So here is the situation. EB has attended seven different daycares, and they all serve the same crappy lunch. It matters not whether it’s a daycare that costs an arm and a leg or a cheaper place; the menu is always the same. Here is a sample:
- "Meat" (usually dried out chicken, beef tip that looks like the sole of an old boot, or nitrate-filled hot dog)
- "Fruit" (syrupy-sweet canned version)
- "Veggies" (probably have not seen the outside of their aluminum can for years)
That’s why I was so excited when I found that out that we get to pack EB’s lunch at her new pre-school. I’m not a health-food fanatic, nor do I pay attention to the organic fad. But I do like fresh, whole food: fresh fruit, green leafy salads (no iceberg lettuce), a good cut of meat.
So when the school informed us that we have the option of paying for Pizza Fridays, I said, emphatically, abso-positively not. What parent would pay for their child to participate in Pizza Fridays when their child can eat nutritiously and save money at the same time?
Turns out: Every. Single. Parent.
This is an excerpt from her teacher's note: "I think EB would eat better on Fridays if you did the pizza. Everyone eats pizza but her."
How sad! I pictured poor EB sitting at the lunch table, picking at her left-over teriyaki salmon (yes, I actually made her bring that to school) while the other kids danced around her with great slabs of pizza, strung with pepperoni and dripping with all of the greasy goodness.
Hmm. What to do; what to do. K and I weighed the pros and cons. On one hand, we don’t want to be one of those parents that give in just because “everyone is doing it” or “all of the other kids have it.” On the other hand, we don’t want EB to become an outcast at a tender age of three. And as far as peer pressures go, this one is pretty darned harmless.
Pizza Fridays, it is.
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