For any school events, parents are undoubtedly going to prepare (or buy) myriads of food for their children to bring along and as a health-junkie parent, can we stop others from bringing what we deem unhealthy?
Junk food and snacks, for instance. In a Facebook post, a Malaysian teacher, Mohd Fadhli Salleh shared a story about parents who took the time to warn other parents in a WhatsApp group about the presence of junk food, fondly known as “jajan” among the locals.
“I know some parents are strict when it comes to their kids’ food consumption. There was a mother who warned everyone in the group NOT to bring junk food to a school party.”
“That’s just out of your jurisdiction”
It’s responsible of parents (and it’s only natural for them) to care about what’s being served in school, but Fadhli said that parents have no rights at all to instruct others what to bring, and what not to.
“That’s out of your jurisdiction. What’s within your power is to remind your kid NOT to eat junk food, regardless who’s serving it.”
Fadhli admitted that he’s not a fan of junk food himself, and he rarely allows his kid to eat them due to health concerns.
“Once in awhile, it’s fine. ‘Jajan’ is heaven to kids so once in awhile, I’ll grant them entry to paradise,” he joked.
The teacher also suggested parents give leniency for a day or two when it comes to consuming junk food.
“The joy of eating ‘jajan’ as a kid will not be the same when they grow up.”
Dear parents, what do you think of munching on junk food for a bit during the semester-end party for your children? Would you have given some leniency, or strictly no junk food?
