Furious mum shamed by daycare for her three-year-old’s ‘unhealthy’ lunchbox snacks

A mum was furious to find that her toddler was banned from eating the snack she provided for him because it was ‘unsuitable’ for daycare.

Iman shared a photo of the sugar-free cookies she sent with her three-year-old son and the message the centre emailed two days after he started daycare.

The mum had packed two chocolate chip cookies that were gluten-free, refined-sugar free, and contained no eggs, soy, or dairy. They were instead made with coconut sugar, oats, coconut nectar, and natural vanilla flavour.

‘My son started daycare two days ago and I got a message from his teacher,’ she shared in a popular Facebook group dedicated to lunchbox ideas for children.

But the teacher’s note to her refused to acknowledge the healthier alternative and chastised parents for packing ‘unhealthy’ snacks.

It read: ‘This is a kind reminder that chocolate, candies, nuts, peanut butter, zaatar, and boiled eggs are not allowed. Our food policy is for the safety of the kids.’

‘Please note that non-healthy food options are not permitted at school and not allowed to be eaten if brought.’

‘Also, we recommend limiting sugary drinks. Therefore we don’t recommend sending boxed juices or flavoured milk – our first choice is water and milk.’

The mum had sent a healthy pack of two chocolate chip cookies that were gluten-free, refined-sugar free, and contained no eggs, soy, or dairy

The teacher’s note to her refused to acknowledge the healthy alternative to a regular chocolate chip cookie and chastised parents for packing ‘unhealthy’ snacks 

The frustrated mum then shared the note, along with a photo of the cookies, on the Facebook group.

She was pleased to find that some parents agreed it was out of line.

‘I understand the allergy concern request but no way would I be okay with a school telling me what they think is healthy or not,’ one mum said. 

She added, ‘I’d be talking to whoever I had to if teachers didn’t let my child eat something I packed for them if it’s not an allergy related concern.’

‘Also not letting them eat his snack, way to set up an unhealthy relationship with food,’ another mum argued. 

‘This is also an issue for certain people who may struggle with financial issues and/or single parents who simply don’t have enough time to pack/make healthy meals.’

But others believed the school was in the right and could not see why mums insist on feeding their children processed sugar.

‘Why would you want your child eating sugar or chocolate for a snack though? The school is right, it should only be water or milk.’

‘I think this is appropriate – there is too much childhood diabetes and obesity. Surely people have enough time to chop a few fruits or throw a quick sandwich together, it is their child’s health at the end of the day.’

Another mum provided a teacher’s perspective. 

‘As an educator myself, it is hard to justify to 30 other children why this healthy chocolate cookie is allowed and theirs isn’t – so I can understand why he wasn’t allowed to eat it.’

‘Teachers have to run around looking after so many children and they do not have the time to stop and check the labels of every packaged snack that comes with a kid.’