A note, sent home with a preschooler, scolded her mother for packing Oreo cookies in her daughter's lunch.
'I don't agree with it at all,' said the mother, Leeza Pearson.
There's no question, 4-year-old Natalee Pearson is an active, happy, healthy little girl.
But last Friday, a teacher at the Children's Academy in Colorado didn't find Natalee's lunch to be entirely healthy. So the school didn't let Natalee eat part of it.
'She said, 'Mommy, I wasn't able to eat my cookies,'" said Leeza Pearson.
The Oreo cookies came back home with Natalee, along with this note:
"Dear Parents, It is very important that all students have a nutritious lunch. This is a public school setting and all children are required to have a fruit, a vegetable, and a healthy snack from home, along with milk. If they have potatoes, the child will also need bread to go along with it. Lunchables, chips, fruit snacks, and peanut butter are not considered to be a healthy snack. This is a very important part of our program and we need everyone's participation."
Leeza Pearson says the lunch also included a sandwich and cheese.
"They took it over the top, to say, 'The kid can't eat it. It was in her lunchbox, but you can't eat it today,'" she said.
newsnet5.com's sister station 7NEWS contacted the director of the private school, but she did not return our calls.
A spokeswoman with the school said they gave Natalee a healthy alternative to the cookies.
'They don't provide lunch for my daughter. I provide lunch,' said Leeza Pearson. 'It's between me and the doctor in terms of what's healthy for her.'
Pearson said she's not a problem parent. Her daughter has attended the school since last fall. Pearson said she just doesn't agree with the school's position and couldn't get an explanation from the school's director.
'She would not talk to us,' said Pearson.
The school district said it's not typical for notes like this to go home to parents.
But it's not uncommon for many pre-schools to adopt policies and rules regarding packed lunches because of food allergies and overall commitments to healthy choices.
