We can all be hypocrites at some point in our lives on one subject or another. I was called out on one yesterday. By my hubby. He said he wasn’t trying to call me out. But he did.
Let me start by saying that I am very happy with my son’s school. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to be able to send him to a public school and feel good about it (maybe we can talk about this more at a later time). But there is one thing that absolutely drives me bonkers. The junk food. It is out of control!
Teachers give candy as rewards, kids brings treats in to share, the PTA sells slushies and ice cream to raise money. It’s so much. Why would teachers give out candy? If I were a teacher I wouldn’t want the students consuming sugar. Yikes! Can you imagine a class full of 6 and 7 year olds on a sugar high, and then the crash. Why do they want to make their jobs harder?
I have explained to him that it’s not that I don’t ever want him to have sweets. But I am going to limit it when I can. If a classmate brings in cupcakes for their birthday, I don’t mind because this doesn’t happen very often. And the good Lord knows I love me some sweets. You might even say I have a sugar addiction, which is why I don’t want him to consume so much. I know that he doesn’t need it and will be better off without it. With as much diabetes as there is in my family, I know I don’t need it either. But I feel like when I make desserts at least I know what’s in it. No high fructose corn syrup (just good ol’ fashioned sugar), no soy (just good ol’ butter fat), and no preservatives (just have to eat it before it gets moldy). A while ago I read an article that said if you want to be healthy, just make everything from scratch. That way you are less likely to eat bad stuff, because it takes times and effort. The problem with this is that I like to bake. If I have a hankering for cinnamon rolls, I make me some cinnamon rolls.
So now to the hypocrisy. Hopefully you all know about “Talk like a Pirate” day. It may be one of my favorite days. I learned about it by accident last year, and was happy to participate this year. Krispy Kreme has kind of taken this thing over. If you talk like a pirate they will give you a free doughnut. But if you actually dress like a pirate, you get a WHOLE DOZEN! Well, of course I did this! It’s saving money, right? Right?!?!? So I dressed up like a pirate, and dressed up my 3 year old like a parrot. HeeHee! We had lots of fun. But I didn’t really want for us to eat that whole dozen of hot, delicious, melt in your mouth goodness. I thought it would be fun to take them to my son’s school. We would surprise him at lunch to eat with him and then hand out the doughnuts to his classmates. Cool mom points, right? But what a hypocrite! Here I am not wanting my son to eat junk at school, feeling sorry for his teacher, and I’m taking in some of the most fatty, sugary treats possible. Did it stop me. Nope.
I think it’s important to do fun things with your kids. I think it’s important to be healthy. I think it’s important to be flexible. So I chose to share the doughnuts. Next week I’ll send celery sticks.
I think it’s all about balance. Like you said, class birthdays come once in a while, and Talk/Dress Like a Pirate Day comes once a year. If you limit sugar on a regular basis, then there’s nothing wrong with a fun splurge (and opportunity to share the sweet goodness) for a treat. I think there’s some wisdom to the old 80/20 rule. (Healthy, conscious food 80% of the time and not-so-healthy…but still conscious…food 20% of the time.) Maybe if I get inspired, I’ll switch to 90/10, but for now this keeps me sane (and helps me swallow the fact that my kid is getting treats at school that I otherwise wouldn’t approve of!)
P.S. You and Little Man pull off an adorable pirate duo!