Every day I look forward to hearing about what my children did while they were at school. But instead of, "Guess what I did today!" I kept hearing, "Guess what we got today!" My oldest daughter could not wait to share with me what she had eaten at school that day. I patiently watched throughout her 3rd grade year often frustrated, often mad.

When 4th grade started out similarly, I felt it was time to take action. The 2nd week of school I sent an e-mail to the principal explaining my concerns. I talked about some of the many "treats" they had received the previous year and listed all of the items they had already received this year.

That night, my daughter's teacher called me to talk about the issue. Basically she told me she heard my concerns and was happy to skip my daughter when it came to handing out treats but she would not be changing how she did things. I said that my daughter would NOT be treated differently and explained that I wanted to make a change for all the kids. We discussed providing a good example for healthy eating and moderation. We discussed the problems with using food as reinforcement.

Basically, nothing changed. My frustration increased as did my concern. My conversations with other parents had a mixed response. I sent a second e-mail to the principal which was followed up again by a conversation with my daughter's teacher but no changes were occurring that I could see.

The last day before spring break, I reached the end of my rope. My daughter came home with news that some parents felt the kids"deserved a treat because they had worked so hard" on their state assessments. That afternoon my daughter had eaten a large ice cream sundae with about 6 toppings. I decided something else had to be done.

As soon as spring break was over, I met with the principal. He assured me that he was listening and had been surprised to learn how much junk was in his school. He also let me know what he had been doing to try and create some change. I let him know that I would be patient until the end of the year and gave fair warning that next year I would be taking the next step, whatever that might be, to create some change if nothing had improved.

I love my children's school. It is a wonderful, positive place for learning. I'm energized and excited when I work with the teachers and staff in the school. I know that when the teacher, staff and parents bring in food, they are doing it with good intentions. I want to create a change while respecting all the wonderful things that are already in place.