Mom-of-3 outraged over little girl's lunchbox for promoting dieting lifestyle to young kids

Sonni Abatta, mother of three and writer, “sickened” by the message she spotted on a lunchbox at a department store.

From Orlando, Florida, Sonni went shopping with her daughter when she saw the pink lunchbox hanging in between other products aimed at girls, just above candy sold which Sonni’s daughter ogled.

The mother three’s thoughts jumped to the negative implication such a message has on body acceptance. Once home, Sonni wrote a lengthy Facebook post with a picture of the lunchbox. Sonni expressed in no uncertain terms how she felt:

"I am SICKENED that this phrase is on a lunch box. We scratch our heads when we see our little girls struggle with body image, with self-worth, with confidence. We wonder, 'Why do our girls worry so much about their bodies so young?'... 'Why does my five-year-old call herself 'fat'?'... 'Why does my middle schooler stand in front of the mirror and find all her flaws?' THIS. This is part of the reason why."

By Sonni’s reasoning, the message conveyed to young girls that it's “cheating” if they eat foods not completely healthy and fat-free, as Sonni continued:

"In turn, that tells them that self-control and denying herself is to be valued above all, and that if she dares to step outside of the foods that will keep her perfectly slim and trim, then she is by default 'cheating' and needs to feel some sense of remorse."

Urging all youngsters not to see enjoying a burger or a few cookies as “cheating” but to see the value of living in moderation, as Sonni concluded her post:

"You are beautiful, worthy, intelligent, and whole beings - whole beings who are worthy of so much love and respect, no matter what anyone, or anyTHING."

One follower voiced the feelings of many when she commented on Sonni's post:

"So well said. No one should feel like this with a lunchbox that has a message like this. Girls shouldn’t, boys shouldn’t, women shouldn’t and Men shouldn’t. The company should be held accountable for producing such a product that would want to send that message and the shop where they are been sold should take them off their shelves."

Relatedly one mother got slammed, not for the lunchbox itself but for what she put inside it. The Australian mum posted a picture to Facebook of her 5-year-old daughter’s lunchbox contents.

She explained that her daughter’s teacher demanded to know what she had given “so much” food. The mum then explained her reasons for packing the lunch she did:

“I explained to her that she's a fussy kid, so one day she will eat something the next day she will act like its poison and not touch it. I'm also trying to teach her a variety of foods because all this kid would eat is nuggets and sausages and eggs if I let her. She is also very active. So I would think after a huff and puff session she would be feeling hungry.”

Admittingly the mum added that it is her first baby going to school and she is still learning. Was it too much food? What do you think?

Mothers may find the revisions made the US school lunch program less than ideal. Some food items back on the menu include biscuits, noodles, tortillas and other foods made from refined grains. Even low fat chocolate milk is back up for grabs, but there are more changes to the program as well.