No Cupcakes for You!

She is off the deep end as far as I'm concerned. Kids shuldn't be alowd to eat whatever they want and should be healthy, but they shouldn't be deprived either. I think keeping kids away from sweets all the time does make them more alluring. Kids who don't ever get them at home are the ones gorging them when they get the chance. I think its important to have sweets and teach kids how to have them in their diets in healthy amounts. My son is 17mo so we don't have alot of issues with sweets yet. One of his favorite words is cookie and if he eats well throughout the day he can have one after dinner. If its a hot day sometimes he shares ice cream or a popsicle with mommy. So sweets aren't banned in our house, and having healthy food first is important.

This is ridiculous. I think if the PARENTS teach kids good eating habits and allow them to have treats now and then it's perfectly acceptable - that includes birthday treats at school! Obviously this mom can't do that and her obsession may backfire - her little ones may eat in private and hide things from her and in turn may become overweight themselves. It is up to each parent not this one mother.

This woman is nuts. She wants to blame everyone else for the obesity problems. Instead of worrying about the ocasional cupcake she should be promoting more phys ed for the kids. Its not just the food its the fact that these kids dont get out alot. And banning phys ed form schools dont help. Seems like her kids would be the only ones left out if her plan passes. And why Girl Scout cookies I dont get that part. The only way for kids to eat them is if you buy them. Why take away their means of making money for activities. I know in girl scouts we learned to eat healthy and be active. And its the money we made from cookie sales that helped us. Alot of times bringing in a cupcake for school is the only way a parent can afford for their kids to celebrate with their friends. I live in hot south FL so I know when those last few hot days of school my kids loved getting that popsicle for a treat. Im pretty sure her idea wont fly to far. I just wish everyone would stop coming up with excuses for the obesity issue in America.

a constant diet high in fats and no exercise causes obesity. This woman would have had a heart attack.....I let my girls eat chocolate cake for breakfast one day...out of 365 days....guess what....my kids get treats here and there....and gasp.....junk on occasion and they are not obese. They are in the bottom 3 percent for height and weight due to genetics.......they are not under fed..the eat well and get plenty of exercise....they are healthy.. and I do let them have "fattening foods"....my son isn't even on the chart and is super tiny....again..genetics...so diet and genetics play a large role in a child's size...not havig a cupcake at school when friends have birthdays....as for my son.....he has sever allergies....and I just send and alternative safe treat for him on those days.

1 in 3 children born since 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. We need to stop sending the cupcakes. Even if your child is healthy, when you send in those cupcakes, you're increasing the risk to the other students in the class. You don't want someone offering your child a cigarette. More people will die from being overweight (diabetes, heart disease, cancer) than will die from lung cancer. The kids will survive without the cupcakes. Send something else.. pencils, erasers, balloons. Teach them to celebrate without unhealthy treats. Feed your child whatever you want at home... but don't send in the crap to other kids. Thank you MeMe for speaking out!

More PEOPLE die from diabetes and obesity, yes. More children? I vote no. Honestly, when was the last time that you saw a kid puffing away on a Cuban cigar? Plausible? Yeah. But insanely improbable. Here’s a thought for the wise: Your kids are getting fed more junk than cupcakes at school, and that is out of your control. BUT, teaching your children healthy habits at home is an honorable act, and…drumroll, please…whets their appetites for smoothies over doughnuts. If you want a child to live in a land of carrots and mangos, go for it. Just don’t hyperventilate if cupcakes enter the school grounds. They’re cupcakes, dear Amy65. Not rat poison. :-)

I think the woman is out of her mind. While I will admit that America is obese, and growing more so all the time, and even kids are starting to be obese, I don't think we should blame it on a few junk food treats. I think the biggest cause of obesity in youth is a lack of exercise coupled with the fact that most parents don't teach their children to eat healthy foods. They supply the fatty, greasy sugary stuff by the ton, it seems. Junk food has ceased to be a treat for many children and adults both. Now, most parents would rather just drive through a fast-food place and get greasy crap on a nightly basis than cook a good meal. When I was growing up, all we did was play outside. While my sister and I had access to computer games and a Nintendo and Atari to play video games, those were strictly for days when the weather was so bad that we couldn't go outside, and we did play outside at least an hour or two a day three or four days a week, all year long. Summer, winter, it didn't matter. Mom made us go outside. And as we got older, our structured activities were pretty active, too: dance class, Girl Scouts, some few ventures into sports. Today's kids spend more time sitting around watching TV or playing with their PS3 or Xbox360 than they spend doing anything else. Now, don't assume that i think video games are bad. They aren't, in moderation. I still enjoy gaming on our 360, and I'm 26, with a 3-month old. I also stay active, and limit the junk food I eat. Admittedly, I'm slightly overweight, but I'm also still trying to lose some baby weight that is slowly coming off. I'm also going to address the issue of Jordin Sparks being a bad role model for being a size 12. At least she has a realistic body. I would rather have my daughter idolizing someone who loves her body the way it looks now, or is realistic about eating healthier to lose weight, than celebs like the Olsen twins, who are so obscenely thin that you can count their ribs, and that starve themselves to stay that way. So many girls develop eating disorders from a societal pressure to stay super-thin, and that isn't any more healthy than being overweight.

Unfortunately, in today's society, there are ALWAYS "special" occasion food days, whether it be a birthday, valentine's day, hot popsicle day, or just treat day. One cupcake every once in a while is fine, but the problem is, there are daily excuses to eat unhealthy foods, which ultimately leads to obesity later in life (if not sooner). I agree that certain rules should be made around what is appropriate to give to a class of young kids. It is frustrating as a parent to have no control over what is consumed by my children while they aren't home. As kids get older, they will be increasingly away from home during eating times, but it would be nice to have some control over what little circumstances we can.

MeMe has a good idea but she is going about it wrong. I have a child that bounces off the wall when he gets sugar. Restricting junk food is a good idea but lets face it if a child wants it their going to find a way to get it. Most of these kids are obese because their parents can't be bothered enough to make them healthy food to eat. Most obese kids I've talked to have never had food that didn't come from a fast food place or the frozen food section of the store. Parents are the one that need to be held accountable. I think teaching children more about food choices and the effect of the decisions that they make. Junk food should be given as a treat not an every day staple. But most importantly kids need more exercise and a lot less tv.

I do agree with her mainly because my son has multiple food allergies. He is only 2 now, but I already dread the thought of school years and the dangers that he will face then.

This is the problem with society -- wanting to "legislate" or tell others how to raise their children. AND I have news for this Cupcake Nazi --- critizing Jordin Sparks for being a size 12? The AVERAGE size of a woman IS a 12/14 -- NOT a size 2. Size has noting to do with how healthy you are -- genetics and body type have a lot to do with being healthy -- NOT the size that you wear! This is as bad as saying "skinny" is better --- NOOOOO. Healthy is being better! Get a clue and educate yourself, Cupcake Lady!

What makes me laugh is that the teachers our schools often treat the kids to candy if they've received a good grade or helped in class with something. This is not the elementary school either, teachers at my daughter's high school do it. And what's an occasional cupcake going to hurt if a parent packs deserts in lunches every day or the kids get junk out of the vending machines (also in the schools). If this person doesn't want her kid to have an occasional treat, then she should be the one writing the note instead of inconviencing the staff to hand out permission slips and make sure they come back before handing out cupcakes. Obesity in kids is a terrible problem but I think this person could find a better way to work on her cause.

She along with the other people that support her are iddiots. Cup cakes was in school way before some of these people were born. So as far as i am concern go jump off a freeking bridge with a 50 pound weight tie to your feet.

What's happening these days? All through my days in school (which were not very long ago, being only 22 and a recent college graduate) children brought in treats on their birthdays, there were popcicles, and who can forget the ice cream cart in the caffeteria? I'm far from obese, my siblings are far from obese, my friends, their friends, none obese. Why? because our parents let us have sweets. We were taught early what was godo and what was bad, and that sweets weren't always bad, and it was OK to have them sometimes, as logn as the rest of your foods are healthy. I specifically remember the health teacher coming into my classroom and drawing the food pyramid,a nd teaching us about the food groups. That was another HUGE aspect that contributed to my peers learning about foods. Does this not happen anymore? Tell a child they can't have something....and they'll want it even more...tell them they can, and it's no longer a novelty, and a lot less special and desired. Also....take away the damn video games, and let your kid go ride their bike or roller blade in the street, climb a tree, roll around in the front yard and get covered in god knows what. A good game of neighborhood kickball anyone? What happened to that....

It's no wonder america has an obesity epidemic with these attitudes. Yes, the lady featured in the article is over the top, but so are all the commenters who attack people in defense of their god given right to scarf down cupcakes. Please people, they're cupcakes for goodness sake and it's ridiculous to resort to name calling on anyone who has a differing opinion on foods in schools. In recent years the schools in our area have banned vending machines and junk food on the premises. It is requested that parents do not send junk in lunches or as treats and that is politely respected almost always. And if someone sends the occasional bag of chips it's shrugged off that they were probably having trouble putting lunches together that day. The classes take turns doing treats for a bake sale one day per month and there are class parties for a few holidays where parent's send whatever they want to send. No one sends cupcakes or treats for kids birthdays, even the notion is ridiculous. Those celebrations are the responsibility of the home, not the school. I work very hard to teach my children good eating habits and provide nutritious food. I would not want to be throwing away the healthy lunches because the kids filled up with junk at school that I had no control over. And also, the funds raised on treat days are used to buy fresh local fruits and vegetables that are given to the kids to eat at their desks 2 days/ week. In fact the kids are always allowed to nibble at their desk while they work as long as long as it's not sugary or messy.

Thank you MeMe for bringing attention to this important issue. Our schools have become obesogenic environments and we need to change this. It goes beyond the birthday cupcakes and includes the widespread practice of using food as a reward. The tendency toward obesity is directly related to the brain system that is involved in food reward and addictive behaviors. It is estimated that overeating is caused by emotional eating 75% of the time. Many teachers view using food rewards as an effective tool, as do many parents. Unfortunately, it is a tool with the serious unintended lesson that approval and acceptance comes in the form of food. This powerful food association leaves many adults struggling to break the cycle of eating to subconsciously recapture feelings of happiness. How often do our children hear the subtle message that food equals approval before it becomes a message that’s hard to escape later in life?

The montessori Preschool & Childcare my girls go requires store bought food and you have to watch out for allergies and it is such a headache to find the perfect cupcake sometimes... especially when you don't want the kids (4yr olds) to have a mile high frosting on their chocolate cupcakes. My kids eat their fair share of plenty of treats and they don't have allergies and are healthy skinny little things. BUT honestly isn't it easier (aside from the obesity, diabetic argument) to not have to worry about bringing cupcakes and ice cream to school. It is a lot easier on the moms working full time outside the home not to have to worry about it. My 4 yr old's PreK teacher banned bringing in cupcakes/snacks for birthdays because of all the allergies and the headache it was for parents to figure out some snack to bring. I love her substitute solution though - bringing in special napkins or stickers or a little something for everyone so the child can still share their special day with everyone. Instead of the classroom paper towels/napkins, everyone gets princess or batman napkins for lunch or snack because it is someone's birthday and maybe a sticker too. How cool is that? Cheaper too!