Gorham schools’ newly adopted ban of sugary sweet treats at elementary school celebrations is a sad sign of the times.

Two parents of school children are speaking out on the matter in hopes of educating fellow residents about what they feel is an overreach by the Gorham School Department. We applaud their efforts to bring a sense of moderation back to kids’ in-school parties, which many of us remember with fondness from our own school days.

Ever since first lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign took the country by storm after her husband’s election in 2008, the country’s food police have been on high alert everywhere. The schools, which are taxpayer funded and therefore open to federal influence, have been sandblasted with messages and money to promote healthier food choices.

There’s nothing wrong with schools promoting good choices when it comes to food. And Gorham is certainly not alone in this endeavor. Windham-Raymond schools banned sugary celebrations in 2011, and Cape Elizabeth was a trendsetter, developing a similar policy a decade ago. The trend is gaining popularity, however, as the proverbial bandwagon grows heavy with obsessive calorie counters.

While their aims are noble – and, as such, hard to argue with from a purely logical stance – there are issues that are more pressing than what kids put in their stomachs at school. Test scores are not what they should be, and our ranking among other nations is tragic for such a great country. Beyond scores, schools should also be laser-focused in trying to prepare kids for a rapidly evolving reality where technology and other factors are altering our work environments. So with real issues all around us, this business about food choices at lunch or during celebrations seems like energy misspent by school officials.

Besides, when you talk to kids, not many seem too thrilled about their new food “choices.” Many students throw the expensive fruit and vegetables right in the garbage. In fact, last year one ingenious student in Windham brought in a box that he placed beside the cafeteria’s garbage can in hopes kids would deposit their unwanted fruit, which he then brought home to his farm animals. Add to that the national stories of student-athletes not getting the necessary calories from the new, lower-calorie school lunches, and we wonder if the new top-down approach is worth the effort.

Moreover, what exactly is wrong with celebrating a holiday with an in-class treat? Really, what’s a celebration without something a little decadent to eat or drink? Yes, eating lots of sweets every day is probably going to lead to obesity (especially if you’re sedentary), but an occasional sweet isn’t going to harm anyone. That’s the plain Maine common sense of the matter. The schools seem to be throwing away common sense and happy traditions in their attempt to show kids the proper way to eat, which, by the way, is the parents’ job, not the school’s.

So, if kids can’t eat an occasional cupcake at a party, what’s next? How far are the wellness programs in local schools going to go? Will lunch boxes be scrutinized? That’s a legitimate question, and concern. When administrators or the school board ban an occasional celebratory cupcake, something has gone wrong.

Another effect of all this nanny policy-making regarding the proper food to eat is its long-term effect on kids’ mental health. Many people struggle with food-related hang-ups, and it’s probably not unrealistic to think today’s kids, who are force-fed this good food-bad food dichotomy, will be at best confused when it comes to their own choices as adults. It sounds silly, but the messages these kids are getting are an all-or-nothing approach (Eat this! Don’t eat that!), rather than one of moderation. We believe this is the wrong approach when trying to get anyone, not just children, to eat well.

–John Balentine, managing editor