No Halloween candy allowed at school

[Anonymous]

Parents know their own kids best. There are some kids for whom banning or strictly rationing candy is the right approach. It is not for my older DD. If you make something off limits, everything becomes about that thing. If we say, you have to finish x% of dinner to get dessert, it all becomes a negotiation where she tries to get away with eating as little as possible and then gobbles up dessert. If we give her dessert on her dinner plate, she eats 90% of everything without argument* and is equally as likely to leave a bite or two of dessert as a bite or two of any other food she likes. (*We introduce one new food or newly prepared food a few meals a week w/ a "one real taste" rule and that remains a battle a good deal of the time.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a great rule. We all eat too much candy (myself included). I have a DS in preschool and they allow juice if it's 100% juice. I don't pack juice in DS lunch and he constantly complains that one of his classmates always has juice in his lunch and it's not fair. I just keep telling him that he can't always have what others have and I'm sure there are some things he has that friend doesn't have.

I believe you, but it's just so interesting because my DS (4) is at a co-op preschool so I am in the classroom a lot. The kids chat and show each other their snacks but no one says it's not fair or anything like that. There is a "healthy snack only" rule, but some kids (mostly the ones who are younger siblings so their parents have loosened up) have juice boxes and cookies. I feel like even at this age the kids understand that "you get what you get and you don't get upset." And if you don't like it, take it up with mom. Surprised elementary school kids would have trouble understanding this.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I read this thread this morning and I JUST got an email from my kid's preschool saying no Halloween candy. We actually had never sent Halloween candy and my kid hasn't complained about not getting any... It just seems so lame to micro-manage school lunch to this extent.

[Anonymous]

My kids' school doesn't allow sweets--even like the junky kind of granola bars. I didn't even know people gave their kids juice. I really must live in a bubble. Halloween candy would be a complete non-starter for lunch or snack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school has a no candy/sweets rule. I think it's fine - is it really so problematic for you that your kid doesn't get a cookie/sugar in the middle of the day?

My kids are allowed to have a piece of Halloween candy at breakfast and one with dinner. It is fine. They are happy. No one is losing out on anything.

Following you logic, is it really so problematic that your kid gets candy for BREAKFAST?

[Anonymous]

Are these public schools? No public school is going to tell me what to put in my kid's lunch box, especially with the garbage that passes for school lunches these days. My kid is severely underweight and in his case all calories are good calories. No one better tell me what I can feed him even if that includes a piece of candy for lunch. How is that any different than cookies?

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad my kids went to schools where parents were respected. If a public school tried to tell me what I could and could not pack in a lunch, I would be annoyed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No candy, no nuts, no fresh fruit. Ludicrous, stupid Nazi rules!

No fresh fruit? I pack that every day.

Some schools have a "no strawberries" rule.

[Anonymous]

1. Some candy has nuts in it that can hurt another kid without anyone realizing it. Some parents are respectful of 'no nut' policies but might forget that candy can contain nuts.

2. It's not nice for the kids who can't have candy for medical reasons to constantly see other kids at school eating things that they know are yummy but they can't have them. It's also hard to police it when they're younger and might try to be nice and share.

3. No sane teacher would really want to deal with a classroom full of kids that are high on high fructose corn syrup and chemicals all afternoon. Some classrooms already have half the kids medicated for ADHD. Do you really think candy in the lunch boxes would help things?

And that's without thinking about the smaller things like higher than normal risk of choking hazards, sticky fingers, etc.

All in all, I think it's a fair request to ask parents to bring it with them for pickup if Larlo can't wait until he gets home for a treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Some candy has nuts in it that can hurt another kid without anyone realizing it. Some parents are respectful of 'no nut' policies but might forget that candy can contain nuts.

2. It's not nice for the kids who can't have candy for medical reasons to constantly see other kids at school eating things that they know are yummy but they can't have them. It's also hard to police it when they're younger and might try to be nice and share.


See my post two up. It's not nice for my kid who needs high-calorie foods for medical reasons to starve either. No, candy is not a major part of his diet but on the advice of multiple specialists all calories are good calories. Allergies rules aside, what I feed my kid is nobody's business but mine.

3. No sane teacher would really want to deal with a classroom full of kids that are high on high fructose corn syrup and chemicals all afternoon. Some classrooms already have half the kids medicated for ADHD. Do you really think candy in the lunch boxes would help things?

And that's without thinking about the smaller things like higher than normal risk of choking hazards, sticky fingers, etc.

All in all, I think it's a fair request to ask parents to bring it with them for pickup if Larlo can't wait until he gets home for a treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are these public schools? No public school is going to tell me what to put in my kid's lunch box, especially with the garbage that passes for school lunches these days. My kid is severely underweight and in his case all calories are good calories. No one better tell me what I can feed him even if that includes a piece of candy for lunch. How is that any different than cookies?

If you honestly can't tell the difference between a piece of candy and a cookie, then I'm not surprised at all that your child is struggling with his physical development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not really upset about this, but more curious.

I got an email from my son's teacher that Halloween candy is not allowed now in lunch boxes. I have been letting the kids pick one small piece when we make lunches. The rationale is that other parents don't allow it, and it makes kids feel bad to see classmates have a snack size candy at the lunch table.

But here's the thing. . .I have had lunch with the kids at school, and lunches are packed with all KINDS of sweets (think Little Debbies, etc.) Again, I am just curious about this.

Thoughts?

Ridiculous. I'm not surprised though.

I have a now-young-adult godson who grew up in poverty. I'd often take him places on the weekends-museums, events, the beach, roller skating, restaurants. He was told in about 1st grade by his teacher that he was not allowed to talk about these outings when the class discussed what they did over the weekend because it would make the other children feel bad.

Heaven forbid kids know about a bigger world and then maybe aspire to find a way to be a part of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are these public schools? No public school is going to tell me what to put in my kid's lunch box, especially with the garbage that passes for school lunches these days. My kid is severely underweight and in his case all calories are good calories. No one better tell me what I can feed him even if that includes a piece of candy for lunch. How is that any different than cookies?

If you honestly can't tell the difference between a piece of candy and a cookie, then I'm not surprised at all that your child is struggling with his physical development.

Eff off. Are you an RD? The difference is marginal.

[Anonymous]

I put in a pack of candy now that it is after Halloween, but if the school asked me not to, I would respect its wishes.

You deal with 500+ elementary kids hopped up on school, then you can make the rules.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you, OP. Some of the kids show up all the time with fruit snacks and M&Ms and Cheetos... what's the big issue if a kid has a mini-Twix bar with his sandwich and apples? I suspect that the point is to avoid kids having tons of Halloween candy, but it's just a stupid rule and totally unenforceable, especially if there isn't a typical rule regarding candy or junk food at lunch (and what qualifies as "junk food"?).