Dad Goes Viral for Note He Wrote to Teachers Criticizing His Daughter’s ‘Unhealthy’ Lunch

Maybe he should have gone with the other note, after all.

By Christina Marfice March 14, 2023

This dad had the perfect response to teachers who wouldn’t stop criticizing his daughter’s food and eating choices

You know what they say: kids are like sponges, soaking up so much more knowledge and information than we give them credit for. That’s why this dad had to put his foot down—hard—when his daughter’s teachers wouldn’t stop criticizing her lunch. Girls getting to grow up without shame associated with food and eating is a good thing—someone please make sure these teachers get the memo.

In a viral TikTok video, Ross Hunt explained how the staff at his daughter Isabelle’s school just wouldn’t stop making comments about “non-healthy” foods in the lunches she was bringing from home.

@teddyevascents
Designing a label for the lunch box 👀 #teddyevascents #parentinglife
♬ original sound – Teddy Eva Scents

Impersonating teachers who insisted that his daughter eat her “healthy” food before any treats, Hunt said, “Oh, don’t eat that! Eat your sandwich! Oh, you shouldn’t eat that!”

He continued, “It’s f—king irritating and it puts Isabelle off from taking her lunch with her. It’s okay if she eats the chocolate cake the school gives you, but if you put it in in their lunchbox, ‘Oh no, you shouldn’t have that!'”

So Hunt came up with the perfect solution, which he shows off in the video: a note reading, “Welcome to Isabelle’s Lunch Box! We are aware of the contents of this box and are happy for her to eat whatever she wants.”

Bravo to this dad! It really is that easy to give your kid autonomy and choice around their food, helping them to grow up with a healthy relationship to it that allows them to eat a wide variety of foods with healthy moderation. (After all, there’s no such thing as “good” or “bad” food.)

In follow-up videos, Hunt showed the result: Isabelle ate her whole sandwich, skipped her carrots because they fell on the floor (valid), and didn’t eat the sweets that had been packed in her lunch box that day because her teachers didn’t let her without eating the floor carrots. Ugh. Time for a bigger, more visible version of that note.

@teddyevascents
Reply to @corey..cj Let’s see what she brought home 👀 #schooldinners #teddyevascents
♬ original sound – Teddy Eva Scents

In another follow-up video, Hunt explained that his kids are typically given their meals at home on a cafeteria-style tray that includes an entree, fruit and veggie sides, and dessert all at once. His younger child, he explained, usually goes straight for the sweet—and Isabelle used to, too. But now that she’s a little older, she typically saves dessert for the end of her meal. Either way is fine—these kids are eating nutritious meals and learning to enjoy food the way they want to—just like they should.