Should cupcakes be banned?

by Jennifer Jordan (Subscribe to Jennifer Jordan's posts) Sep 25th 2007 8:36PM

Categories: Health & Safety, Eating & Nutrition, Education

I love cupcakes. LOVE them! I never really cared about them until I became pregnant, at which point, during my third trimester, I developed a craving for them. This turned into an obsession, which, once the baby was born, put cupcakes squarely into my life where they belonged.

My son is 6 months old, so I wouldn't be aware of the alarming -- and growing -- trend of banning cupcakes in schools. I get where the banners are coming from. Cupcakes are bad for you. They're made of sugar and butter and all those delicious things that I think it would ultimately sad to deprive our kids of.

But, I get where the banners are coming from. Start kids with sweets now and they could end up as obese kids soon enough, and obese adults later.

Still, I agree with the sentiment of a recent New York Times article. In it cupcakes are likened to apple pie. Some consider them to be the new definition of Americana.

Reading this article I thought about all the opportunities I had to eat cupcakes when I was growing up. Most of the time I declined them -- after all, even at a young age I knew they were bad for me, full of sugar and butter. They became the enemy. Well, frenemy -- special occasions merited a bite or two.

My grandmother never made cupcakes. She made pies, the old edible ideal of Americana. Reading about cupcakes made me wish she had.

What's interesting to me is that in the article the banning of cupcakes from classrooms is discussed, but so is the backlash. I think it's a pretty sweet fight.

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Comments (69)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

meredith 9-25-2007 @ 9:37PM

You can say that sugar is making America fat, but I think this is so sad. If you are a kid, shouldn't you be indulging in a treat when it is given to you? Thinking of cupcakes as the enemy at a young age makes me weep for you. I am so glad that you have discovered then now!!

kledwards2 9-25-2007 @ 10:02PM

Cupcakes are not making America fat....Americans are making themselves fat. I have had plenty of cupcakes in my life (and still do) and I am not obese. Granted, I have 20 lbs of post-baby weight to lose, I try to have everything in moderation. I don't think there's anything wrong with that!

Anita 9-25-2007 @ 10:06PM

I've always limited my kids sugar intake and wished the schools would too. People will say, "It's OK for special occasions" but it seemed that every day was a special occasion. Birthday parties, school functions, holiday parties, going to friends' houses, etc. They were eating sugar every day and it drove me crazy. I would not mind if cupcakes were banned from my kids' school. That would at least limit their intake to outside-of-school parties because an in-school ban does not mean they will never eat cupcakes again.

Ann Adams 9-25-2007 @ 10:30PM

Let's see. A class of 20 kids. Some will have birthdays during the summer so let's take it down to 15 or 16. Even assuming every kid brings cupcakes for their birthday, that's still not even 2 cupcakes a month.

Somehow I don't think that's contributing greatly to the obesity problem.

elizabeth 9-25-2007 @ 10:55PM

Cupcake deprivation is definitely sad. But I've been looking for a preschool that bans them anyway. At least with younger kids, food allergies can make it a much more serious issue than just fat and calories. It's interesting that they didn't really talk to anyone about the reason for the ban. It's possible that there are other, deeper reasons for the rule.

Or maybe they just hate fun.

SKL 9-25-2007 @ 11:00PM

I think the problem is that somewhere in the last generation, parents got the idea that their children MUST constantly have a snack close at hand - and a sugary drink too. It became essential when stocking up on baby / kid supplies to include various snack containers and sippy cups that the child can carry everywhere. (These did not even exist when I was a kid.) When a child is about to have a "meltdown," we no longer believe in discipline or natural consequences; now we must distract him with some goldfish crackers. We must brush our babies' newly-cut teeth (yeah, that's a recent phenomenon) because they spend their whole day eating sugar. We have frequent ParentDish articles about how to select the "right snacks" for our kids, as if there is no question snacks are necessary to life. We have developed in our children a habit of pigging out, so naturally our kids feel entitled to do so all the time. So now rather than asking whether in fact a child needs to be eating/drinking something every couple of hours, the question is WHAT he/she should be eating/drinking, and how much sugar and butter it is allowed to contain. But the bulk of the damage is already done when children have developed the grazing habit.

Come on, old-timers, remember when we were kids? We ate three meals a day, and had milk with our meals. Once in a while we had a bit of dessert after dinner, or cinnamon toast for a special Sunday-breakfast treat. We got to share a bottle of pop with family members on Friday nights only. Other than that, the only sweets we got were genuinely "special treats," or what we bought from our small weekly allowance / chore money. If we were thirsty between meals we drank water. ALWAYS. In grade school, we never had snacks except when an occasional student brought birthday treats. (This was far from universal in those days - not sure it is now either.) The only cupcakes I ever got at school were at after-lunch "cupcake sales," a few times a year, when selected moms had to bake a dozen cupcakes which would be sold for a nickel apiece. As a result, when we did get the opportunity to have a cupcake, ice cream, or whatever, it was not hazardous to our health - we could enjoy it wholeheartedly, and not get fat or sluggish. Ah, those were the days.

Funny thing is, I NEVER missed snacks. When I heard of those Brady Bunch moms who provided cookies and milk after school, I thought, these people are either imaginary or neurotic. Snacks are not necessary, and if anything, they reduce a child's appetite to eat properly at their regular meals.

So I find it sad that we are arguing over whether a cupcake is a bad thing. What's bad is completely spoiling a child so that his health depends on eating or not eating one cupcake.

Chrissy 9-26-2007 @ 7:31AM

My daughter is in a pre-school where I was informed at parent's night that cupcakes would not be allowed this year. Their reason was it was "just too messy" and that the kids only eat the frosting anyway. At first, I was quite shocked and somewhat disappointed, as my daughter's birthday was coming up and I had been planning on making mini cupcakes. After reading this article (and the linked one), I wonder if maybe the teachers were using "it's too messy" as an excuse. Whatever. She had cupcakes at her party. Moving on.

LS 9-26-2007 @ 11:39AM

I've mentioned this in a couple of other posts, mostly because it totally burns me and you guys let me vent...

I got my son's "approved snack" list for preschool, and on it were the following:

Banned: anything homemade, cookies, cakes/cupcakes, sweets of any kind. Nuts (obviously)

Approved: pre-packaged fruit snacks & "cocktail" (those ones with the fruit floating in heavy, sugary syrup), muffins of any kind.

So that means...

1) I can't make anything for my son's class, because my kitchen isn't "approved by the Health Department" (this came from a teacher of many years), even though I only use natural and mostly organic ingredients.

2) I can't even buy FRUIT and cut it up, because that's considered "homemade", but I CAN send him to school with some unidentifiable wads of fruit-like substance floating in sugary goo and call it "healthy".

3) I can't send him with mini-cupcakes made at the local bakery (if I ask them, they'll put only a teeny bit of frosting on them, or none at all), but I CAN send him with Otis Spunkmeyer Muffins that are the size of a large man's fist, and come in "healthy" flavors like chocolate-chocolate chip.

4) Nuts are banned, because 1 child in the entire preschool (I think in a different age group AND different class), but milk is not. If there's a kid who has a problem with any other food, too bad, so sad.

I can't take our preschool to task, because they are simply following the rules set forth by the Health Department, either of the State or the Feds. They must do this in order to be "accredited".

But the rules are stupid. It's too bad that so many of us are just willing to trudge along and accept whatever stupid rules are foisted upon us because "they're good for us", or we're just "too busy" to deal with them.

Stephanie 9-26-2007 @ 1:17PM

I think banning cupcakes is silly. As Ann Adams said above, it's maybe twice a month that a kids will have a birthday on average. They really aren't the problem.

Then again, I have also noticed that most kids just eat the frosting. That's why I send cookies instead for my daughter's birthday. Less mess and the kids actually eat them.

I think my daughter's school handles it pretty well. In preschool last year they had parents sign releases allowing the children to eat homemade foods. They haven't done this yet for kindergarten, which kind of surprises me. I really liked the release because it gave parents back the chance to make food for the kids.

Her school does ban candy and soda, which I think is quite sensible. Those are far more unnecessary.

SKL, do you NEVER snack? Most adults do snack. Why can't kids, if you keep it reasonably healthy?

ninainindia 9-27-2007 @ 1:30PM

Yes cupcakes don't make children fat, the parents do! I hate that the government is held responsible for the level of obesity, it should be spending money on important things.

w 10-01-2007 @ 2:13PM

There is no reason to BAN cupcakes from school. It's just another civil liberty that they are trying to take away! That much less freedom. It's just cupcakes right now, but where does it stop? I imagine that eventually the only thing that kids will be allowed to eat at school will be a vitamin rich gruel (anyone see the Matrix? that's what they'll be eating). If I want my kid to have a cupcake to celebrate her birthday, she can have a friggin' cupcake.

dw 10-01-2007 @ 2:34PM

as a culture, we DO consume way too much food, and lots of it is over-processed and unhealthy. cupcakes, as blissful as they might be, are a part of this. so sure, the omnipresence of, for example, high-fructose corn syrup in, what, EVERYTHING we eat contributes to making US citizens fat, but what about the increasingly sedentary lives most children lead?

playing ball outside? tag? hide & seek? nope. it's either 'too dangerous' or kids have gotten too lazy. but go ahead, kids, and sit indoors and snack away, while playing immersive, sophisticated hyper-violent console video games. that's healthy, right?

if parents hadn't been terrorized by our corporate-owned media (who, c'mon, pretty much sensationalize anything to attract more ad revenue - it's a business, after all) into believing that NO place outdoors is safe for their children to play, maybe kids could go back to playing like kids... and then, they could enjoy a cupcake or two every once in a while!

but man, those 'otis spunkmeyer' muffins ARE good... ;)

PS - Ann Adams - a class of only 20 kids? wow... most classroom sizes are just a bit larger than that (30+) these days, i'm afraid. not all, of course, but most...

Diane 10-01-2007 @ 2:45PM

this is ridiculous. i really don't like what is happening to america. what is wrong with these people? our food culture is whack because so much of our food is prepackaged and unhealthy so we do need to change that, but the problem is that it's OUR food culture. unlike countries like italy, france, and india we don't have our own special foods that are actually healthy and fresh. our foods are over sweetened and over fattened and that's our lot. it's time to change that, yes but not by BANNING those things. educate people as to WHY those things are bad rather than just saying "NO YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!" and then we'll see results.

Vicky 10-01-2007 @ 2:47PM

No, hydrogenated oil and corn syrup should be banned! D'OH!

mimselbee 10-01-2007 @ 3:00PM

It's not sugary snacks that are making kids fat...
1. don't let them sit on the computer for hours
2. limit video game/ sitting in front of the tv while stuffing their face time
3. no need to text message or call someone who's 10 feet away.. get up and walk to them! (there's really no need for a child to have a cell phone anyways!!!!!)
4. give them chores! if they spend 10 mins up washing dishes then that's 10 mins not spent on the couch!
5. don't let them sleep until 2 p.m!!

there are many things contributing to child obesity... one of them being pure LAZINESS!! things are made to be so easy! you don't have to put effort into anything anymore and kids are the ones having to suffer from it!

Erin 10-01-2007 @ 3:10PM

As a teacher, I can tell you that MANY classrooms and schools have banned cupcakes and other baked goods, even as birthday treats, primarily because of students with peanut allergies. Sweets and the ingredients in them are often manufactured in settings which may not be free of nuts, even if nuts are not an included in the final product. To some children, their peanut allergies can be lethal, and symptoms can appear simply by smell. Policies that do not allow any baked goods allow students with peanut allergies to be included in classroom celebrations without worry or special treatment (often social suicide).

Many teachers or Home and School associations will work with parents to come up with alternatives, including frozen juice pops, soft pretzels (in the suburbs of Philadelphia where I live these are very popular), even special birthday activities instead of snacks. Anything outside of the standard school day is a treat for kids. We do not have to give them all cupcakes to make them feel special.

ckm100 10-01-2007 @ 3:11PM

haha... sugar makes americans fat. I am american, in great shape and eat cookies, fast food, burgers, pizza and everything else everyone blames for getting fat. However, I don't eat it everyday, not in excess. We are so easy to blame everything problem here in some issue like the foods we used when in fact your kids are fat because you let them be. Make them go OUTSIDE and play, a lost time. Take away motorized scooters so your little chunk actually has to break a sweat. I am tired of americans blaming everyone else for their problems.

cdl2 10-01-2007 @ 3:18PM

My first grader just encountered her first cupcake ban at school. It doesn't bother her too much, she still gets treats every so often at home, but as a mom who has three healthy, nutritionally-sound kids, this is one more invasion into my parenting choices. It wasn't enough that schools banned peanuts but now tree nuts, transfats and cupcakes. UGH! Who among us adults is excited to open our lunch pack and find carrot sticks and low-fat string cheese day-in and day-out. It's a nice sentiment to want to help those kids who can't avoid overeating sweets on their own, but this is one trend I hope passes quickly.

CAR2959 10-01-2007 @ 3:16PM

Anyone remember the recent ban on trans fats in New York? Our choices are being taken away everywhere we look.

elephantman 10-01-2007 @ 5:57PM

They will have to pry those cupcakes from my cold dead hands!

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