A mum received a note from her child’s nursery asking her to put healthier options in her three-year-old’s lunchbox.
A photo of the note was shared on Facebook by Australian writer Melinda Tankard Reist, who wrote: “My friend (mother of eight healthy children, what follows relating to number seven) received this today from her three-year-old’s kindergarten.
“I told her to put in two slices tomorrow and tell them to get lost.”
The note, which was headed with a sad face, read: “Your child has a chocolate slice from the red food category today.
“Please choose healthier options for kindy [kindergarten].”
The photo shared on 2 February did not go down well with other parents. Some explained they had been in similar situations.
“We got the same sort of thing for a jam sandwich,” one dad wrote. “Some of these people would rather the kids have nothing I swear. It’s not on.”
Another wrote: “I got a note for sending chocolate tiny teddies, yet the honey or plain ones were absolutely acceptable.
“I’d just send her in with a whole chocolate cake as a thank you to the teacher.”
Another person added: “Way to single out the child and make them feel like they have done something wrong.”
However, not everyone thought the nursery was in the wrong.
“Please remember it is not a personal attack on parents, parenting ability or anything else,” one person wrote.
“It is simply encouraging purely healthy food at kindergarten level. I’m sure most, if not all kindys have similar policies.
“Let’s try to put this into perspective. I think that as long as the centres are encouraging healthy eating because it is good for you, as opposed to it makes you fat, then I don’t really see the problem.”
What do you think? Is there a different way the nursery could have alerted the parents about the food? Let us know in the comments below.