09/04/2026
Oreo-gate unlocked a parenting memory I had almost forgottenšš«£
Years ago, I was basically thatttt mom. I was packing the healthiest little organic lunches for my kindergartener while he watched other kids pull out all the good stuff.
So he took matters into his own hands. He started throwing his lunch in the garbage, telling his teacher he didnāt have one, and getting sent to the office where, conveniently, the emergency snacks were much yummier than anything I was packingš²
A humbling moment for mešbut also a good reminder that sometimes we need to loosen our grip a little. Our kids are going to see other kids with things they donāt have, rules that are different from theirs and choices we wouldnāt necessarily make.
Sometimes that might make us stop and think, K, maybe I can ease up here. And other times, we might decide, nope, this is a boundary I still feel good about.
Either way, the answer isnt making everyone else follow our familyās rules so our kids never have to feel disappointed.
Because today it might be an Oreo. Tomorrow itās a phone, social media, a later bedtime or whatever else everyone else is apparently allowed to do. Sometimes we advocate for our kids, sometimes we reconsider our own rules, and sometimes we help them deal with hearing no.
And somehow weāve arrived at a full parenting philosophy because of an Oreoš« fake or not, itās made me think ā¦
More on this + four other lessons Iām taking into this school year in this weekās episode:
š§ Rethinking Back-to-School: 5 Lessons (and Oreo-Gate) on The Juggle is Real.