Poland's child ombudsman ends 25-year ice cream tradition for top students, sparking national backlash

A local tradition ends after 25 years

For roughly 25 years, the 'Lodziarnia Pod Dębem' ice cream parlour in Pszczyna rewarded pupils who finished the school year with a 'red stripe' on their certificate (a distinction for high academic achievement) with a free portion of ice cream. The tradition was started by the parlour's founder, the late Tadeusz Hałas, and later continued by his wife Jolanta Hałas. Each year, several hundred children received free ice cream on the day school certificates were handed out.

My husband started the initiative about 25 years ago. Later I continued it. On that day children came with their certificates, I personally congratulated each one and treated them to free ice cream. I am extremely sorry, I had already invited the children... and what am I supposed to tell them now?

This year, the owners announced via social media that the tradition would not continue. They stated they had received an official, personally addressed letter from the Office of the Children's Ombudsman requesting they cease the initiative.

The ombudsman's reasoning

The Children's Ombudsman, Monika Horna-Cieślak, argued that promotional or philanthropic initiatives that tie rewards to school grades can carry negative social consequences. The office's position, as reported by multiple outlets, is that the 'ice cream for a red stripe' initiative could potentially violate children's rights, generate excessive psychological pressure, promote unhealthy rivalry, and lead to peer exclusion of children who, for various reasons, do not achieve top academic results.

Every student deserves appreciation, recognition and support, regardless of the grades they receive at school.

According to the local portal Pszczyna Nasze Miasto, cited by several national outlets, the ombudsman's intervention may have been triggered by a complaint from a single parent.

Political and public backlash

The decision triggered an immediate and broad backlash. Education minister Barbara Nowacka addressed the ombudsman directly on social media platform X, writing: 'Dear Children's Ombudsman! Mercy... Hard work, ambition and talent of pupils are worth noticing and rewarding. It also motivates other children to study and work.' She added that schools, parents, local governments and NGOs already do this, and it is nice that ice cream parlours sometimes join in too.

Local councillor Jacek Granda of the Pszczyna Municipal Council sharply criticised the central office's intervention, stating that while intentions to protect children are always worthy of respect, in this specific case the bureaucratic reaction proved completely devoid of sensitivity to local context. 'Children have fun. Parents smile. The community gets a little more goodness. Such initiatives are worth protecting, not stigmatising,' he said.

Confederation MP Przemysław Wipler announced he would file a criminal complaint alleging abuse of power by the ombudsman. 'I will file a notification of the crime of exceeding powers by this lady. We will put a stop to the lawlessness of officials ruining our lives with our own money,' he wrote on X.

Counter-initiatives emerge

Within hours of the news breaking, several media and political figures announced they would step in to ensure the top-performing pupils still receive their reward. Krzysztof Stanowski of Kanał Zero declared on X that his outlet would rent a bus or ice cream parlour (possibly several, to cover multiple cities) and distribute free ice cream to pupils with red-stripe certificates at the end of the school year. Pupils without the distinction would receive a kind word and encouragement to study harder next year.

Separately, Telewizja wPolsce24 announced it would fund ice cream for the Pszczyna pupils with red-stripe certificates on 26 June, the official end of the school year.

A community divided

On the ice cream parlour's social media page, a flood of comments from Pszczyna residents expressed outrage at the ombudsman's action. Comments ranged from 'Stop rewarding the smart and hardworking because the rest will feel offended. Massacre' to 'Sick world' and expressions of shame directed at the Children's Ombudsman. The owners, while announcing the end of the tradition, stressed they still invited pupils, parents and residents to celebrate the end of the school year together.