it really isn't terrible if your D has to eat the banana mash last.

Just a thought....

Huh?

The teacher is telling all kids they have to eat the cookies/treats last. OP's "cookies" are assumed by all to be treats, not a healthy alternative. Not fair to the teacher to have to explain, Larla's cookies aren't really cookies. They are healthy. Then what does she do when some other kid brings something and says mine are healthy too. Lunchtime is not the time to spend policing different kinds of cookies or treats. Make a broad rule and stick with it so that kids are focused on getting the lunch eaten.