ABC News reported that Leeza Pearson was out of fruits and vegetables one day last week, so she put a pack of Oreos in her daughter’s lunchbox to take with her to Children’s Academy in Aurora, Colorado.
Pearson said she was stunned when Natalee came home later in the day with the cookies untouched and a sternly-worded note from the school saying the family needs to pack healthier lunches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmzrVnod_Rk
“Dear Parents, it is very important that all students have a nutritious lunch. This is a public school setting and all children are required to have a fruit, a vegetable and a heavy snack from home, along with a milk. If they have potatoes, the child will also need bread to go along with it.
“Lunchables, chips, fruit snacks, and peanut butter are not considered to be a healthy snack. This is a very important part of our program and we need everyone’s participation.”
When contacted by ABC News , school officials at the Children’s Academy said they had no comment. However, Patty Moon, a spokeswoman for the Aurora Public Schools, said a note in the lunchbox is not supposed to be standard practice
She added, “From our end we want to inform parents but never want it to be anything punitive.”
Pearson believes the school should have let her daughter finish her lunch that particular day and the parents should have been contacted with a suggestion not to pack Oreos again. Pearson also believes the school is not being consistent. Moon said the school was just trying to promote healthy eating, but students were told to bring candy to school for this year’s Easter holiday celebration. Her daughter also receives jelly beans for a snack when she stays for after-school care.
“They say I can’t decide what to feed her, but then they sometimes feed her junk food. Why am I being punished for Oreos when at other times I am asked to bring candy?”
Moon said Natalee was offered an alternative snack, but Pearson said this was not the case, and her child came home hungry.
Pearson is furious about the situation because she said her 4-year-old daughter is not overweight. According to KOMO News , along with the Oreos, Natalee’s lunchbox also included a sandwich and some string cheese .
The mother concluded, “It’s not like I was offering cookies to the entire class, and it’s not like that was the only thing in her lunch.”
Do you think the mother has a right to be upset because of the note about the Oreos?
[Image Courtesy Leeza Pearson]
