Chocolate Chip Cookies and Celery?

Caroline loves cookies. We went to my friend Mary's house for tea this afternoon and the first, second, and third things that Caroline wanted to eat were the cookies. She had one cookie but after that, I felt like that was enough. After whining for more cookies for a few minutes and realizing that I was not going to give in, she moved on to the rice crackers and cantaloupe. Chocolate chip cookies and celery are on the menu tomorrow for afternoon snack. I don't know very many two-year-old children who would choose celery over a chocolate chip cookie. In fact, I don't know very many children - or adults for that matter (including me) - who even like celery unless it is served with ranch dressing or used to add crunch to a salmon, egg, or tuna salad sandwich. But I digress. I am sure that Caroline will want one of those chocolate chip cookies tomorrow. And my guess is that if I observed her through the one-way mirror tomorrow during lunch, I would see Caroline munching on one. It's not that I don't think children should eat cookies. I just don't think cookies are appropriate snacks to serve at a childcare center. Children get plenty of opportunities to eat cookies outside of school. What their small bodies need are nutritious foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals. I'll pack a pumpkin carrot muffin in Caroline's lunch tomorrow. I hope she eats it but I won't be surprised if it makes its way back home in her lunchbox untouched.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, September 12: Breakfast - peach (Clearview Orchards), French toast sticks (Zingerman's bread and Flying Goat Farm eggs); Lunch - salmon salad, 100% whole grain bread, cucumbers (home garden), watermelon (Greenman Produce); Snacks - pumpkin carrot muffin, pear (Kismet Farm)

Childcare Center Menu, September 12: Breakfast - applesauce, French toast sticks; Lunch - tuna fish pitas, cucumbers, watermelon; Snacks - chocolate chip cookies, celery