A well-informed mother brought her 18 month old daughter in
for a routine well check.  Her daughter
was diagnosed with a dairy allergy as a young infant and she was working hard
to reduce/eliminate dairy from her daughter’s diet.  Surprisingly, the daycare was reluctant to
let Mom bring in a special lunch for her every day.  They allowed her to only bring in a dairy
free lunch on the 2 out of the 10 day lunch schedule cycle when obvious dairy
based lunches like macaroni and cheese were scheduled to be served.  The daycare management explained that it was unfair to the
other kids to see her daughter get a special meal.  They were afraid that the other kids would
want some of her lunch.  As a result, her
daughter eats daycare food and snacks all other days, some with small amounts
of dairy protein. 

Regular menu items include chicken nuggets, Salisbury steak,
purple jello, cheesy crackers, fruit in sugar syrup and a host of other
preserved, processed foods that are relatively inexpensive and have a long shelf/refrigerator/freezer life.  The menu had rare fresh vegetables,
whole grains and clean proteins.  To “ease”
Mom’s fears, the daycare staff reported that her daughter was a “great eater”, and
she and “Big Ryan” were their clutch eaters when there was leftover food.  They were known to be able to down 3rds and
4ths most every day.  Mom was mortified to learn and report this to me. 

As you may have suspected, things were not any better on the home front.  Mom admitted that her home diet was
actually worse.  Noodles and ketchup dominated
dinner most every night.  She would eat
any type of pasta shape but would consistently push away all proteins and
veggies.  Of note, Mom was diagnosed with
gestational diabetes during her pregnancy and was reluctant to give up her
pasta at the time.  She eventually did
eat low glycemic in order to avoid insulin treatment.  But like many carboholics, it was no surprise
that Mom had resumed her previous pasta- loving ways. 

This story is a sad statement of many pressures and forces
that keep America sick.  Institutions in
charge of molding our children have become complacent with feeding our children
dangerous “food” and parents are living in a current day WALL-E world.  Unhealthy, addictive food is making
intelligent, well-informed people live in complete denial of what they know is
right for their bodies and their babies. 

These situations are hard to swallow but we have to digest
this sobering information and then gather up enough energy to make one small,
yet powerful, stance.  That might mean you
have to go against the grain (pun intended) and challenge the daycare or school to be
better.  Perhaps get “Jamie Oliver” on them and start your own mini version of a food revolution.  Your journey might require you to take your child
somewhere else where there is an equal emphasis on healthy mind AND health body.  No doubt, there will be stumbles in your
journey.  Life guarantees it, but get
back up and try again…every, single  time.  You are the only one who can do this for you
and your children.  Give them a chance to
know health early.  Fight for them, even if
that means “fighting” against them at the dinner table, but know this:

The world is in a constant conspiracy
against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one
side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.                                                                                                                                                                       ~Douglas
MacArthur