When my daughter eats enough of her dinner, she can have dessert.
Tonight, she showed me her nearly empty plate which she finished long after we’d finished dinner.
“Can I have dessert?” she asked. I assented. She chose an ice cream drumstick. I asked her to eat it at the dinner table.
Watching her, I noticed that after she took her first bite, she raised her hands triumphantly and said, under her breath, “Hurray for ice cream!”
I asked her to confirm what I thought she had said. She did.
What other foods would she celebrate? We got a list.
- “Hurray for pizza!”
- “Hurray for cheese!”
- “Hurray for french toast!”
- “Hurray for milk!”
- “Hurray for chocolate chip muffins!”
All these foods are ones she’s eaten at school, a product of a federal grant that has made breakfasts and lunches free for this academic year.
We can regulate the healthy food she eats at home. She has to eat carrots, meat, and fruit before she gets a sweet. If we let school determine her diet, there are no such restrictions. I worry about it.
The truth is that I could change it. I could send her to lunch with food that’s healthier.
But it’s so convenient to have her eat at school!
So if I’m really worried about, guess what I can do? Start acting differently.
Learning Together 