the politics of a school lunch box

D started kindergarten this week, which is a full day program here where we live.

I’m packing him a lunch from home, so far. I’d first been worried about his peanut allergy (come to find out, they only have one, very apparent, item that has peanuts in it – a peanut butter and jelly sandwich). Then I was then worried about all the other hippie stuff I worry about, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated bullshit. But that’s sort of beside the point though – the point being that D broke his brand new Transformers lunch box zipper on the second day he used it. That was kind of tragic for him, because he loved that lunch box and was very excited when we found it.

You know, it’s Transformers.

So for now, until we can fix it (I tried, and I’m not sure if I can), or until we get a replacement, I thought, well why not use his perfectly good Star Wars lunch box from preschool last year?

“But mommy, what if the other kids say nah-nah, you had that lunch box last year?”

And I was stunned. Like, wow, would they even remember? These are five year-olds we’re talking about, who were four last year in preschool. And secondly, OMG, is it already time for social politics like this!?! 😮

And so that got me worried more. How many of the kids packed their lunches at all? Do most of them buy lunch? Is it uncool to bring a home lunch at his school? Will he be ostracized even more, besides having a peanut allergy to begin with? Will he fail to make friends because of it and grow up spiteful and insecure, secretly resenting me for it his whole childhood, and will that eventually manifest itself in a drug addiction and/or gang involvement because he didn’t have the support system at home he so needed in his tender formative years!?!?

“Do any of the other kids bring their lunch from home in a lunch box?”

“Yeah, some of them do,” he said.

Whew! *swipes brow*

Okay. Next question. “What kind of lunch boxes do the other kids have?”

“I don’t know, like, mostly princesses.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why all the girls have to have princesses on theirs.”

Next chapter in the school of social politics, puzzlement with the opposite sex begins.

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ETA: I actually have no clue why the comment form is closed on this particular post – I didn’t do that! lol! Thanks for reading everyone! 🙂