Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria

[Anonymous]

If you don’t want your kid to eat ice cream at lunch have that conversation with your kid. There is no need for it to be removed from MS option for all kids.

If you only do sweets at holidays and birthdays, great for you. That’s not most of us. We teach our kids about a balance diet, including how to manage sweets. If the kid is consuming ice cream at lunch everyday, I would be sure they are eating other things that balance that out and then move on. I’m not dying on that hill w/ an teenager. If kids can find joy and bonding over ice cream, then have at it. There are worse things that could be happening.

[Anonymous]

Just a couple of quick reality checks.

We're talking about a small serving (probably a half cup) of low fat ice cream being shared amongst several kids.

Because kids can't pay with cash, it's very easy to set boundaries if the above is "too much sugar" for your child. Just don't put money on their account.

MCPS does have rules around the food being served, and plenty of guidelines about how much sugar and fat can be contained in any individual item.

Very soon, OP's child will be old enough to "just walk to Sweet Frog after soccer practice" or whatever, so she's going to need to learn to give up a bit of control and focus on overall healthy habits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are new to MCPS and middle school, and what is new to us is that there is ice-cream available to middle schoolers for lunch. I quickly noticed when my daughter started to eat ice-cream for lunch in the fall. We have had a discussion about it and she understands the importance of eating healthy. (We try at home). But she has since gained weight and doesn’t fit into some kind of her pants she fit just a month ago. She admitted today that her friends eat ice cream every day and share with her. Parents have no idea, most of the time.

Parents, check transaction history in your kids lunch accounts!!! Talk to them about eating healthy. Mom of her one friend found out about her eating ice cream today and was not happy. She does not know yet her daughter has been having ice cream almost daily for the past 2 months.

Has anyone tried to remove ice cream from the school cafeteria in MCPS? Why is there ice cream at schools in the wake of obesity epidemic? Kids are addicted to sugar. There is so much info on how bad it is for them. WAPO has a long one on how it damaged liver in kids.

Any ideas on how to get ice cream out of schools would be appreciated.

Why be such a grinch!?! We had ice-cream in MCPS even when I was a kid in the 70s. It's a tradition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for sharing. I understand the context of eating disorders outweighs the concern about sugar. But it doesn’t mean we should have an all or nothing approach. Nobody is suggesting that kids diet should be micromanaged: they is what they want and how much they want. I am of the opinion that ideally sweets should be reserved for special occasions, like holidays and birthdays. What PPs might be missing is that it is not just “a little ice cream” every day. Kids are bombarded with sugar everywhere. Teachers bring candies and cookies at my MCPS school almost daily, school events include sweets, kids like to go to Starbucks or get bobba after school to hang out, as PP explained, some kids eat a bowl of ice cream at home after dinner, there are birthday parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving, sleepovers with sweets… it doesn’t stop. It needs to be managed, less sugar is better than more. At least, we should be able to limit ice cream for lunch.

This thread was started specifically about ice cream in MCPS middle school lunch cafeterias, yes? Being overly concerned about that IS micromanaging kids' diets, at least if a parent thinks it would be helpful to control that, if doing so were even possible.

Also, many kids recognize things that are obviously sweet (candy) and will self-regulate. A bigger issue, IMO, is the sugar added to things it has no business being added to: bread, peanut butter, crackers, cereal, yogurt, etc. That's where sugar consumption can really, really add up because it's hidden and kids (and many parents) don't even know it's in there.

[Anonymous]

You cannot control what someone else wants to eat. If you have taught your daughter well about healthy food choices, and she is otherwise healthy, let it go. If you are restricting all access to sweets, yes she is going to binge when she has access. But don’t make this a whole school issue. Some of us had super skinny athletes who were only able to survive the school day with some high caloric options like ice cream.

[Anonymous]

Ice cream, in moderation, is way better than sugary drinks (boba tea), chips, candy, etc. At least ice cream has calcium and protein. Get the kid moving in some activity they like and all is good. Athletes have their own dietary requirements.

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily agreeing with OP but I do remember my kid getting way more candy in ES than at home

[Anonymous]

Your middle Schooler is growing. I can’t tell you for sure if the ice cream for sure it’s not the sole reason. Puberty!

[Anonymous]

This reminds me, back when my kid was in ES, some parent complained about teachers giving student candy as an encouragement.

[Anonymous]

We had it when I was in ES 40 years ago, too. I'd buy ice cream 2-3 times a year even!

[Anonymous]

Because your daughter can’t control herself ice cream should be removed? Good lord what is wrong with you people?

[Anonymous]

There are a large variety of nutritional needs among 1000 kids in a Middle School. Some kids are underweight and need calories; some are overweight and do not, and a whole range in beween.

MCPS should do its best to meet this large variety of nutritional needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don’t want your kid to eat ice cream at lunch have that conversation with your kid. There is no need for it to be removed from MS option for all kids.

If you only do sweets at holidays and birthdays, great for you. That’s not most of us. We teach our kids about a balance diet, including how to manage sweets. If the kid is consuming ice cream at lunch everyday, I would be sure they are eating other things that balance that out and then move on. I’m not dying on that hill w/ a teenager. If kids can find joy and bonding over ice cream, then have at it. There are worse things that could be happening.

With the rate of childhood obesity (and adult obesity) it should be. But it taste good, kids will buy it, and staff doesn’t have to actually cook it, so no one cares.

[Anonymous]

I ate an ice cream bar — remember the strawberry shortcake ones? — ever day for lunch in middle school. I actually don’t love ice cream but the actual lunches were gross and the “cool girls” ate the ice cream.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to mcps. The ice cream in the cafeteria is your first clue to how much mcps cares about students. Zero.