Mom is Snack-Shamed for Sending Her 3-Year-Old Son to School with Pringles

A woman turned to TikTok to share how her son's preschool "shamed" her for sending him to class with Pringles, and viewers were stunned. Megan Peavey, a mom of two from New Hampshire, explained how the school wrote a "passive-aggressive" note encouraging her to make better food choices for her kid, and people immediately jumped in to defend the mom. But things quickly escalated with the school, and things got much worse for the mom. 

In the first TikTok about the situation, Peavey said, "I sent my son to school with Pringles, which is a very age-appropriate snack, and this is what the school sent." She then showed her son's empty Pringles' container with a note that read, 'Please help make healthy choices at school.' They snack-shamed my three-year-old son, they snack-shamed me by writing that passively aggressively on his trash."

@peaveymegan #repost #momsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Megan PV

Peavey, who has a background in mental health counseling, has a rule about food in her house and explained, "We don't label things as healthy or unhealthy because that starts eating disorders." She then asked people what they would do in this situation and if others thought it was as ridiculous as hers.

In a follow-up video, Peavey revealed that she deleted the viral recording. "I've since deleted the video because I didn't want my son to be negatively affected at all at his school. It was stressing me out because of how much attention it got. I regret deleting it now because of how things panned out."

@peaveymegan Part one of pringle gate update #update #momsoftiktok #viral ♬ original sound – Megan PV

Peavey shared how she saw an opportunity to speak to the director of the school after dropping her son off about the situation and the school official didn't back down. "I just shared how I was disappointed with how it was handled and I wish that they'd reached out to me directly. I said it was kind of passive-aggressive to write it on his empty Pringles cup. She shared that it was passive-aggressive of me to keep sending him with Pringles."

Peavey was taken aback by the director's comment and said, "I didn't consider Pringles to be this unhealthy snack. I considered things like Cheetos, Doritos, Milky Way bars, things like that to be an unhealthy snack." She went on to say that she would pack healthy snacks like fruit and a granola bar as well, so she didn't think messages the school would send out about packing healthy snacks were directed towards her. 

Things took a turn for the worse during the conservation, and Peavey, who explained her son was enrolled in the school's summer program, was no longer welcome. "At the end of the conservation she shared 'we no longer have a part-time spot for your son this summer.' It felt so uncalled for and disrespectful."

Peavey was floored when the director told her that her son was no longer welcome in their summer program. "I walked downstairs and just checked my son out. We're done there. We'll pay for the two weeks that he has left, but he's not going."

In another update, Peavey said she just needed to keep "ranting" and shared how sending their son to preschool really helped with childcare. 'I'm a working mom and my husband is in law enforcement, so he works crazy hours and has a very demanding schedule." 

Peavey admitted that "Sometimes it's easier for me to just throw in a thing of Pringles. If we're sending food that we think is good for our children, then why can't they just let them have that?" She went on to say that she understands the school has guidelines, but according to Peavey, she looked up the state requirements. "It shares that if the school does not like what the parents are providing for a healthy snack that the school must provide the healthy snack. That was never an option." 

Peavey's clips have racked up thousands of comments, mostly in support of her. "You should send Pringles the next day that say, "When you buy it, you can decide what the snack is,"' one person suggested. He'd be going with a FULL can on the next day with "no thank you" written on the side in big bold letters," someone else wrote.

"I'd tell them maybe they need to provide the snacks if they know what he needs," another user added. "I cannot even explain how out of line and wild this seems to me – on the schools part,' read a fourth comment, while a fifth said, 'Send a full-sized can the next day with a note saying, "I don't tell you how to teach, you don't tell me how to parent."'

A different user commented, 'I'd print off the teacher an article related to food labeling and eating disorders. With a note that says, "Please help us make the school a healthy environment."'