food

An Aussie mum's Facebook post about food shaming is brilliant.

At this time of year my Facebook feed is filled with lunch porn. Is yours?

No, don’t get the wrong idea, t’s the G rated type. Though in my view, that’s G for “get a life” rather than G for general viewing because there is nothing “general” about these posts.

The ones I am referring to are about food.

About lunch-boxes and recess ideas, like brilliant bento boxes and organic after school snacks. They are paleo friendly wholefoods, they are unrefined and vegan, they are home-baked-sugar-free-preservative-free carbohydrate-free and as elaborate as a gingerbread house.

(That would be a sugar-free, whole grain, gluten free gingerbread house of course).

And they make me hang my head in shame at the Vegemite sandwiches, box of sultanas, half bruised apple and bag of crackers I cram into my kids’ Tupperwear each morning while inhaling a coffee.

As much as I want to try and be that mother – and kudos to you if you are – I just can’t keep up.

At this time of year my Facebook feed is filled with lunch porn. Is yours?

So it is refreshing to read that other mums can’t do it all too.

A Facebook post by young mother from the Central Coast of NSW has gone viral. Paige-Alexis Cunningham has decreed the “what not to feed your kids” type shaming that has risen alongside the culture of sugar shaming.

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Afternoon snack of watermelon and a bit of a rant. Lately my feed has been flooded with people sharing 'what not to...

Posted by Paige-Alexis Cunningham on Thursday, January 28, 2016

Her post, liked by more than 17,000 people, shamelessly and proudly shared what her kids ate that day.

Oh there was watermelon, lunch was a "Happy Meal" she says and at breakfast one kid at Rice Bubbles and the other “refused to eat.”

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She says “at some stage they had some apple juice” and that “one drinks cows milk bottles all the frikken time, too much in anyone's opinion.”

Paige says that the mum-shaming has to stop.

“Why did they have Happy Meals and juice? Because they wanted it, we were out in public and I was bloody exhausted and didn't want to fight with them.”

WATCH Nigella Lawson speak to Mia Freedman on food shaming. Post continues after video..

"They also eat a tonne of those yoghurt pouches, but lately they've been added to the mum shaming list for having sugar in them. An Apple has 23g of sugar, horrible hey! Wouldn't give that to my kids..."

She pleads that we all just stop comparing and contrasting who ate what and when.

“Everyone needs to stop the mum shaming! Did you feed your kids some crap today? Yeah cool, you fed them! It's the same debate as breast is best, not formula.

Breast IS best, if it's best for you. At the end of the day fed children are best. Don't let them eat junk all the time, but don't lay the guilt on yourself or any other parent if they ate 2 Minute Noodles and Nutella today.”

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She ends by saying, “everything in moderation and well done for feeding your kids!"

Did you feed your kids some crap today? Yeah cool, you fed them! Image via iStock.

In a footnote Paige writes, “at the end of the day there is no medal for Mother of the year."

"There is just this blessing and huge responsibility of being parents, which is left up to said parents to make the choices of how to raise their babies."

Well said Paige.

Have you ever been food shamed?