In the battle against junk food, it’s kvetch as kvetch can

You say you’re a parent who is deeply concerned about your children’s nutritional welfare? You say that nobody takes the problem of childhood obesity more seriously than you do? That nobody is more totally committed to ensuring that your kids are not exposed to foods of questionable nutritional value? Then you obviously haven’t heard of MeMe Roth, compared to whom you likely are a study in child neglect.

Sarah White authored a “Nibbles” post about Roth last week which, given the limited text space involved, was necessarily brief.

But when it comes to stamping out anything edible that may contribute to childhood weight problems, MeMe is either an inspiring role model or a obsessive nutcake, depending on your point of view. Either way, she seems worthy of some elaboration.

MeMe (aka The Memenator) lives on New York’s Upper West Side, is a mother of two and a publicist, and has already driven at least two public school districts to such distraction that they have suggested that she and her children go elsewhere.

Mind you, she has no problem with the lunches provided by the schools, at least not the one her children currently attend. It’s the deviations from the official menu that send her up the wall, and to the computer to crank out furious e-mail, or even worse, and to PTA meetings to raise the roof.

Not so much a helicopter mom as a helicopter gunboat mom

Indeed, she has become the standard for other parents to aspire to in defending their offspring from the temptations and consequences of junk food. To grade your own parental commitment, ask yourself which of the following MeMe tactics you have employed in opposition to youthful obesity.

• Require that your kids carry Tupperware containers as “junk food collectors” and to deposit therein any food they’re offered at school other than the school lunch. (Presumably to ensure that other vulnerable kids don’t salvage it from the trash.)
• Insist that the school adopt a policy whereby parents must give their written permission before their children can be offered any food items not on the official school menu.
• Protest angrily when cupcakes are handed out on students’ birthdays, or when other parents donate sugary treats on Valentine’s Day.
• Steal the sprinkles and syrups from a YMCA so that they can’t be added to the ice cream being served.
• Go on television at Christmas to criticize Santa Claus for being fat. (Frosty the Snowman was evidently given a pass.)
• Campaign publicly and tirelessly against Girl Scout cookies because they implicitly promote unhealthy snacking.
• E-mail 75 other parents to accuse a PE teacher who gave the kids doughnuts of being too unfit to pass his own class.
• Launch a crusade against the scourge of bagels and potato chips in school lunches.

If you engaged in at least three or more of these ploys on behalf of your own children, they may or may not be safe from the threat of unacceptable food items. But one thing is fairly certain. They’ll never forgive you.

(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 and is filed under School lunches and junk food, Snacks. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.