The Shocking Case of the Cheese Sandwich

Sonny Ma-Jiminy is loving kindy, even though it's been a challenge for me to get everything right.

The Cheese Sandwich Incident reminded me how tricky it is to be a kindy mum.

As you might know, C&K Kindergartens everywhere have a healthy eating policy. It's great to see kids are encouraged to bring a healthy lunch, but where most kindies are a little flexible when kids bring something unhealthy, Sonny Ma-Jiminy's kindy strictly disallows even muesli bars. Okay. No thin-end-of-the-wedge stuff, I get that. Muesli bars could lead to banana muffins, and then we're all doomed.

So here are our first two principles that I need to keep in mind while packing Sonny's lunchbox:

1. C&K Kindergartens' Healthy Eating Guidelines
2. This particular facility's No-Tolerance Policy on the above

Hard enough. But this brings me to the third directive which makes the lunchbox-packing just that little bit trickier:

3. Sonny Ma-Jiminy's Law of Lunchbox Variety.

"Sonny, would you like a vegemite sandwich in your lunchbox today?" *

"No, I had one yesterday."

"What about a banana and some yoghurt?"

"I already had that!"

"Apple and sultanas?"

"Umm, just an ice-cream thanks."

Grr.

* (Apologies to all the Americans vomiting into their mouths over this.)

The above three rules, along with the as-yet unmentioned fourth policy, conspired against Lunckbox-Packing Mummy one day recently. I had forgotten Sonny's fruit for morning tea. Panic! What should I pull out of his lunchbox to give him for morning tea? I decided on a small salad of avocado, tomato and cheese. I knew it wasn't technically on the list of allowable morning tea foods, but I had nothing else!

At the end of the day, the teacher came over to me and said it had been a great idea! With the slightly "more substantial" morning tea, he was able to manage himself better and be happy until rest time without melting down. Relief.

We decided that I would continue sending "something more substantial" for morning tea. And I thought we were on the same page.

The next day I decided that the "more substantial food" of choice should be a cheese sandwich. The teacher had said the cheese in the salad the previous day had been a good option, so I felt safe with a cheese sandwich.

But I was about to learn that there is a fourth rule that comes into play when packing my child's lunckbox.

4. The Eating-Food-at-the-Right-Time-of-the-Day Policy

You see, the cheese sandwich was the wrong thing to send as a "more substantial alternative" because cheese sandwiches are strictly a lunch food, not a morning tea food. "Shocked" was the word the kindy teacher used to describe her reaction to my mistake of sending a cheese sandwich.

Oh dear.

I read the kindy prospectus again and saw that cheese and crackers is an appropriate morning tea food, but not a cheese sandwich. It should be saved for lunch time.

On discussing this with the teacher, I learned that "something more substantial" means "avocado, tomato & cheese salad" only, not my offbeat cheese sandwich interpretation.

The conversation then derailed. She gave reasons why the healthy eating policy is a good idea and why chips, lollies and cakes for morning tea are not allowed. I was too bamboozled to remind her that I was not in fact sending chips, lollies and cakes but a cheese sandwich - a permitted food - just sending it for the wrong meal.

Help me. There are six months until the end of the year.