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Mom leaves angry note in daughter’s lunchbox for teacher: ‘That’s silly’

By
News.com.au
Published Feb. 26, 2024, 5:03 a.m. ET

An angry mother has taken matters into her own hands after her young daughter came home from school complaining about a comment her teacher made about her lunch.

Caroline, who posts on social media under the name @pezzi.shop, took to TikTok to reveal her 3-year-old daughter had arrived home one afternoon saying her teacher told her to eat her “good” foods before her “bad” foods.

This meant the toddler had to eat her sandwich and cucumbers before her cookie, which Caroline explained goes against what she tries to teach her little girl about food neutrality.

@pezzi.shop

Here’s the story: My three-year-old came home from school yesterday, telling me that her teacher told her that she had to eat all of her “good” foods before she ate her “bad” foods. She couldn’t have her cookie before eating her sandwich and cucumbers. In this moment, I felt a little frustrated by the antiquated instruction from the teacher, but I responded saying, “Well that’s silly. There are no good foods or bad foods. Food is just food!“ I will say, this was not my internal dialogue growing up, but because of the information that I have from so many great accounts created by moms and experts, in the field of childhood and nutrition, I am armed with better responses, knowledge and practices for my kids. Three years old. At three years old someone has told her that foods are good or bad. I am so proud that she had sensed something was off – to know that was not right enough to tell me about it. We talk about it all the time at home… If you only eat carrots or broccoli your body won’t have protein it needs to grow strong muscles. If you only eat chicken, your body won’t have enough energy to do things like run and play all day long. We need little bits of everything to make sure that we are able to learn and play and grow all day long. So to the accounts that make sure we have the words, knowledge and confidence to write the note and practice it at home, I thank you, thank you, thank you. It has changed our family for the better. What you do and what you share is so important to young families. #kidsnutrition #kidseatincolor #solidstarts #kidfood #babyledweaning toddlers moms babies family @Jennifer Anderson, MSPH RD @Feeding Littles @Kacie Barnes, MCN, RDN @Food Science Babe

♬ It’s All Right I Got Ya Baby – Neon Dreams

“In this moment, I felt a little frustrated by the antiquated instruction from the teacher, but I responded saying, ‘Well that’s silly. There are no good foods or bad foods. Food is just food,’” the mother said.

Caroline decided the best way to approach the matter was by leaving a handwritten note for her daughter’s teacher.

“None of her foods are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ — they are just food!”

The mom's note is seen in the daughter’s lunch box after her teacher’s comment.
The mom’s note in the daughter’s lunchbox after the teacher’s comment. @pezzi.shop / Tiktok
This meant the 3-year old had to eat her sandwich and cucumbers before her cookie. @pezzi.shop / Tiktok

Social media users were divided by the mom’s note, with the mom believing her message wasn’t passive-aggressive.

“I’m sure the teacher wasn’t trying to be cruel … maybe you could have talked to the teacher instead of a passive aggressive note on your three-year-old’s lunch,” one social media user said.

Another commented: “As a teacher, your response is 100 per cent right. The narrative of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food can actually encourage harmful eating habits to develop.”

“That’s way too controlling. No one should tell anyone in what order to eat their food. That’s their meal to enjoy,” one added.

Another said: “As long as my daughter is full enough to concentrate I don’t care what part of her lunch she eats first. It’s usually mostly fruit and deli turkey anyway … but she could start with Oreos for all I care.”

Caroline said the idea of food not being “good” or “bad” but instead just being food wasn’t her internal dialogue growing up but people educating her as an adult has meant she can make more informed choices with her own daughter.