Can someone explain why some moms/parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who cares? I don't understand why they don't just tack on a snack fee at the beginning of the year and then go buy shelf stable snacks in bulk at Costco one time. Is it really a good use of everyone's time for the teachers to set up these sign up sheets, have to send out multiple reminders for people to sign up, then families to separately go out and buy snacks every week? Why? Why would anyone organize it this way?

Is the point to make sure kids have access to snacks, or is it to add yet another item to every family's to do list? I get why someone might just opt out. Or forget. Or think "my kid never even eats the snack and this is a hassle, why am I participating in this."

Add in the fact that there are always a laundry list of rules about what snacks are allowed and you get to the point where there are only like 4 permitted snacks anyway. So ask families to Venmo you some money and then go to Costco once and get a bunch of those snacks at the lowest per-unit price possible. Heck, see if a parent will volunteer to do this -- I would happily make one Costco run early in the year if it means I never get an email about freaking snack sign up again.

2 thoughts

1. Every class, grade level and group of teachers are doing their own thing.
There is not a central person who has the "snack purchaser role" with the entire school's events.

2. If the sign up is sent weeks in advance, why is it such a hassle to tack it on to your weekly grocery run?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who cares? I don't understand why they don't just tack on a snack fee at the beginning of the year and then go buy shelf stable snacks in bulk at Costco one time. Is it really a good use of everyone's time for the teachers to set up these sign up sheets, have to send out multiple reminders for people to sign up, then families to separately go out and buy snacks every week? Why? Why would anyone organize it this way?

Is the point to make sure kids have access to snacks, or is it to add yet another item to every family's to do list? I get why someone might just opt out. Or forget. Or think "my kid never even eats the snack and this is a hassle, why am I participating in this."

Add in the fact that there are always a laundry list of rules about what snacks are allowed and you get to the point where there are only like 4 permitted snacks anyway. So ask families to Venmo you some money and then go to Costco once and get a bunch of those snacks at the lowest per-unit price possible. Heck, see if a parent will volunteer to do this -- I would happily make one Costco run early in the year if it means I never get an email about freaking snack sign up again.

2 thoughts

1. Every class, grade level and group of teachers are doing their own thing.
There is not a central person who has the "snack purchaser role" with the entire school's events.

2. If the sign up is sent weeks in advance, why is it such a hassle to tack it on to your weekly grocery run?

If it’s not a hassle, why are you asking 25 other people to do it instead of doing it yourself?

[Anonymous]

Because they don't need snacks 24/7. I'm fine if they don't have any.

And I don't want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't sign up because my older son doesn't eat snacks. At all.

My younger kid does like snacks, so I've provided twice for his class, enough for 3-4 weeks of snacks.

Usually they do at school.

[Anonymous]

Lazy, cheap, checked out, don't care.

[Anonymous]

Lots of disordered eating kids being raised. Sometimes a snack is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I wish they would stop pushing junk food at every activity. Plus my kid is allergic to dairy and nuts which means they can’t eat most of the snacks anyways.

This. Tired of the junk food barrage for every activity and occasion. If your kid wants or needs a snack pack one. Why is this a group sign up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lazy, cheap, checked out, don't care.

What’s wrong with each parent sending their own kid in with a snack?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pick one:
1) I missed the email in the 400 emails I got about end of year activities and events
2) I meant to, but forgot
3) I wish they didn't do snacks, and am hoping that by avoiding it for awhile the organizers eventually stop asking for this.
4) I thought I did sign up, but I'm confusing this sign up with the sign up for a volunteer shift

(DP) +1 to these, but also:
5) I brought in like 8 different Costco-sized snack options last semester and it can't just be my job
6) I just bought enrichment crap off the teacher's Amazon wish list for the new "module" at school
7) I'm the only parent who showed up to chaperone the field trip and it made me decide these kids need less energy, not more

[Anonymous]

they forget
they are busy AF
they are dealing with a health issue
they are dealing with a personal issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who cares? I don't understand why they don't just tack on a snack fee at the beginning of the year and then go buy shelf stable snacks in bulk at Costco one time. Is it really a good use of everyone's time for the teachers to set up these sign up sheets, have to send out multiple reminders for people to sign up, then families to separately go out and buy snacks every week? Why? Why would anyone organize it this way?

Is the point to make sure kids have access to snacks, or is it to add yet another item to every family's to do list? I get why someone might just opt out. Or forget. Or think "my kid never even eats the snack and this is a hassle, why am I participating in this."

Add in the fact that there are always a laundry list of rules about what snacks are allowed and you get to the point where there are only like 4 permitted snacks anyway. So ask families to Venmo you some money and then go to Costco once and get a bunch of those snacks at the lowest per-unit price possible. Heck, see if a parent will volunteer to do this -- I would happily make one Costco run early in the year if it means I never get an email about freaking snack sign up again.

2 thoughts

1. Every class, grade level and group of teachers are doing their own thing.
There is not a central person who has the "snack purchaser role" with the entire school's events.

2. If the sign up is sent weeks in advance, why is it such a hassle to tack it on to your weekly grocery run?

Ok.

1. If every class/grade level/group of teacher is doing their own thing, how do you know that parents didn't already sign up for snack for three other classes/groups and then just got burned out on the one where YOU noticed they hadn't signed up. If I were being asked to volunteer for snack duty for two different classrooms and multiple after school activities, I might say "ugh, I'll do the first three that ask me and then I'm out and someone else can do it."

2. It's a hassle specifically because it's sent weeks in advance, you have to keep track of which week is your week, figure out what snack you are doing, hope that's available at the grocery store (plenty of times I've discovered they didn't have the appropriate individually packaged snack at my usually store and had to make a special Target run for stuff like this), then make sure to get it bagged up and ready to take in to school or the activity and then remember to take it in. If it's for an after school activity that also adds a logistical challenge because now you might have to drop it off in the morning for an after-school event, which is going to require going into the school and figuring out where to take it, or emailing/texting the teacher ahead of time to get instructions, or maybe giving it to your kid to deliver which is always a crapshoot.

Maybe there SHOULD be a kid of snack clearinghouse at the school, and someone (you????) could volunteer to solicit donations and then do a periodic Costco run to keep some kind of "snack closet" stocked so that it doesn't have to be done ad hoc through a bunch of different sign ups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do not sign up to send in snacks and drinks to school events related to an after school activity?

Is it a control thing? These are wealthy sahm moms too. The signups are created by the teachers running the programs.

Kids don’t need so many snacks. Our snack culture is out of control.

What is this school sponsored after school activity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of disordered eating kids being raised. Sometimes a snack is ok.

Of course snacks are OK sometimes. But not all the time. Snack culture has taken over. My kids do great without snacks, snacks, snacks. I’ve even had kids over for play dates who *just* had lunch before they were dropped off ask for snacks, snacks, snacks because they are so used to being handed a snack every five seconds.

[Anonymous]

Because I do enough other labor at our school. I'm in charge of the summer uniform sale and get to lug plastic crates of clothing from the basement up two flights of stairs once school lets out. I'm not going to feel guilty about not bringing in fresh-sliced strawberries (which is the kind of snacks we have listed on our sign up genius.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of disordered eating kids being raised. Sometimes a snack is ok.

Of course snacks are OK sometimes. But not all the time. Snack culture has taken over. My kids do great without snacks, snacks, snacks. I’ve even had kids over for play dates who *just* had lunch before they were dropped off ask for snacks, snacks, snacks because they are so used to being handed a snack every five seconds.

Snack culture is ridiculous at this point.

A school culture that relies on 30 busy professional parents to buy one $7.00 item each instead of just collecting $210 at the beginning of the year so the teacher can provide snacks is incredibly inefficient.