Kid was forced to finish his lunch at camp—mom’s powerful note with lunch the next day set things straight
People often carry things they experienced in their childhood well into their adulthood. Therefore, it becomes necessary to establish and enforce positive boundaries to support children. A mom enforced her son's boundaries with food in a polite but firm way after he was forced to finish his lunch at camp. The mom and cookbook author, Amy Palanjin, who goes by @yummytoddlerfood on Instagram, shared her powerful note for the teacher about lunch and many people on the internet agreed with her idea.
Palanjin pointed out that her son was forced to eat all his food at camp even after he was full. "Mama bear is ready to back him up. Hope this helps him communicate," she wrote in the text overlay of the post. The next day, she wrote a note for the teacher and stuck it to her son's lunchbox. The note read, "Please let him eat until he is full. He does not have to finish all of the food. Thank you! Amy." The mom pointed out that she understood everyone has a different approach to feeding kids. So she always makes it a point to communicate that her kids are allowed to eat according to their "own hunger and fullness." The woman thought that the "lunch box note" was a useful way to communicate things with her kids' teachers and school staff.
"I've learned to advocate for my kids at school or camp when they need my help and a lunchbox note has been a useful option for us over the years during those (rare) times one of my kids has been forced to eat more than they were hungry for," Palanjin wrote in the caption. "Or was told to eat certain foods before others. Or when something at lunch was stressing them out and I didn't have another way to easily reach the adults in charge at that time of the day." The mom clarified that she really respected the teachers and other staff, so she made it a point to convey her message clearly and without being disrespectful or angry. "Because at the end of the day, we're all on the same team!"
People supported the mom's solution in the comments section of the post. @therdnutritionist wrote, "So important! My oldest is eating lunch at school for the first time this year. Fully prepared to write this note (and have a conversation!). Also… he can eat in whatever order he wants!" @fornutrientssake commented, "I had an awesome little laminated card that my kids kept in their lunch boxes. It basically said the same thing. Also, they were permitted to eat their food in whatever order they liked, including 'treats' first."
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@austy_spumante remarked, "I see a lot of kids barely touch their food, or only eat whatever candy is packed. I personally would never police lunch, but I definitely see why some teachers think they should. Especially since I'm sure some parents get told 'I didn't have time for lunch' or some variation. I think the note is a really good idea!" @high_sarah_tonin_levels shared, "As a teacher, I support this! I never let the kids throw away/dump out their lunch boxes because I want parents to know how much food their kids consumed that day and what nutrients they may have lacked at lunch that they can then supplement at dinner."