A School “Snack-Shamed” a Parent For Packing Pringles in Her Son’s Lunch
Published May 3 2023, 1:22 p.m. ET
Encouraging children to make healthy choices isn’t a bad idea — until it goes too far. On TikTok, a mother shared her astonishing experience with her 3-year-old son’s school after she packed him a mini container of Pringles as a snack.
The snack-shaming saga involves a passive-aggressive message, a heated confrontation, and a shocking outcome. Curious to know what went down? Let’s get into it.
A school “snack-shamed” a mom for sending her child to school with Pringles.
On TikTok, Megan Peavey (@peaveymegan on the app) shared an unbelievable story about what her son’s school did when she packed him a small box of Pringles as a snack. “I sent my son to school with Pringles, which is a very age-appropriate snack for a 3-year-old,” the TikTok creator explained.
However, her child’s educators didn’t seem to think so.
Megan then posted a photo of the empty Pringles container, displaying a snide comment in black marker.
“Please help us make healthy choices at school,” the message read. “They snack-shamed my 3-year-old [and] they snack-shamed me by writing that passive-aggressively on his trash,” the mother exclaimed.
She explained that she doesn’t label food as “healthy” and “unhealthy” in her home because that practice often leads to disordered eating. And naturally, the comment section had some thoughts.
TikTok users offered advice on how to navigate the situation.
After revealing that she had already contacted the school and accused them of snack-shaming, Megan asked the comment section for thoughts on what they would do if they were in her shoes.
“Send Pringles the next day [and write], ‘When you buy it, you can decide what the snack is,’” one person said. Another creator added, “I’d tell them they maybe need to provide the snacks if they know what he needs.”
Jokingly, someone else wrote, “On his birthday, send Pringles to EVERY kid in the class.”
The mother provided shocking updates about the snack-shaming debacle.
The following snack-shaming events were even more problematic.
In Megan’s follow-up videos, she explained that when she spoke with the school’s director in person, they said that she was the passive-aggressive one for packing Pringles in the first place. Additionally, the director offered no apology and refused to take responsibility for the school’s actions.
And that wasn’t the worst part.
After their conversation, the director informed the TikTok creator that her son’s spot in the school’s part-time summer program had been revoked. Devastated, Megan explained that her son no longer attends that school. However, she still needs to pay for the last two weeks.
As a working mother, Megan said that packing Pringles in her son’s lunch was a matter of convenience and couldn’t believe how the events transpired.
She also reiterated that she doesn’t want to instill a “good vs. bad” mentality surrounding food, to which one person commented, “This is exactly why I teach my kids there are no bad foods. Sometimes all a family can afford is Pringles. Financially or mentally.”
