Well-I have to agree with the first teacher who spoke up on this thread. I helped out with a lot of parties and things when my daughter was in kindergarten-and they had a birthday "wall" with everyone's birthdays on it. There averaged about 2-3 days each month where there was a birthday in the class-which, of course, meant cupcakes, or punch, or treat bags of candy, and so forth.
Then they had things for Halloween, Christmas/Hannukuh, Valentine's Day, and the like as well.
When you add up that in any given month the school lunches contained the following choices:
~pizza
~tator tots
~fruit canned in HEAVY SYRUP
~corn dogs/hot dogs
~french fries
~nachos
~cookie/cake for the "sweet" in the lunch a few times
~bologna sandwich on white bread/bun
And so on, and so on.
When I was in high school-we did not have to have the school lunch. We could grab a soda pop from the machine, grab a bag of chips or a candy bar from the other machine-and call it lunch. Or, we could stand in line, and instead of using our lunch money for the actual lunch-we could get an order of fries, a couple cookies...or what have you instead.
It gets even worse-my MIL is currently a high school cafeteria worker, and things have went downhill even more with the crappy choices available in junior high and high school cafeterias-and I thought the soda machine/candy-chip machine/al a carte fries options that WE had in school 12 years ago was bad. Her school has an ice cream chest where the students can get drumsticks, ice cream sandwiches, and the like if they want to. They have Snapples, and all sorts of junk food surrounding them.
My husband's little cousin is 6, and in the 1 year she has been in school she has had a candy bar fundraiser and a cookie dough fundraiser.
It isn't about "a cupcake on a birthday". It is about our kids being overloaded with junk day in and day out...and there are going to have to be some changes made in the schools. It has to start somewhere, though-and if it has to start with a cupcake-or by taking out a single soda machine, then so be it. It has to start SOMEWHERE.
You have to understand, I chaperoned a trip to a farmer's market last year with my daughter's class-and all of the children could recognize an apple or a regular old potato when it was held up for the class-but MY children (6 and 4 at the time) were the ONLY ones who named off the kiwi, the mango, and some of the other fruits and vegetables.
My daughter's teacher this year has a "snack" time every Friday. Each Friday she brings in a fruit or a vegetable, and passes out a sample to each child. If they don't like it, then that is fine...but they try it. Jasmine has mentioned blueberries, a kiwi slice, a cherry tomato, and other things that the teacher has passed out on Fridays. I think this is a WONDERFUL start. I would like to see many more changes like this in the schools.
Also, I agree as well with the food allergies. There are no peanut products, or items made with peanuts allowed in my daughter's school doors-no PB sandwiches in packed lunches...no Payday candy bars...no NOTHING. There is a child who is severely allergic-and in serious allergies the child does not have to ingest a peanut to get ill-breathing in a couple whiffs of the peanut steeped air at a steakhouse will do the trick.
It isn't about "a cupcake on a birthday". It is about our kids being overloaded with junk day in and day out...and there are going to have to be some changes made in the schools. It has to start somewhere, though-and if it has to start with a cupcake-or by taking out a single soda machine, then so be it. It has to start SOMEWHERE.
You have to understand, I chaperoned a trip to a farmer's market last year with my daughter's class-and all of the children could recognize an apple or a regular old potato when it was held up for the class-but MY children (6 and 4 at the time) were the ONLY ones who named off the kiwi, the mango, and some of the other fruits and vegetables.
I absolutely agree that it has to start somewhere. I had forgotten to mention about the fundraisers. Really there is no end to the junk we are exposed to everyday at school.
A few weeks ago I was eating lunch in my classroom with 7 of my students. They had the standard meal... pizza with tater tots. One little one next to me had a "taco salad" from the cafeteria. You couldn't really call it a salad though. It was mostly cornchips with a little meat and a trace of iceburg lettuce... so little lettuce you wouldn't even know it was there if you didn't look hard enough.
Anyway, the topic for discussion was my lunch which was a large salad. I had an extra cucumber with me, you know the long seedless kind. Only one child even knew what it was called. Even when I said cucumber it didn't register with the rest of them. Of course, I shared it and everyone seemed to enjoy every bite. (I always bring a little extra something to share.)
I am so saddened by what we feed our students at school. Many of them eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner (our afterschool program) with us. All from the same cafeteria... the same food service ... the same sort of fare.
I think a total ban on junk food goes too far as it doesn't give people room for common sense. But students would be eating a lot more healthy foods if they were offered to them and some of the junk was not available at all. I mean pizza being offered everyday? Please.
25 kids is too many?... that's a small class in my school. I remember being in grade school and anything under 28 was a small class. Most of us had 30 kids.
As for the cupcakes... eh.. I can kinda understand. I mean I remember a few kids in class not allowed to have sugar. and I always felt sorry for them for being left out and such. Plus it's not like the teachers need to deal with kids hyped on the sweet stuff
Also, I agree as well with the food allergies. There are no peanut products, or items made with peanuts allowed in my daughter's school doors-no PB sandwiches in packed lunches...no Payday candy bars...no NOTHING. There is a child who is severely allergic-and in serious allergies the child does not have to ingest a peanut to get ill-breathing in a couple whiffs of the peanut steeped air at a steakhouse will do the trick.
Now there's the opposite I don't agree with. A child that ill from something they could so easily be exposed to should have other safety precautions. They should not be forbidding every child in the school to not have a PB&J sandwich for lunch if that's what they want to eat and their parents want to fix them.
Going back to the point raised earlier about candy/cookie fundraiser sales, did you all see a few months back, when a young student led her classmates in NOT selling a sugary snack (candy bars, I think) as a fundraiser? The kids had wanted to raise money for a trip to Washington DC, but were willing to forego the trip because they didn't want to promote unhealthy eating habits.
When she heard what they had done, Mrs. Atkins (yes, widow of Dr. Atkins) donated enough money to the kids so they could take the trip anyway, while sticking to their principles.
I'm not an advocate for or against the Atkins program (did Atkins myself for a while). If it works for you, fine and dandy. And I don't want to hijack this thread into an Atkins discussion, because the point of this thread is school foods. But regardless of your take on Atkins, I think it was a classy thing for her to do. And I think it's great that the kids made the decision on their own.
Regarding nut allergies, I'm fencewalking again. On the one hand, I ask if this is something new. Surely people have had nut allergies since the dawn of humans, but it seems to be so much more prevalent now. I don't remember having peanuts banned from the classroom when I was little. If my little classmates had nut allergies, didn't their families just teach the kids themselves to be extra vigilent?
When my DS was in elementary school, a new kid came in with a nut allergy. Nuts were immediately banned from the classroom. I just don't remember that happening when I was a kid. For what it's worth, the nut-allergic child was (and remains) a delightful kid and he and my son are fast friends. And we're extra vigilent about nuts whenever he comes to visit .
On the other hand, if it were MY kid with the allergy, you're durn tootin' I'd want every nut in the state outlawed! I wouldn't even want people to talk about nutrition, because there's a "nut" in nutrition!
I guess it has to be a combination of things. One, make absolutely sure the nut-averse kid is 100% aware of his/her condition and make absolutely sure s/he knows how to avoid nuts. S/he is always going to have to live in a world full of nuts, so s/he MUST learn early to keep him/herself safe. S/he can't rely on other people making a nut-free world.
Two, work to minimize nut-exposure in the child's environment. That may mean asking the classroom to keep the nuts out. In addition to keeping the environment safer for the nut-averse child, it will help all the children learn about compassion and how we all should try to make the world safer for everyone.
Three, make absolutely sure that the child has an epi-pen and knowshowtouseit. And that the teachers and other school staff know how to use it. Heck, just like CPR (we HAVE all taken a basic CPR class, right?), we should all know how to use an epi-pen.
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Sorry, long winded (so what else is new from me? ). This actually would have been 2 separate posts, but my internet crashed last night and I couldn't post that top half, so, well, yeah...
Banning nuts seems extreme, unless you have seen a person have a nut-induced allergic reaction. When I was in eighth grade, a classmate with a nut allergy ate a cookie brought in for a Christmas party. It didn't look like it had nuts in it, but they were ground, so he didn't realize it. Within minutes his eyes and airways swelled shut, and he had to be guided to the nurses office while an ambulance was called. He nearly died, and his allergy wasn't as some people's. A child can die before anyone realizes he/she is having a reaction, and nut allergies aren't all that uncommon. Even small schools probably have at least one student with a severe nut allergy.
IF PB&J weren't such a staple, I doubt there would be as much protest. I don't see there being an uproar for banning foods such as shrimp or avocado.
I agree completely. My daughter is allergic to lemons. Her allergic reaction causes her to throw up violently within 15 minutes of consuming something with natural lemon in it-lemonade, etc. The teachers are aware of this, and because of this Jasmine knows not to have anything lemon flavored if she has any doubts, but I have not had lemons banned from the school because there are different "grades" of allergic reactions.
Some people when they are allergic to something get an upset stomach/digestive issues, some throw up, some itch or break out, some get a runny nose/cold like symptoms. There are very mild cases which are more common, but there are also very severe cases as well.
There are the very extreme cases where airways immediately swell and get blocked, and people can die. This is the case in my daughter's school. I think they are doing the right thing by keeping PB&Js, Reeses Cups, and other peanut containing foods out of the school entirely.
Yes, a child with a severe allergy will have to learn about their allergy, and learn to avoid nuts on their own-but when you have 200 students, and their 300+ parents involved in that school-I think the child's safety should come first and it should just be avoided. Things can be contaminated-and that is all it takes.
No one is banning a child from eating peanut butter-the child can have it at breakfast, snack time, dinner, or on the weekends. I have no problem packing a different lunch for my child, and explaining to her the circumstances-especially since she knows what an allergy can do in her own case, much less one 10 times more severe.
When my son was in a private school in 7th grade during a Valentine's Day party the classmates decided to give most of the candy to my son and his friend who are both very hyper already---I tried to do the natural route with son's suspected ADHD and not put him on Ritalin--I watched sugar (not to say that it was banned) and we ate healthy (if we would have stuck with it I wouldn't be the weight I am now) --when I picked the two boys up along with the three girls I also drove home I almost went crazy during the 30 minutes in the confined space of my station wagon with the two of them not being able to sit still or be quiet.
With so many kids so high strung on high sugar breaskfast foods and soda I can't imagine what a teacher goes through to keep the attention of 25 or more kids without added cupcakes and punch.
Just a bit of background: This school already has banned soda (which I agree with) and holiday parties (which I don't per se agree with, but that is another matter entirely).
My point is that these kids are already Not being inundated with treats everday. And you know what? Kids are Kids. They like sweets and I don't think it is such a crime for kids to have sweets every once in a while and even 25 kids in a class only works out to cupcakes being brought in 2x a month and that is IF the parents provide the cupcakes. Individual parents maybe should take a stand and refuse to bring in cupcakes for their child, but make that their choice. And since this is all about allowing children to make wise choices, then allow them to make choices, period.
Futhermore; Who here can raise their hand and honestly say that they did not care for any type of sweetie or fun food as a child? Who can say they don't have a favorite and unhealthy food now as an adult that they very occasionally "indulge" in?
Food is meant to be a joy and pleasure in life. Something to be enjoyed in balance and moderation. Moderation does not mean extreme limitation.
I have lost 100lbs, and you know what? I will tell you a "secret" I like chocolate. A lot. And I have managed to lose all of that weight eating chocolate Every. Single. Day. Because I don't eat 10 candy bars in one sitting but maybe about 2 oz. of dark chocolate. I like chocolate, so why would I "forbid" myself from having any? If I did that I probably would end up on a 10 candy bar binge 1x or 2x a month.
I'm sorry, but I fail to see how 2 cupcakes a month is going to ruin a child's health or screw with their weight.
What child needs another cupcake at school? I think they should be banned...along with all the homemade items brought to the school. We don't know how clean the environment is, who's allergic to what, who has diabetes, lactose intolerance, food allergies, etc... what parent can make it through the check-out without buying a candy bar? I support the ban!
I'm thinking of all the families out there that haven't changed their eating habits and their pantries are full of junk food. Those kids need healthy food. It's great that your house is a healthy eating zone. But what about the kids that don't get that at home? Don't they deserve good nutritious food?
Kids will be kids, but doesn't that really apply to how they act not what they eat?
Food is meant to be a joy and pleasure in life. Something to be enjoyed in balance and moderation. Moderation does not mean extreme limitation.
I'm sorry, but I fail to see how 2 cupcakes a month is going to ruin a child's health or screw with their weight.
If the issue were only 2 cupcakes a month, though, I would agree. The point is, is that it isn't just two cupcakes. My daughter's class has a math level thing at school-and for every level, they get a couple gumballs. They get a green (good) or a red (behavior issues) color each day, and if they get a week of "all green", then they get a small treat on Fridays. Then you add in the two cupcakes and punch a month for birthdays at school...and the holiday parties...and the tator tots, pizza, and hot dogs every day in the school cafeteria. When they get into junior high and high school-the kiddie gumball treats are replaced by the full fledged soda machines and al a carte french fries lunch instead. This is all only in the 7 hours they are in school each day.
If it were 2 cupcakes a month-then that would be moderation, but that isn't the case at all.
I enjoy chocolate myself, and I also nibble a dab of dark chocolate, or have 2-3 Hershey Kisses. That is moderation-but I don't think it would be if I had that on top of hot dogs, tator tots, and chocolate milk for lunch.
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