A furious mother pulled her son out of school for the day after his teacher reportedly refused to let him eat cheese on crackers as his morning snack.
Rachael Elizabeth, from the UK, took to TikTok to express her outrage after her son, George, was allegedly banned from eating his snack, yet according to her, the school is ‘absolutely fine’ with children eating cheese in sandwiches.
She acknowledged the importance of promoting healthy eating in schools and insisted she would never send her son in with chocolate but maintained that George’s lunchbox is ‘relatively good’ and well-balanced.
In a clip, which racked up over 560,000 views, the mother-of-one showed off her son’s lunch, which included salted crisps, a flapjack, cucumber, hummus, and a pot of natural Greek yogurt mixed with honey.
Rachael added that she also gave her son a jam sandwich but noted he had been having chicken sandwiches all week, and they had since run out of the meat.
However, she reiterated that her son, a self-confessed fussy eater, has always favoured three plain crackers topped with a little cheese and butter as his go-to snack.
In the video posted on her TikTok, @rachaelelizaabethh, Rachel explained she is ‘actually fuming’ and, in her rage, removed her son from school for the day.
She explained: ‘School won’t let him have crackers with cheese on for his snack. We’ve got a new head teacher, and she’s brought in lots of new rules, which is absolutely fine.
Rachael Elizabeth (pictured), from the UK, pulled her son out of school for the day after his teacher reportedly refused to let him eat cheese on crackers as his morning snack
‘I mean, I’m with her on a lot of it when kids are coming in with packs of Lunchables and stuff like that. I get it. I wouldn’t send George in with that.
‘However, George is a fussy eater. So this is his snack. He’s had this snack for forever. Three crackers with a little bit of cheese on and butter, and they won’t let him eat his snack because it’s got cheese on.
‘He’s allowed to have cheese on his sandwich in the afternoon, but he can’t have cheese on his cracker for his snack.’
Rachael added that she was so angry that she put George in the car and told him she would homeschool him.
She said: ‘I’m actually fuming. I am fuming. Why do schools think they can just control everything? Why do they get so much control over that? I just think it’s got out of control. Schools have gone crazy.’
The mother wondered if she had overreacted to the situation by removing him from school.
She concluded: ‘I would like to know everyone’s opinions on it, because I just think that schools have got too much control now.’
Many rushed to the comments to leave their own thoughts on the topic, with some siding with the mother.
Rachael took to social media to express her outrage after her son George was banned from eating his snack, yet according to her, the school is ‘absolutely fine’ with children eating cheese in sandwiches
One person wrote: ‘Can we go in the staff room and check what teachers are bringing for lunch to make sure its acceptable.’
Another said: ‘Ex deputy head here. Parents need to start standing up to these ridiculous ‘rules’. It’s parents who should decide what their children eat, not schools.’
Someone else added: ‘It’s your child you feed him what you want. These schools are getting away with way too much now. It’s ridiculous. Thank god mine are adults now.’
A fourth added: ‘If they are allowed cheese at lunch then why not snack time, that I don’t understand. If there were nuts in there then I could understand it, but not cheese’.
Another added: ‘Cheese is high in calcium and protein. Perhaps the teachers need lessons in nutrition before they stop kids eating nutritious food.’
However, others believed they knew the reason why the school was being extra strict on cheese for snack time.
One person said: ‘It’s because of allergies, at snack time children move around the yard so snacks have to be controlled but at lunchtime children sit down to eat their lunch and it’s easier to manage the children with allergies!’
Another added: ‘The rule is probably the same as mine. Fruit or veg only for snack. If it didn’t grow, then it’s not for snack time. Keep it for lunch instead. About time parents supported us staff.
People took to the comment section to share their thoughts – and opinions on the matter were divided
‘It’s not on a bad list, the rule is just fruit or veg. We joined a healthy eating schools scheme so i’m guessing this lady’s child attends a school doing the same.’
Someone else explained: ‘I’m a teacher and mum . All the schools I’ve worked in and sent my kids to ask for only fruit at break.
‘Because it’s healthy and readily available to everyone. It’s the way in many schools and nurseries, it’s normally a council wide policy.’
According to Gov.uk, healthy school lunches in England must meet mandatory school food standards, which require daily portions of fruit, vegetables, and starchy food, along with a dairy portion.
