Dear Mr. Ice Cream Truck

Dear Mr. Ice Cream Truck,

Hooray! Spring time is here. That means that you can take out your ice cream truck that has collected dust all winter. You can drive around the city visiting schools, parks, and public grounds. Mr. Ice Cream Truck, I think you are great, but I have a little bone to pick with you.

Please stop waiting at schools to entice kids the second they exit the school doors.

I get that you need to make a living and prying on elementary school kids after the bell goes at the end of the day is going to make you the mega bucks, but for me, a mom it’s torture.

You see ever since you showed up a few weeks ago, your truck waits off of school property right by Princess Peach’s pick-up door. Everyday since, I’ve had to endure tantrums, bribes, lies and parking my car on the other side of the school so she won’t see you. Don’t get me wrong, I love ice cream. But there’s a time and a place for everything. And EVERYDAY at 3:20 does not equal an ice cream. But to my four-year-old, I’m a mean mom who everyday needs to say NO because you are parked in her sight-line.

After coercing her with her healthy snack that now looks pathetic next to her friends ice creams, I tell her she can go play in the playground with her friends. By the time she has forgotten about you and has been playing with her friends in the playground for 15 minutes, you drive around to the entrance of the playground. They hear you coming long before they can even see you, because your little music starts to play. I use to love hearing that little jingle you play, but now I hate it. To me, your little jingle means Princess Peach will probably have another meltdown because she’s going to run over to me and ask for a pink panther popsicle or a cone dipped in caramel sauce.

I hate saying No, Mr. Ice Cream Truck, but enough is enough.

Not only do you wait for these kids at their school, but why do you have to follow them to the playground? Kids are there to get exercise, run around and play and here you come all happy and jolly for them to eat sugar. Kind of defeats the purpose of outdoor exercise right? As well, schools now focus a great deal of energy on healthy eating and sadly ice cream from an ice cream truck is anything but!

I know this is your job, and this is how you make money, but you are making parenting very difficult for me!

 

I could easily give in everyday and say yes to Princess Peach. Trust me. I’ve thought about it many times. Instead she gets to choose one day after school to get an ice cream. It’s up to her and I can take that privilege away based on her behaviour. She knows first hand as it’s what happened last week! Bad behaviour= no ice cream truck.

I digress.

So please Mr.Ice Cream Truck, think about us parents when you wait for our kids after school. We put on a happy face to hand over our money, but deep inside we are loathing every single second we see your truck. 

Sincerely,

A mom whose kid has tantrums when I don’t buy her ice cream from the ice cream truck