Image via flickr.com //
I just want birthdays that taste like real birthdays…”
In some proper gut-wrenching news for todays Aussie kids, a bunch of Aussie schools are banning birthday cakes over concerns they are ‘unhealthy.’ Thus, you can say good-bye to the cheeky cupcake, Coles mud cake, and of course, the iconic Freddo ice-cream cake.
One of the schools spearheading the ban Wollondilly Anglican College, who wrote in their newsletter to parents that “The number of birthday treats coming into the College each day is causing concern. Most weeks see a birthday or two from each class, sometimes several on one day. This makes it difficult to promote our healthy eating policy amongst the junior years.”
Other schools adopting the policy include Manly Village Public School, New Lambton South Public in Newcastle and Bishop Tyrell Anglican College. Parents of Manly Village and New Lambton are now being encouraged to buy ice blocks instead of cakes, while those of Bishop Tyrell Anglican College have forbidden parents from giving their kids celebratory birthday altogether.
However, nutritionist Kristen Beck has warned these policies could indeed have the opposite effect, saying “I think the worst thing you can do with a kid is say you can’t have that because they want it more. It is a matter of not making a big deal about it, by just having a small amount of (cake) and making sure that they are filling up on the healthy stuff.”
