Should schools serve chocolate milk and other sweets at lunch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is chocolate milk such a big deal? Doesn't regular milk have sugar, too? I guess I don't think it's a big deal if the kids are otherwise eating healthy.

Everything in moderation. I worry about the kids on free and reduced priced lunches and breakfasts who eat this crap twice a day. No wonder so many low income kids are overweight. The food they are given in school twice a day is crap. Only in America would the poorest kids be the fattest.

[Anonymous]

I for one, would rather teach my child at home on how to make correct choices, not take the choice away from the child entirely. Of course, I have a K child that's on the low end of the weight spectrum, so I don't mind a cookie or two ocasionally. I know what he's eating - and I don't mind treats - and if you are completely banning treats from a child's diet, rest assured that these forbidden items will end up being the binge food of choice when they have eating issues as they grow up thanks to moms who can't handle the thought of chocolate milk or a cookie now and then.

I'm in the moderation camp but very NO on chocolate milk in schools. I'm fine with my kids having a treat a few times a week but if they are getting chocolate milk at lunch everyday it is not a treat but a habit. I agree that forbidding anything not entirely healthy is crazy but that is not what is happening. My K goes to private school with no chocolate milk but next year will be at public school. She is very smart and well behaved but I have no doubt at this age she would buy chocolate milk.

If they are loading up on sugar in schools then that takes away the option for special treats at home. Baking with the kids is something that we have enjoyed doing since they were big enough to help pour out the mix. (I am not a good baker, we just enjoy doing the cooking project.)

Americans, IMO, are not overweight and obese because they are lazy but because so much of the easily accessible food is loaded with sugar. Its cheap, its everywhere, and it is served in big portions. By everywhere, it is in the schools where it is just not necessary. As taxpayers we end up paying the healthcare costs for the existing obesity problems and will be paying more as childhood obesity continues to increase. Since taxpayers are paying for this food why in the world would we want to provide more sugar and empty calories to continue to fuel this problem?

[Anonymous]

I agree that schools should NOT offer chocolate milk. As a PP said, if the choices were water or regular milk, I bet a lot of kids would choose regular milk. I tell my very young DC he should not have chocolate milk more than twice a week, and he tries to comply with that (because he's a rule follower). But it would be better if the choice simply was not there.

[Anonymous]

I would rather kids drink chocolate milk (protein, calcium) than juice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rather kids drink chocolate milk (protein, calcium) than juice.

gosh mind your own business and "rather" your own kid not others!

[Anonymous]

My kids won't drink regular milk but will drink chocolate milk. They get the bottled water a lunch rather than milk. I actually wish they would have the chocolate milk. They could use the calories.

[Anonymous]

I'm fine with just plain milk. I've got a super-skinny under-weight child who has to be cajoled into eating almost anything, and the cajoling usually involves chocolate. I send in some chocolate-flavored high-protein whey powder in a little tupperware every day to add to her plain milk. Problem solved.

My other, normal weight and normal appetite child chooses plain milk anyway.

[Anonymous]

That thing about kids not drinking milk at all if there's no chocolate is straight from a National Dairy Federation campaign. (I know -- can't tell you how I do, but it's part of their strategy). It's just not true and kids can get calcium from healthier sources than chocolate milk anyway. Kids need three servings of calcium a day. one glass of milk, one serving of cheese, on serving of yogurt, some spinach ... there are lots of ways to get it.

[Anonymous]

The main problem with the food at school, in my opinion, is the fat, not the sugar. Sure, kids get WAY too much sugar -- primarily in the form of soft drinks. There are no soft drinks served at school (thankfully). And donuts, candy, etc., -- all of which are not served at school. At least chocolate milk has calcium. And, having taken a poll of my daughter's middle-school grade, I can tell you for a fact that at least among that group of thirty kids that very few would drink plain milk if chocolate were not offered. They'd drink nothing.

Why, why, why, are they being served pepperoni and other fat-laden products? Pepperoni, in addition to the fat, is cured meat which has been shown to be linked to cancer. Deep-fried food? Pizza at every meal? Any kind of milk that has more fat than fat-free?

In other words, I think people's obsession with chocolate milk is misguided. Focus on the really bad stuff being served.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That thing about kids not drinking milk at all if there's no chocolate is straight from a National Dairy Federation campaign. (I know -- can't tell you how I do, but it's part of their strategy). It's just not true and kids can get calcium from healthier sources than chocolate milk anyway. Kids need three servings of calcium a day. one glass of milk, one serving of cheese, on serving of yogurt, some spinach ... there are lots of ways to get it.

Agree. Most Americans eat so much cheese. Kids could skip thelmilk and be fine because of all the cheese they eat. IN reality, I'd rather have my kids drink the milk and eat less cheese (becuase it's so fatty) but they love cheese and it's everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I for one, would rather teach my child at home on how to make correct choices, not take the choice away from the child entirely. Of course, I have a K child that's on the low end of the weight spectrum, so I don't mind a cookie or two ocasionally. I know what he's eating - and I don't mind treats - and if you are completely banning treats from a child's diet, rest assured that these forbidden items will end up being the binge food of choice when they have eating issues as they grow up thanks to moms who can't handle the thought of chocolate milk or a cookie now and then.

I agree with this mostly...my questions are; How often are these sweets offered? At the end of every lunch, or just once or twice a week? Is it one small cookie? etc, etc....

I don't have a child in elementary school yet and I am ok with chocolate milk (although my kid drinks white milk, well she would always drink chocolate over white) and treats occasionally. I wonder if they offer fruit for dessert at least part of the time though? Being able to "make choices" is all well and good...but we should make sure the "choices" are healthy when the kids we are talking about are so young. I mean someday they will have to learn to choose to put themselves to bed at a reasonable time so they can get to work the next day, but we don't give them free reign at 5 to stay up as late as they want to. Likewise we shouldn't be letting them choose from unhealthy food options in elementary school. Don't you think kids should learn that ice cream is great, as a treat? Does every lunch need a treat? Wouldn't it be great to teach them that an apple is a treat?

[Anonymous]

There are lots of other forms of dairy kids *could* eat, but that doesn't mean they do.

And 00:21, seriously? You want them to think of foods in terms of "treat" and "nontreat," with an apple as in the treat category? So, what, like 2 apples a week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our basketball coach recommends chocolate milk after games. It can't be that bad.

Jesus Christ.

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid, we were offered chocolate milk once a week - on Fridays. It was definitely a "treat" and not the only way that we got our dairy. I don't like the idea of sweets and chocolate milk being a regular part of the offerings for little kids who will always make bad food choices. I don't mind the sweets and chocolate milk being an occasional offering.

[Anonymous]

I think we see the reasons behind the obesity epidemic here in this thread - it is the parents, who are unwilling to place genuinely healthy options before their kids, and try to bribe them with sugary products instead.
As a result of the genetic lottery some of these bad parents get away with it and end up with skinny kids, but it results in collateral damage to other kids.

Of course unhealthy products like chocolate milk have no place in a school. If you cannot see that then there is something very wrong with you.