HEALTH FOOD NAZIS IN OUR CHILDREN'S SCHOOLS

[Anonymous]

12:33, those breakfast choices sound nourishing, not junky. What's wrong with that MoCo menu? I give my son french toast, eggs, pancakes, etc for breakfast pretty regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's oppressive that we can't smoke in schools, too. I really resent that I can't light up when I go in for my parent-teacher conference. I'm sure teachers feel the same way. Back when i was a kid, you could smell the teacher's lounge all the way down the hall. Now -- nothing. It's crazy, I tell you. Just plain crazy.

I'd be fine with just a cocktail cart. Or a flask would be good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School lunches are sickening. I can't imagine what the kids who eat breakfast AND lunch at school must feel like. Yuck.

Sometimes just happy that they're getting food. You should see some of them on Monday mornings--it's pretty sad. No complaining, just silence as they wolf it down....

PP, which school do see this. Because, this is sad. If there is a school in this city where the kids are this hungry because of lack of food on the weekend, I'd also like to contribute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The use of the word Nazi aside, I wholeheartedly disagree with OPs assertion that kids should be allowed to eat junk food at school. If my kid celebrates with organic healthy snacks for birthdays and the celebrations become more of focus on fun activities rather than an excuse to eat sugary crap that renders them unable to learn afterwards and cranky for me when they get home - GREAT! if you want your kids to eat junk, then go ahead and keep taking them to McDonalds for dinner. But I love that schools are starting to wake up on this topic and so do many of the parents I know.

Agree completely. To be fair people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to use McDonald's on a regular basis because the food chains saturate the poorer neighborhoods. We do McD's maybe once every couple of months when the kids become elementary age. But it makes me sick when I do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's because we are the fattest country in the world.

true

Since the mid-80s, it's been on the rise. We're more sedentary than ever, eat out more often, and have fewer opportunities just to get out and walk, for instance.

So I can't blame PP really. If you're on top of your kid and your kid is in fine shape (no allergies, not overweight), why should OP's kids be restricted in what s/he can eat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's oppressive that we can't smoke in schools, too. I really resent that I can't light up when I go in for my parent-teacher conference. I'm sure teachers feel the same way. Back when i was a kid, you could smell the teacher's lounge all the way down the hall. Now -- nothing. It's crazy, I tell you. Just plain crazy.

I'm also upset about the lack of choice in recreational drugs. Crack and heroin were so common when I was a child. You could buy them on the front steps of the school. Now, with all these cops posted at every school, you have to walk down the block or around the corner. It's oppressive! I'm for freedom of choice!

Seriously. All you can get at school these days is ritalin or diet pills. I'm like, I already have those at home. What do I need school for?

I'm looking forward to a time when my kids can score me some really high grade weed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's oppressive that we can't smoke in schools, too. I really resent that I can't light up when I go in for my parent-teacher conference. I'm sure teachers feel the same way. Back when i was a kid, you could smell the teacher's lounge all the way down the hall. Now -- nothing. It's crazy, I tell you. Just plain crazy.

Your post is spot-on! Love your style, and you sure made your point! I'm a former teacher and non-smoker who definitely remembers those days. In the 1980's, I worked in a private Episcopal school, and we went on a chartered bus trip to a conference in Nashville. The six die-hard smokers were told for the first time (we'd been to other conferences by bus) that they'd have to sit in the back of the bus to smoke (as if smoke doesn't drift . . . :roll or take their cars. They were furious over the "discrimination!" In those days, if you went to the teachers' lounge to make copies, use the phone (before cell phones), heat lunch, or take a quick break, your clothes reeked of smoke.

I miss smoking. *sigh*.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School lunches are sickening. I can't imagine what the kids who eat breakfast AND lunch at school must feel like. Yuck.

Sometimes just happy that they're getting food. You should see some of them on Monday mornings--it's pretty sad. No complaining, just silence as they wolf it down....

That is sad. I saw something on the news about a program that sends food home in their backpacks on Friday afternoons. I'd like to contribute if anyone knows about it.

The Capital Area Food Bank runs a Weekend Bag program and I know the need is large. They would gratefully accept your donation.

http://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/feeding-hope/#10

Perfect! Thank you. I called them today but they were off. I'll try again tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:33, those breakfast choices sound nourishing, not junky. What's wrong with that MoCo menu? I give my son french toast, eggs, pancakes, etc for breakfast pretty regularly.

I guess everyone is different. If I started three out of five days with something sweet like french toast, pancakes and cinnamon rolls, I wouldn't feel good. The other days are no better than McD's egg McMuffins. When we go on road trips we eat plenty of McDonald's food, including breakfast, and it doesn't take long for me to feel gross -- and to get used to it at the same time. I am always happy to get back to regular, more healthy food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather see daily PE and recess than all the food restrictions (of course the nut thing is understandable from an allergy standpoint, but that's different than the cupcake/candy restrictions). My diet as a kid wasn't bad by standards back then but would be absolutely horrifying today, and I wasn't and have never been overweight, because I got a TON of exercise.

True about not being overweight and the importance of exercise--but unhealthy food (high in fat and sugar, chemicals) can lead to other health problems that are not necessarily obesity, i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers. Also thin people can be out of shape based on diet, not just amount of exercise. We need to tackle both problems, exercise and diet in our children. When my brother was in high school, he was athletic and thin-however, he ate unhealthy--he was diagnosed with high cholesterol and had to make diet changes so he wouldn't die of a heart attack at an early age! My mom was surprised as he was getting tons of exercise and "appeared" healthy-- please keep this in mind.

I should have been more clear - I was in GREAT shape, not just not overweight. But I can't blame or not blame school lunch - I always brought from home, sandwich, fruit, and some junk of course. Yes, I had a cookie and a piece of candy daily in my lunch. And I ate at McDonalds, and had sodas...everything in moderation, but always, always lots of exercise.

Of course it's possible to be thin and unhealthy. But I wish there would be more of a focus on getting kids more active. Because as soon as kids are out of school and able to choose what foods to eat, many will choose the unhealthy ones. If they are active, it's no biggie to eat a bag of chips now and then, but without that...

[Anonymous]

I also think they type of sugar has changed in the last ten, twenty years. There is now all kinds of stuff in food that the body handles differently. I wonder if some of it just goes straight to fat with lightening speed. I know people can go to the hospital for surgery and "catch" diabetes from the IV (yes, research police, a nurse told me that it is not uncommon for people to get diabetes from a hospital stay); maybe extra glucose in foods is doing a number on us all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School lunches are sickening. I can't imagine what the kids who eat breakfast AND lunch at school must feel like. Yuck.

Sometimes just happy that they're getting food. You should see some of them on Monday mornings--it's pretty sad. No complaining, just silence as they wolf it down....

PP, which school do see this. Because, this is sad. If there is a school in this city where the kids are this hungry because of lack of food on the weekend, I'd also like to contribute.

This surprises you? There are hungry children throughout the area, even in some of the "best" schools. Contribute to one of the local food pantries in the community of your choice.

[Anonymous]

I went to school in Ffx Co. The "lunch ladies" would walk around the cafeteria checking out what kids brought from home. If they thought you had an inappropriate lunch (like the kid who had brought all chocolate and a soda - not kidding!), they would confiscate it and you either got a PB&J (back in the day before the rise in allergies) or milk and cereal. You also couldn't buy any "a la carte" sweets like ice cream, unless you were buying the hot lunch or showed them the lunch you brought from home. Don't know if they'd get away with this today...

[Anonymous]

I think what a lot of people miss is that kids are terrible at making good food choices unless these choices are consistently modeled for them. Why shouldn't lunch (or breakfast) at school be another opportunity for learning? Learning how different foods taste, how they grow, what makes our bodies feel good, what makes them feel bad. And sure you could say that it's just the parent's responsibility to teach this to their kids. But when my Kindergartener was given the choice to buy a school lunch he ended up eating chocolate milk and tortilla chips. Period. Despite the fact that we've been drilling into his head that these things are treats (and he does get to eat them) and not a substantial lunch for the last 4 years of his life. Which brings me back to my original point which is that kids are *terrible* at making good food choices. For that matter, so are most adults.

[Anonymous]

I am much more concerned about junk being served in schools, OP, and about the lack of movement in school. Kids need a lot of active recess and PE, and they need healthy food.