Snack battles

I read in the paper today how a mother was whining how her protective mothering was being foiled by unruly parents exposing her 6-year-old son to junk food at the school's snack time.
The Nerve!

Apparently not every elementary school has snack time provided by parents taking turns. My sister a school librarian said low income schools don't do this because free lunch students can't afford to bring snacks to class. The ones who do have parents complaining about their child's allergies, preferences, and spread of diseases with homemade treats. So this lady's problem is really with the parents of her child's classmates. Her declaration was that children should get healthy snacks her child is allowed to have at home, not what other children are allowed at home. This lady sounds like my sister trying to keep my niece innocent for as long as possible.

Yes, my sister the school librarian has treats in the form of fruit and crackers, with the occasionaly pb&j sandwich on wheat bread. She threw a fit at a family picnic when my Mom gave my niece a cheese curl. Then she freaked out on me when I allowed my niece to eat from the Halloween candy bag that was given by the manager's office at the apartment Halloween party last week. I thought ripping the gift bag from my niece's grasp and not let her have anything from it would be cruel. My sister disagreed. Bad Aunt also gave her Tootsie Rolls a kid knocking at my door was selling for his school last summer. I didn't tell her the snack chips I gave her a few times, though she rolled her eyes at the licorice I shared with my niece. I heard her complain how her babysitter gave her charges potato chips when she ran out of dried fruit.

I think it is good for my niece to learn that there are in fact different rules at different places and with different people. Home, school, work, public events, spouses, friends, grandparents, parents, siblings, adults, children, babysitters, bosses, and coworkers all have different rules of conduct. It is just the way things are. So unless you plan on keeping your kid locked up until adulthood, they will be tainted by junk food, bad words, parental advisory music, and unruly ideas that their family is weird and everyone else is normal. It's called growing up. Get used to it. Post later. Bye!