So you should go and sit with your child at lunch every day and tell them which food to choose? For some people that isn't very logical.

If there are USDA regulations why are other people saying the same thing as me? You just said that all regulations are the same but I can't group our schools together? I am really confused.

I work in a school that is Title 1. Low socioeconomic status.. they are concerned with us passing the TAKS test, not what the kids eat. Its free breakfast and free lunch for most.. think they are going to complain??

My son (almost 6) is underweight but I do the same thing as Eliana and Vixsin. We talk about healthy foods and how some things are the foods that make us big and strong and others are the treats that we have but just sometimes. I try to not make too big a deal out of it, but I want him to absorb the info so it's there as he gets older and makes his own choices more and more.

My son eats school lunch but our district has made a really strong emphasis on a healthy lunch program so he's got good choices there, probably better ones than if I had to make his lunch every day, to be honest.

I'm not saying you should sit with your kids at lunch. I'm saying go to your school and talk with the PTA if you have to to get things changed. And by not grouping them together, i am talking about the schools that cut corners to save a buck. Not all of them do that.

And yes, I understand what you are talking about with kids getting free lunch and breakfast. I work at a place where almost everyone gets their food free. I work at the YWCA daycare and most if not all of the children here get free childcare provided by the government.

Don't bash me for posting my opinion, I'm not bashing you. This is a friendly forum. Thanks.

To be honest I started gaining weight eating lunch in the cafeteria this school year.. fish sticks and mac and cheese was my favorite day!

Didn't bash your opinion. Wasn't even rude about it. Questioned it because I wanted clarification. You have a very one-sided opinion. Just trying to get my points across. Sorry if you feel that way.

I would make sure that my entire household is set up for optimal health. Which it is NOW. My kids were older teenagers when I started this little (not so little) venture, though I never, ever fed them the garbage I was eating.

I would ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have good, healthy, plentiful, delicious options on hand. I would be willing to pack lunches and snacks for them.

I would do my best to keep my family informed and educated and good nutrition. Letting them know why we eat the way that we do. I would teach them about proper portions and what is required to run their bodies.

I would totally and completely have no junk in the house, bringing it in on rare occasions (maybe even every weekend) in controllable, reasonable portions. You don't want them going crazy and sneaking it from elsewhere.

I would do my very, very best to make certain they were involved in sports. Team sports and solo sports. I would plan hikes, bike rides, football games, frisbee as family activities.

I remember someone once asked me if I *subject* my whole family to my *way of eating*. Well, ummm, yeah - I love them and I want them to have the best life possible with the greatest chance of being disease free and obesity free. I give my family the best food that this earth has to offer.

I have dieted most of my life (since the age of 5). I'm 44 now, but as a child, I was raised to crash diet and see crash dieting as normal (with the approval of the family doctor).

I sometimes rebelled, and I also sometimes "overacheived." If I refused to eat dinner because I was "dieting" my parents praised my dedication (or at most suggested I have "at least a salad" as if lettuce and vinegar provided any nutrition at all).

I was a WW member at 8 years old (the youngest age you could be accepted - and you needed a doctor's permission slip, which I got easily enough).

I was reading adult diet books at 8 years old too. I was in 3rd grade when I was allowed to check out books from the "adult" section of the library (I remember because it was the 3rd grade science fair that inspired me to ask permission). The science fair project was on turtles, but along with the books on marine animals, I checked out my first diet books as well.

My personal belief is that focusing on a child "growing into their weight," is probably a better way to get their weight under control than a reducing diet. Setting up the dieting = good, eating = bad mentality can backfire into an ED or a lifelong food obsession.

I remember in kindergarten, I was 8 lbs over the "right" weight for my height. I was put on a diet, and allowed one piece of candy per week (I had a canister in the kitchen from which I could choose). I was promised a pair of painted turtles (like the ones in my kindergarten class). I know I lost at least half the weight (I remember complaining that I should be allowed to get one turtle, and my parents reminding me that the deal was two turtles for the entire 8 lbs).

But before I reached my goal, Illinois banned the sale of turtles (salmonella risk) and the turtles were removed from the kindergarten classroom.

That was the end of my first diet (I can't believe my parents wouldn't have tried other bribes, and surely I would have responded to a promise of a puppy - but I do remember feeling rage and hopelessness, and sneaking food in response to the injustice and betrayal I felt).

It's just kind of sad, that I dieted like an adult so young (even down to the "what's the use, I can't do it" kind of thinking.

First off - the USDA guidelines are a JOKE. I run a daycare, and to get reimbursed I have to serve by those guidelines. I DO serve like this:

Pasta w/ground turkey
Green Beans
Apple Slices
Milk

I COULD serve like this:

Supreme Pizza (sausage, cheese, and bits of veggies)
Apple sauce (sweetened)
Milk

The only requirement is the amount and combination of the items, NOT the quality.

As a parent of 4 children (ages 12 - 1) I have seen the deplorable state of the school lunch program first hand. Please refer to the series Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on www.hulu.com if you would like to learn more.

Second - my oldest son has been overweight since the moment he could walk. Currently he stands 5' 4" tall and weighs 175lbs. His weight is actually down 6lbs in the last 6 months. Here's what my house rules are.

1. Only 1 hour of screen time per day
2. One serving of meat and starch and each meal, unlimited veggies. Must wait 20min before going back for seconds of starch or meat, and then serving sizes must be weighed or measured.
3. 30min outside each and every day. If the weather is crap (we are in NE) then I allow the older children to use the treadmill and watch a movie while they walk OR do one of the exercise videos I purchased for them.

These small things are so integral in their development. Also, as a family we don't eat sugar substitutes, drink soda pop or have chips or packaged snacks on hand. Snacks are fruit, veggies, nut butters and whole grain crackers and breads.

I wouldn't put a child on a restricted calorie diet without a medical concern. And even then, it depends on the age and development of the child as to whether or not I would inform them that they are being restricted.

Just my input. Great thread!

Im not trying to give a one sided opinion. I'm telling you my opinion and some facts and saying that if you think there is that much of a problem with the school your children go to then GET INVOLVED! Do as much as possible. In the time that you spend on the computer doing this you could have gone and had a meeting with someone and have gotten something accomplished.
It's not as hard as people think to get around things like school boards. All you have to do is petition. You get 150 to 200 signatures form other parents and you turn it into the school board and you have a meeting there. I did it at my high school with the breakfast they served. All they served were donuts, bagels, and coffee. I got over 300 signatures and the board changed the menu to heathlier choices such as fresh fruits, no sugar cereals, natural juices, things like that.

We live in a democracy and we are given the freedom of speech and protest. Make it work to your advantage. Don't just sit back and take it and let your child eat things that your uncomfortable with. You are making the choice to lose weight for yourself. If you can do that, you can do something about the schools. Believe in yourself people!

Loved Jamie Oliver's show!!! That's what made me pay attention to my son's lunch menu!!

I was just thinking about this.

In the summer I work at a camp for kids with physical disabilities, mostly kids with CP/spina bifida/deaf/blind/etc. But they just started accepting about 15 kids each year who are in the 95% for obesity. Now, this is a therapy camp, so all the kids are getting therapy all summer long, so the kids in the weight management program get a lot of physical therapy and recreational therapy, and they attend a nutrition class once a week if we happen to have a volunteer nutritionist. It's a really poor program. I mean, it's a GREAT idea, and it is in the first stages (2 summers running now), and some kids have been able to lose a lot of weight and keep it off by learning things... but that is primarily the older teenagers who come and can self regulate. I work with younger kids (5-9 year olds).

The problem here is that's really about all they do. The camp is SO therapy oriented toward all the disabled kids, but it's really up to the counselors to watch the kids food intake (cause all the kids eat together... there may be like 1 obese kid in a cabin of 5 skinny kids who are at the camp for a different reason). Last year, I was a unit leader and in charge of about 30 boys and their 8 counselors, and I really didn't know what support to offer to those counselors who wanted to work with these kids. I'm actually pretty excited for this upcoming summer and hoping a few kids in the program will be put in my unit, because I have so much to offer now with my new knowledge of eating healthy. I'm even thinking about how I can work with the kids and make a packet or something with the healthy choices they've made that they can take back and show their parents. I'm pretty excited about this. I'd love to do this with ALL the kids too... talk about making healthy choices and make it a great thing. Knock out that red dye kool-aide that they give us at picnics. The camp serves pretty healthy foods, but it's just a matter of helping kids learn when they are full and when to stop eating. And what is appropriate to take seconds on.

I was a skinny kid until I was about 8, then I must have gained a lot of weight over the span of a few months or something because I don't even see any transition pictures between skinny kid and fat kid. I wish my parents would have done something to help me. My mom and sister were always thin, but my dad was obese too. Mom and sis ate the same as me and dad, but my sister was a more active kid than me, and she just always stayed thin. Though, she also went through bouts of anorexia in her teenage years. We both obviously had disordered eating, in different ways. I'm so excited to teach my kids about healthy eating someday.

And school lunches aren't THAT bad. I remember their being a lot of options at my school, and there was always a salad bar. My family was poor and so I was packed a peanut butter and jelly every day, along with one of those cheap little debbie snacks or something, and 30 cents for milk (which was usually chocolate). Mom didn't want us on the school lunch program because when she was a kid and got free lunch she was teased. Reasonable idea, but I probably would have fared better with a balanced meal. Not saying that school lunches couldn't improve because they SURELY could. All those dyes and preservatives surely aren't helping kids focus in school, especially with ADHD more rampant (or is it just the fact that there are more processed foods making kids more hyper?? hmm??) But how many disadvantaged kids are in your area? They might be eating better with those school lunches than they are at home, even if it's chocolate milk and chicken nuggets.

Now how is the one that is bashing? You don't know me... you know nothing ABOUT me. I used my lunch/prep time to catch up on the forums.

To adress your concern about contacting parents.. it would help if they actually cared enough to answer the phone! I work in a district that doesn't have parent involvement. Their child gets in a fight at school... good luck contacting a parent to discuss it.

Good job doing what you did at your high school. You must be a better person than me.

I never said that. And I didn't bash you. I was saying "you" as in "you the reader of this post".

Yes, it's unfortunate that those childrens parents don't care, but if it is hopeless and they will not do anything, what can you do overall? But if a parent is on here stating their concern, why not try to do something about it?

Mkendrick...
Thanks for bringing this up. Eliana's right that there are multiple causes of obesity and the people who were raised eating crap often want to spend more time and energy on educating their kids about healthy foods and keeping them away from junk, and the people who were raised in restrictive homes with a focus on weight tend to see how that approach can backfire.

Growing up, I had a best friend who I crash dieted with... we used to aim for 800 calories a day. We got a lot of praise for it. Neither of us was fat. She was a national swimming champion and I also excelled in a sport.

She ended up with severe anorexia and has never really been able to lead a normal life. I ended up a binger with some bulimic tendencies when I was younger....

My friend and I grew up in an environment where thinness in girls was highly prized, and what's more, I'm old enough that there weren't a lot of girl athletes and so we looked bulky just because we had more muscles than most girls....

But, a lot of other girls had the same pressures on them and did not get an eating disorder-- the vulnerability to an eating disorder is a combination of genetic susceptibility and environment. The older sister of my of my DD's friends is a severe anorexic-- in and out of the hospital-- and she did not grow up in a restrictive food environment at all, instead, she started out not eating meat, and then started thinking about poor people around the world-- I mean, anorexic thinking is crazy, but they're not all crazy in the same way. way...

I have another friend who raised her kids vegetarian, wouldn't let them eat candy and didn't let them bring crap into the house, and her kids grew up really slim just like she and her husband, but my SIL leaves tons of junk laying around her house and her kids don't even notice it and barely touch it-- when my kids go to her house they can't stop eating all the crap because they're not used to having it around...

I'm going with the camp who says NO DIETING FOR KIDS... but I do think it's smart for parents to know the most healthful feeding practices and adopt those... one that is recommended is always to eat meals together and to serve desserts and treats family style so that kids learn portion control. I don't do that, but I think it seems smart.

I had another thought, for those of you who work at schools/daycares/camps etc... where I work, we do a "Health Tip of the Day". It's like a 3 minute blurb in the morning while all the kids are together at breakfast, and we let a kid come up and read the tip out loud, and then discuss it for a minute.

I don't know, I know most schools have gym programs, and I remembering having to take a health class in 9th grade or something, but if there was a simple "Health Tip of the Day", that took like 5 minutes out of the school day, every day, and perhaps a theme could carry through each week or something.

Kids love being in control, and it seems like if kids learned about things they could do for themselves to help themselves, they would be likely to try. Especially if it became something that the kids could have a couple minutes to discuss or talk about.