Turku Daycare Staff Asked Not to Bring Snacks That Could Make Children Envious
The Finnish city of Turku has advised early childhood education staff not to bring snacks that might make children envious of others' food. The guidance has confused daycare employees and sparked debate across Finland.
Authorities in the Finnish city of Turku have recommended that early childhood education employees avoid bringing snacks to work that could make children envious of what is on someone else's plate. The instruction, published last week, left daycare staff genuinely bewildered, Yle reports.
Vesa Kulmala, head of early childhood education in Turku, said the matter was raised at a management meeting in September. According to him, the city had received several complaints from different people, and the issue had already been discussed the previous winter.
Debate on social media
The new rule has prompted discussion not only in Turku but across Finland. Social media users are arguing over whether an employer has the right to interfere in what its staff eat. Daycare teachers effectively have no separate lunch break: they practise what is known as supervised eating, sitting at the same table as the children. From a pedagogical standpoint this is considered part of the educational process, and staff are expected to set a personal example.
Kulmala did not specify which snacks had caused concern, saying only that each employee should consider for themselves what food would not stir even a hint of envy in a child. The minutes also separately stress a ban on energy drinks in rooms where children are present.
Breaks and exceptions
City officials explained that staff still have a ten-minute coffee break. If an employee's food is not meant to be eaten in front of children, it is possible to arrange with management to eat outside the group room. Under the collective labour agreement, workers are in any case entitled to a short break for eating, provided it does not disrupt work.
Monika Toljander, head of the Herttuankulma daycare in Turku, noted that some employees bring home-cooked food because of stomach problems that standard daycare meals can cause.
Anna Laakkonen, chair of the early childhood educators' union, does not see staff-brought snacks as a serious problem. She trusts the common sense of employees and stresses that good eating habits can be taught without adults eating exactly the same food. In her view, one can always explain to children that people follow different diets and have different reasons for eating differently.
