Reply #233: Oh no there have always been others who brought or could afford to buy [View All]

[LaurenG]

better lunches. In fact most of the kids in my neighborhood had a lot more money than we did so yes I was one of the "outsiders". The problem here is that children feel "less than" because they have to eat a regular lunch rather than what there friends were eating.

If the kids were at home I'm sure even the parents of the "better off" kids would be making sandwiches or macaroni and cheese. No one I know ever makes a full course meal at lunch time. I'm sure there are those who feed their kids junk from fast food places though.

As far as their health, they are better off eating simple foods without all the added salt and who knows what else.

Yes I understand that the kids feel stigmatized which has always been part of growing up one way or another. Can we improve that, of course, but for a child to want to throw up because she sees a cheese sandwich is a sign that the parent has issues to address.

My parents didn't try to blame "the system" because they couldn't afford all the things we thought we needed. The fact that the parent isn't teaching her child to be grateful for what she does have tells us tons about what is wrong with our society.

Yes, we have a great deal of work to do to find better ways of doing things but for a parent to allow a child to feel entitled and angry at the school for what the parent failed to do for her child is a great big mistake. All the parents have to do is explain to the child that it is a temporary situation, that "mommy" didn't get the paperwork in on time and that she's sorry that child is humiliated but that it's being rectified. Teach the child that sometimes we have to do things that are uncomfortable but that it'll be OK.

We are a crazy society, maybe the mom can sue the school district over the harm done. :eyes: