It baffles me that schools are not paying attention to kids long-term health

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure people outside your bubble really feel as strongly about this as you do.

I have no issue with screen time. Children need to be technically capable. I spend my entire work day staring at a screen. This is how professional jobs are structured. I want the schools teaching my kid how to use technology - including learning on screens.

I also don’t understand the outrage over occasional snacks for celebration. DC had a parent once that organized a “garden” party where the students celebrated an event with carrots and celery. The students thought it sucked - because it does suck. Your household rules of no sugar ever do not match most the nation. It’s not really fair to the other students to have your views pushed upon them.

This is inaccurate and frankly naive. There is NO correlation between playing math/letter games on an iPad and being successful in a professional/technical career. If we want to support development of technical skills then an occasional lab is more than sufficient and screens do not need to be integrated into every activity.

The bolded comment is particularly concerning. Sitting at a screen all day is not even healthy for you!! Let’s build future leaders who value a life that is more than staring at a screen all day!! They will then be motivated to build and promote a work culture that is more active and healthful. Not to mention, you have a fully developed brain and there is no comparing the effect of a screen on you vs. a K-12 kid who is still learning to self regulate.

demanding jobs require a high degree of discipline, executive function and regulation. And yet we chip away at kids’ mental/physical health and overall well-being by overloading them with unneeded stimulation via screens and throwing poor quality food at them.

Screen time is correlated with OCD, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and obesity. Candy and chips contain some of the worst ingredients you can possibly put in your body: dyes, cheap oils, artificial compounds. (Notice I did not even mention sugar because I don’t think we have to remove sugar entirely from kids diets to make a big difference. Just remove the crap that literally isn’t even biologically food!)

Rant over - ultimately I don’t care what others do/don’t do but I do not care at ALL if I am called difficult for advocating against these things for my kid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the people saying this is on parents:

I pack my kid's lunch, serve healthy food at home, and limit screen time.

At her public school, my child is regularly given junk food (like almost every day), spends a significant portion of her day on tablets or looking at a screen (they have even been known to show the kids videos during lunch), and also regularly gets screen-based homework (in lower elementary).

When I have vocalized concerns about these things, it's been made clear to me that (1) it is unfair for me to expect teachers to be able to teach without using junk food as an incentive or reward, (2) it's elitist for me to want my child to spend less time on screens at school, and (3) it's selfish for me to expect my values, of healthy eating and limited screen time, to hold the day in a public school where many other parents don't hold those values.

So, as a parent, I'm moving my kid to a school that shares my values. It's a public charter and next I'll be told that I'm betraying public schools and teachers unions by doing so.

You can't tell parents everything is their fault and also they aren't allowed to provide input, and then also get mad when they decide to remove their child from your crappy school that feeds them junk food and screen time all day long.

Amen!

You're right, and people who whine about your views or actions on this are wrong. Most will never realize it because 1) you can't go back and raise your kids differently to see if it would have helped, and 2) people don't want to think that they're f'ing up their kids by being lazy and casual about things just because the rest of the crowd is.

Your kid is lucky to have you.

They sounded a little unhinged to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the people saying this is on parents:

I pack my kid's lunch, serve healthy food at home, and limit screen time.

At her public school, my child is regularly given junk food (like almost every day), spends a significant portion of her day on tablets or looking at a screen (they have even been known to show the kids videos during lunch), and also regularly gets screen-based homework (in lower elementary).

When I have vocalized concerns about these things, it's been made clear to me that (1) it is unfair for me to expect teachers to be able to teach without using junk food as an incentive or reward, (2) it's elitist for me to want my child to spend less time on screens at school, and (3) it's selfish for me to expect my values, of healthy eating and limited screen time, to hold the day in a public school where many other parents don't hold those values.

So, as a parent, I'm moving my kid to a school that shares my values. It's a public charter and next I'll be told that I'm betraying public schools and teachers unions by doing so.

You can't tell parents everything is their fault and also they aren't allowed to provide input, and then also get mad when they decide to remove their child from your crappy school that feeds them junk food and screen time all day long.

Amen!

You're right, and people who whine about your views or actions on this are wrong. Most will never realize it because 1) you can't go back and raise your kids differently to see if it would have helped, and 2) people don't want to think that they're f'ing up their kids by being lazy and casual about things just because the rest of the crowd is.

Your kid is lucky to have you.

They sounded a little unhinged to me.

Then you’re quite fragile. That post was pretty matter of fact

[Anonymous]

This is why I’ll never live in DC, Bethesda, or Arlington. I’ll happily take the suburbs where my DC can have what I put in their lunch box and the school doesn’t dictate what my DC can eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Individual schools can’t do anything about the food issue. It’s due to low school lunch reimbursement rates & Tyson lobbying to have their crap served to kids.

That's true about school lunch but not true about all the garbage handed out by teachers as rewards or given out/sold at school events. My kid knows all about Doritos, every possible kind of candy, etc., because this stuff gets served during class parties, given out at the end of the week as a reward for doing well, and is present at every school event.

If you suggest creating school policies that encourage healthier eating by ensuring the kids are provided with healthy snacks and there is less overall junk, you will be accused of being classist or racist or both.

This!!!! And I do not think teachers should be allowed to hand out food.

+1. So many teachers give out candy as a reward. I’m surprised they don’t have to get parent permission for that.

Hard to believe that ANYONE with a four year college degree can think candy is a good thing for developing children. So few people seem to care. Or are they that stupid? Or evil?

Mostly just lazy. Then they need to have certain beliefs so they don’t come to their own conclusion that they’re crappy parents.

[Anonymous]

You are complaining about screens and yet you are on them. Get off and cook a healthy meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the people saying this is on parents:

I pack my kid's lunch, serve healthy food at home, and limit screen time.

At her public school, my child is regularly given junk food (like almost every day), spends a significant portion of her day on tablets or looking at a screen (they have even been known to show the kids videos during lunch), and also regularly gets screen-based homework (in lower elementary).

When I have vocalized concerns about these things, it's been made clear to me that (1) it is unfair for me to expect teachers to be able to teach without using junk food as an incentive or reward, (2) it's elitist for me to want my child to spend less time on screens at school, and (3) it's selfish for me to expect my values, of healthy eating and limited screen time, to hold the day in a public school where many other parents don't hold those values.

So, as a parent, I'm moving my kid to a school that shares my values. It's a public charter and next I'll be told that I'm betraying public schools and teachers unions by doing so.

You can't tell parents everything is their fault and also they aren't allowed to provide input, and then also get mad when they decide to remove their child from your crappy school that feeds them junk food and screen time all day long.

Amen!

You're right, and people who whine about your views or actions on this are wrong. Most will never realize it because 1) you can't go back and raise your kids differently to see if it would have helped, and 2) people don't want to think that they're f'ing up their kids by being lazy and casual about things just because the rest of the crowd is.

Your kid is lucky to have you.

They sounded a little unhinged to me.

Now it's "unhinged" to want the public school to refrain from giving your kid Doritos and hours of screen time every day?

Ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are complaining about screens and yet you are on them. Get off and cook a healthy meal.

"You are complaining about society and yet you continue to live in society. Interesting."

[Anonymous]

This is inaccurate and frankly naive. There is NO correlation between playing math/letter games on an iPad and being successful in a professional/technical career. If we want to support development of technical skills then an occasional lab is more than sufficient and screens do not need to be integrated into every activity.

+1

Many of my students have difficulty staying focused for a 10-12 minute picture book read aloud, no matter how funny or engaging. This was rarely a problem 20 years ago. Ironically,I have been encouraged to try using rewards--like watching a 3 minute video--to help students focus. The amount of screen time students get at school and at home is impacting their ability to learn, and we are just waiting for the research to catch up to what teachers already know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is inaccurate and frankly naive. There is NO correlation between playing math/letter games on an iPad and being successful in a professional/technical career. If we want to support development of technical skills then an occasional lab is more than sufficient and screens do not need to be integrated into every activity.

+1

Many of my students have difficulty staying focused for a 10-12 minute picture book read aloud, no matter how funny or engaging. This was rarely a problem 20 years ago. Ironically,I have been encouraged to try using rewards--like watching a 3 minute video--to help students focus. The amount of screen time students get at school and at home is impacting their ability to learn, and we are just waiting for the research to catch up to what teachers already know.

The research exists. We limit small screens of any kind. And we limit certain cartoons as well.

[Anonymous]

For many kids (even very little kids), they are on screens and eating junk when at home too. Even more so than school. It’s a terrible problem. I’ve been in a lot of homes where the kids are basically candy and screen meth heads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is inaccurate and frankly naive. There is NO correlation between playing math/letter games on an iPad and being successful in a professional/technical career. If we want to support development of technical skills then an occasional lab is more than sufficient and screens do not need to be integrated into every activity.

+1

Many of my students have difficulty staying focused for a 10-12 minute picture book read aloud, no matter how funny or engaging. This was rarely a problem 20 years ago. Ironically,I have been encouraged to try using rewards--like watching a 3 minute video--to help students focus. The amount of screen time students get at school and at home is impacting their ability to learn, and we are just waiting for the research to catch up to what teachers already know.

What are you talking about? Schools don't even have books anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because we live in the USA where everyone is on their own. No one cares for anyone. Just indivisible families.

What are you talking about? Millions of US school children receive free lunch (and breakfast...and sometimes even dinner!) Definitely not "on their own."

That free breakfast & lunch is garbage food.

If you want quality food like the French, be prepared to pay for it (like the French.)

Yes, it's just a matter of priorities. In the US we ensure our military buys the highest-quality toilet seats whereas in France they ensure their school children get food that is fit for human consumption.

Did you miss the PP who pointed out French meals are not structured to meet a “free” price point? It is good the school lunch program ensures kids are not hungry BUT it is a huge problem that school districts then shrug their shoulders and don’t think they need to dedicate any money to the program costs. We could absolutely have decent food if FCPS decided to top up the costs more so that the district was not trying to cover food costs and all meal prep salaries from just the USDA reimbursement rate plus a bit of bought lunches. And more kids would buy lunch if it was not so crappy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because we live in the USA where everyone is on their own. No one cares for anyone. Just indivisible families.

What are you talking about? Millions of US school children receive free lunch (and breakfast...and sometimes even dinner!) Definitely not "on their own."

That free breakfast & lunch is garbage food.

If you want quality food like the French, be prepared to pay for it (like the French.)

Yes, it's just a matter of priorities. In the US we ensure our military buys the highest-quality toilet seats whereas in France they ensure their school children get food that is fit for human consumption.

Did you miss the PP who pointed out French meals are not structured to meet a “free” price point? It is good the school lunch program ensures kids are not hungry BUT it is a huge problem that school districts then shrug their shoulders and don’t think they need to dedicate any money to the program costs. We could absolutely have decent food if FCPS decided to top up the costs more so that the district was not trying to cover food costs and all meal prep salaries from just the USDA reimbursement rate plus a bit of bought lunches. And more kids would buy lunch if it was not so crappy.

This! Offer higher quality, nutritious lunch —> more kids buy —> economies of scale —> improve offerings further with savings —> virtuous cycle.

I know several public school families who have turned off their kids’ school lunch accounts completely because they discovered their kids were buying multiple cookies and chips packets a day and the account kept refilling automatically. There is no option to subscribe for lunch one day a week or something like that.

[Anonymous]

^ But also, the PP you quoted has a point that it could also easily be funded at the federal level if we as a country decided to prioritize children’s health instead of… whatever it is we value now