I am one of those MEAN Mommies!

My oldest had her second GS Brownie meeting yesterday evening. We didn't have much time for dinner, so I strongly encouraged her to eat a microwave dinner (at my house they always have something green in them). She protested wanting pizza, but conceded since there was not another option. All in all, I felt it was a pretty good dinner aside from part of it coming from a box: roasted chicken breast, green beans, a small yogurt and one piece of dark chocolate. I even told her when she got home she could have a tangerine for a before-bed snack. Unfortunately my own nutrition suffered in my effort. I had no time to make my own microwave creation and ended up eating the mashed potatoes she left behind.

Since we are new to Girl Scouts, I was not aware that "snack" time is provided at the beginning of every meeting. They brought out sugar cookies covered in a half-inch of icing. Luckily there was nothing else to drink but "nature's Kool-aid," aka water. One of the leaders told the girls they could each have two. My daughter instantly turns to me, knowing I would be less than thrilled with this snack choice. I mouthed that she could have one cookie. Of course I got a pouty lip. She better be glad I said she could have any at all. They then passed the cookies around a second time, and I again, said the first was plenty.

After the other moms and kids saw this little conversation occur, it reminded them of our first meeting which happened to be on Valentine's Day. They brought in pizza, soda and cupcakes. At this meeting, too, I limited the pizza to one slice and vehemently denied the sodas. In both instances I immediately got the, "Oh we usually don't serve this type of stuff" response from the other parents. Yeah, right.

So, I guess I need to take this matter into my own hands. Our children learn by good example. I am going to offer to bring "snacks" for the next couple of meetings, and I will plan to share some good nutrition advice and a message about where are food comes from in the process.

Fun treats are fine once in a while, but we had a plan that evening for healthier choices. I did not want to budge in hopes of earning respect from the other moms. I'll let you know how it goes.