OPINION – Melissa Grant
Mind your own lunchbox!
That’s what I would say if someone dared to pass judgement on the contents of my child’s packed lunch.
My daughter is still a few years off starting school, but I’m already starting to dread the lunchbox routine.
However, it’s not the monotony of sandwich making I’m fearing. Rather, it’s the self-appointed lunchbox police who are once again making headlines.
This time, teachers allegedly sent a boy home with his protein balls and organic muffins because they ‘looked like chocolate’ and should be saved for after school.
It is the latest in a long string of ‘lunchbox crimes’ committed by parents. I’ve also read stories of a kindergarten sending a girl home with her vegemite and cheese cruskits and greek yoghurt, and a mum being reprimanded for packing a (gasp) lamington in her kid’s lunchbox.
Parents – who are constantly being judged in today’s society – could do without being schooled on their lunch packing efforts. I’m also not convinced any of this does much good for a child’s already complex relationship with food.
When I was in school nobody really took much notice of what I ate for lunch. Most of the time it was a sandwich, banana and packet of chips or mint slice biscuits. I enjoyed those salty crisps and chocolate coated bickies – and, for the record, always ate my banana.
My husband, on the other hand, was always sent to school with a healthy homemade lunch, which he would throw in the bin before lining up at the tuckshop for a hot chicken roll.
I also had a friend in school who took the bananas out of her lunchbox and hid them in her closet. The stash was only uncovered when her mum noticed a pungent smell emanating from the bedroom.
So even if you fill your kid’s lunchbox to the brim with homemade sushi, cucumber sandwiches and hummus crackers, there is no guarantee they will eat them.
Also, sending your child to school with the odd packet of chips or chocolate bar is hardly going to make them a future candidate for The Biggest Loser.
Parents have enough on their plates without having to worry about being criticised for sending their child to school with the ‘wrong’ foods. They also shouldn’t have to fear their kid will go hungry because an educator has confiscated their lunch.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for packing a healthy lunch and limiting the sugary and fatty stuff. I also understand that childhood obesity is a massive problem in Australia.
What I don’t understand is why lunchbox shaming has become a trend. Surely it’s up to parents to decide what goes in their child’s lunchbox and for educators, who are already busy enough and aren’t dietitians, to keep a lid on their opinions?
I think I’ve made my point so I’ll get back in my box … for now.
