"Apparently," writes frustrated mother and home baker Jennifer Steinhauer, "we have collectively decided as a culture that it is impossible for children to take part in any activity without simultaneously shoving something into their pie holes." She disagrees. Hounded, like many parents, by demands to provide group snacks for their children's teams, rehearsal groups, and "multicultural festivals," she is now airing her anti-snack argument in The New York Times. The snack trend is now out of control, disregarding concerns of both convenience and health:

What is especially baffling where I live, in Los Angeles, is how often the kind of parental paranoia that obsesses about school ratings, vaccines and myriad imagined plagues is matched by utter disregard for the nutritional downsides of mowing down Fruit by the Foot every afternoon at 4.

Furthermore, her own, more healthful offerings of whole grained baked goods are rejected: "Here was the memo I received concerning my recent snack obligation for a play practice. 'Please note, we have the following allergies in mini players: Peanuts, cashews, nuts, wheat, dairy, strawberries, milk, egg whites.'" Here's Steinhauer's conclusion:

Food allergies are a real problem. But did no one ponder the idea that perhaps the solution is for children to bring their own snacks?

Or to eat no snacks at all?

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Heather Horn