'That's silly': Frustrated mother leaves note in her 3-year-old's lunchbox for teacher about 'good' and 'bad' foods

A frustrated mother decided to take action after her 3-year-old daughter came home from school and complained that her teacher made comments about how she ate her lunch, according to the New York Post.

Caroline — who posts on TikTok under the username @pezzi.shop — posted to the social media platform about her how 3-year-old daughter came home and said that her teacher told her to eat the "good" parts of her lunch before the "bad" parts.

The "good" parts of the girl's food were apparently a sandwich and cucumbers, and the "bad" part was the cookie Caroline packed for her daughter. The mother went on to say that the teacher's comments go against what she has tried to teach her child about food neutrality, suggesting that there are no "good" or "bad" foods.

@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

In the description of the video, Caroline wrote: "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 decided that the best way to address the issue was to leave a letter in her daughter's lunchbox for the teacher, which read: "Hi! Evelyn has permission to eat lunch in any order she chooses. None of her foods are 'good' or 'bad' — they are just food!"

However, some TikTokers thought the mother was being passive-aggressive with the note. One user responded: "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."

A second user 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.”

Another user suggested that what the teacher said was "way too controlling. No one should tell anyone in what order to eat their food. That’s their meal to enjoy."

Caroline went on to say that the idea of food being neutral — neither "good" nor "bad" — is something she realized after she was an adult. And learning this has allowed her to make more informed choices about her own daughter.

Another user seemed to agree with Caroline, writing, “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.”

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'That's silly': Frustrated mother leaves note in her 3-year-old's lunchbox for teacher about 'good' and 'bad' foods

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'That's silly': Frustrated mother leaves note in her 3-year-old's lunchbox for teacher about 'good' and 'bad' foods

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