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Is Buying for Bake Sales Shameful?

You might be a bad mother if..." This weeks answer: Your kid always knows which items are yours at the bake sale due to the bright orange "Sale!" sticker on the package. Similar to redneck jokes, but a lot less funny (us moms, so sensitive!), people have been invoking the Bad Mama stereotype for all kinds of things lately-but the most recent controversy was stirred up by Jennifer Steinhauer, who calmly informed us in The New York Times that donating purchased foodstuffs to a school bake sale is not only "cheating," but might be the downfall of society. She is, of course, nuts. And I say that with all the affection of one crazy person to another.

First, a confession. I haven't donated anything baked or homemade to a school bake sale in years. I also haven't bought wrapping paper, let my kids sell chocolate door-to-door, or hawked raffle tickets to my coworkers. I abhor a fundraiser; whenever one comes up, I write a check to the PTO for each of my kids and, like the mommy mafia, buy their silence. They get their money, and I don't have to man the dunk-the-teacher booth. Win-win. But even if I did feel so inclined, I am not allowed to bring anything homemade to the school. Everything must come plastic-wrapped with the ingredients clearly stated on the label. I'd take it personally, but I'm pretty sure they're just worried about allergies and E. coli.

Aesthetics aside, Steinhauer might be wrong even from a monetary perspective. At my son's Cub Scout bake sale where homemade donations were accepted, do you know which items had made the most money for our kerchief-clad cuties at the end of night? A deluxe cheesecake platter from Costco ($100!), a tiered apple cake from a local bakery ($50!) and a Target cheesecake ($50!). My friend's homemade mint brownies went for a whopping $1.50. Honestly I'm not surprised. Very few people these days are good enough cooks to rival the pros. (Does Costco put crack in their pies? Because they even beat out most restaurants in my opinion.)

But rather than shame moms for not taking the time to bake and not being good enough cooks when they do, I think we should applaud everyone's efforts to keep the obesity crisis growing. (Joke! I swear! Don't eviscerate me!) Seriously though, I think any way a parent is involved in their child's life should be encouraged.

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