Photo - Clearly, the number of parties going on there is excessive. My ideal would be something like one party a month to celebrate the birthdays that took place during that month and any major holidays going on. Obviously, there's such a thing as overload. But we'll have to agree to disagree on whether parties with a little junk are necessarily a bad thing if they happen a moderate and not excessive amount (my original post said 1-2 per month).
Frankly, the idea that the only options considered are "No Junk at Parties Ever!" vs. "10 parties this month alone with piles of sugar!" reflects the relative problem American society has with moderation. We either ban or we go overboard. Why don't schools have the common sense to figure out that parties every 3 days distract from the learning experience, make parties overall less special, and mean kids eat more junk than they ought, and that 1-2 parties a month with mostly healthy snacks and one dessert treat would be a much more sensible approach that would still allow people to celebrate? I just really fundamentally object that we go from the extreme you're describing (seriously? that's a LOT of parties) to the other extreme without giving anything in the middle a shot.
My daughter's birthday was last month...and I sent her in to class with a Stretch Island fruit leather for each child in the class.
I figured that they could have a treat that wasn't a cupcake or a cookie, and it could still be sweet.
I agree that they shouldn't be BANNED...but moderated. I don't think that a party or two a month will hurt anyone, but the problem is that the kids are eating Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, chicken nuggets and fries in their school lunch, and THEN having a few parties per month, and Mom/Dad hit the drive thru or call Pizza Hut for dinner. THAT is the problem. There is no moderation.
I agree that they shouldn't be BANNED...but moderated. I don't think that a party or two a month will hurt anyone, but the problem is that the kids are eating Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, chicken nuggets and fries in their school lunch, and THEN having a few parties per month, and Mom/Dad hit the drive thru or call Pizza Hut for dinner. THAT is the problem. There is no moderation.
Yup. Moderation seems to be a hazy concept ... which is frustrating.
I had a friend (we don't talk much any more since she had a kid) who used to complain that she was worried about her 3 year old daughters weight. She'd tell me this as she was driving through McDonald's after picking her child up from 'school' and ordering a kid's meal. Or when she was cooking dinner for her daughter and on the phone with me - chicken fingers and tater tots from the freezer, heated up in the oven.
And then she'd tell me how excited she was that it was her daughter's turn to bring 'treats' for the class and how she was going all the way across town to get the "special" cupcakes (like Magnolia Bakery style ones, loaded with buttercream) because she wanted her daughter's treat day to be The Best.
-Return the emphasis to moderation. I personally believe that removing cupcakes from school parties, if those parties are fairly rare (once every week to two weeks, for example) for reasons of childhood obesity is horribly misguided. No one gets to be overweight from eating a cupcake every two weeks.
This confused me. I would think parties with dessert every one to two weeks at school is crazy. Sure didn't happen when I was growing up. And the thing is, those cupcakes (or whatever) at school are NOT the only dessert they're having. That's just adding dessert at lunch time on top of whatever their parents feel is appropriate after dinner. I would most definitely vote for once a month, period.
On a side note, I am just horrified by how much junk and sugar my nephews eat. Even the gentlest of suggestions do not go over well . Meanwhile I have heard comments about being fat from my niece for at least a year or so now - she's 9
It all starts and ends at the personal level. Until we don't take matters onto our own hands we can not expect the government to do anything for us. It was then when I started losing weight.
I wish health insurance covered weight loss in more ways than WLS (and not all of them cover WLS.) I go to a holistic wellness center that helps people lose weight via nutrtional counseling and fitness, etc, but technically to be covered by insurance it's considered "behavioral therapy." I also think skin removal should be covered for all individuals who lose weight and need/desire it.
Education is paramount, but where do you start. I like having the nutritional information available to me, so I like that level of gov't involvement.
I also like Photochick's idea of banning school parties. I used to work at a child care center that had a no sugar policy-so when parents wanted to have a celebration they had to find a sugar-free way to celebrate. One family decided to make home made vegetarian pizza-it was a hit (and loaded with healthy veggies rather than sugar.)
Local schools here allow two parties a year. The kids really appreciate them more when they're a special occasion.
I would like to see better choices for school lunches.
In 7th grade math DD did have a long term assignment that ties into some of the comments above. She had to identify a career she'd like, interview someone in that career (she interviewed a local female tv sports reporter), find out what a starting salary was and put together a monthly budget. This had to include housing (costs not to be shared by more than two people) transportation (nothing to be provided by parents), utilities, etc. She also had to put together a week's shopping list and price it out. She hated the assignment. I loved it. I think she should have to do it again in HS.
In my district, we can have three parties a year--Xmas, valentine's, and the last day of school. Sweets are limited--cupcakes are allowed, but they cannot be served or eaten in the cafeteria, only in the classroom, and ONLY if the children have already eaten lunch.
No soda machines or snack machines in this school district. Also, deep fryers were banned from our district about 10 years ago. The old schools had theirs converted into sinks. So, nothing is fried, and there is fresh fruit or veggies everyday. My students had fresh Jicama and beet sticks with their white meat, baked chicken nuggets and their whole wheat roll today.
I'm a teacher and my MIL is a cafeteria manager in one of our district schools.
It is really aggravating when people slam the schools for the obesity problem. The schools ARE changing, and have been changing, their nutrition guidelines. Also, ALL nutritional info for our school foods is listed online for the parents to see. We even offer vegetarian and vegan food upon request. And, no, we aren't a rich district. We actually one of the poorest in the state, but we make it happen.
Maybe we could all take a second and realize that it's not just the school's fault? I know not every school is like mine, but many are. Maybe it could also be the parents? the babysitters?
(Obviously not the parents in this forum by the way! I know we're more health conscious.) I see kids bring all kinds of junky lunches from home. Sodas, cold pizza, candy bars, etc. And this is a K-2nd grade campus!
Sorry to be cranky, and I'm genuinely not trying to blast anyone in particular. But, yes, schools are much better in nutrition than they were 10 years ago. If your district isn't one of them, then protest! Write letters! Complain! That's what we did.
Stepping of my soapbox now.... Don't yell at me too much, lol! I just see how hard my MIL and her cafe ladies work to provide healthy food, not just "easy" food, and they get little credit.
Chicky - I don't think you should get defensive. No one is attacking you personally.
But I gotta say, that your school district sounds unusual to me. Granted I don't have kids in school, but I have friends who do and I've done career days at local high schools (3 of them in the last 18 monts). And I have to be honest - not ONE of the schools that I've been in served the kind of food you're describing.
Both of the middle schools I was at last year had burger bars for the kids (burgers, cheese burgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, fries, etc.) The "hot lunch" looked pretty darned good - I have to admit. Much better than what *I* was offered in middle school (*grin*) but still when stacked up against a burger and fries, what middle school kid is going to make *that* choice.
But yes, I *do* believe that schools - and school districts - are partially (mind you, not completely) but partially responsible for the weight problems kids face.
That doesn't mean I think the PEOPLE in the schools are responsible. Teachers, cafeteria workers, and all those other people don't make the policies. School boards do. And I think the school boards (for the most part) need to pull their heads out and start taking a serious look at what they're feeding kids. You say the schools are changing, but honestly I don't think they're changing FAST enough.
.
Last edited by PhotoChick; 10-27-2008 at 09:58 PM.
. Meanwhile I have heard comments about being fat from my niece for at least a year or so now - she's 9 
