Candy as a reward for good behavior

[Anonymous]

I have a K student who came home with a lollipop she got for "good behavior" in music class. She told me (and take this with a grain of salt because she is 5) that the music teacher said that if the kids were nice and behaved that they could pick out a piece of candy (spoiler alert: all the kids got a piece). This was their first class. I think that this is not the full time school music teacher because there is no specific music teacher assigned to my daughter in Parentvue. I am a first time parent. Is it common for kids to get rewards like this?

[Anonymous]

It happens. It'd rather it not but it's very low on my "pick your battles" list so I let it go.

[Anonymous]

Relax. Could be an incentive for a rowdy class. Could be encouraging participation. Anything really. Tell your kid not to eat next time.

[Anonymous]

Raise it with your PTA.

[Anonymous]

OMG, mama, unclench. Or it's going to be a LONG road for you.

[Anonymous]

I doubt the music teacher has a budget to buy a lollipop for the whole school every week. It will probably be an occasional thing.

[Anonymous]

This annoying because it is EVERYWHERE, but there’s nothing you can do. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, mama, unclench. Or it's going to be a LONG road for you.

Also a new kindergarten parent and I've pretty much accepted, one week in, that I've lost my kid to the system of constant sugar offerings and that all I can do is continue offer healthier options at home and hope that he'll come back around some day. I was making myself crazy over all the chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls last week plus who knows what they're being given at aftercare (DS just describes it as "treats"). It just is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, mama, unclench. Or it's going to be a LONG road for you.

Also a new kindergarten parent and I've pretty much accepted, one week in, that I've lost my kid to the system of constant sugar offerings and that all I can do is continue offer healthier options at home and hope that he'll come back around some day. I was making myself crazy over all the chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls last week plus who knows what they're being given at aftercare (DS just describes it as "treats"). It just is what it is.

They ya go. I’m a healthy, low to no-sugar mom and I HATED all the sugar treats, salty snacks, etc., but decided to pick bigger battles. Kids are crazy rowdy this year and teachers are trying to get them all back in line. They’re using all the tools.

Several years later and my kids are willingly eating salad and seem perfectly fine. You might complain if a K teacher does it more than a couple times a day.

[Anonymous]

Raise it at the PTA meeting. It can be suggested to teachers to use other incentives and not sweets. We did that in our school, little by little it becomes accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raise it at the PTA meeting. It can be suggested to teachers to use other incentives and not sweets. We did that in our school, little by little it becomes accepted.

Yeah our DC’s teacher has a “treasure chest” with small things they can earn, like bouncy balls, stickers, etc. Seems reasonable.

[Anonymous]

If you raise one lollipop during your second week at a school, you will be That Mom.

And PTAs don’t get involved in telling teachers how to teach. Or they shouldn’t, anyway.

[Anonymous]

It’s highly teacher dependent. At least it’s just a specials teacher so your kid will only see her once per week.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to elementary school. I agree that this is not ideal, but it is definitely what we have experienced in elementary. I doubt the teacher will give it every class, so maybe it was just an introductory way to make them feel like music was a fun class and they might sometimes get candy. More common I think is for your kid's classroom teacher to give them points for following the rules and then allowing them to use their points to "buy" some kind of reward - either as a class or as individuals.

[Anonymous]

That will not be the first place sweets are offered an a reward. There will be many more.

I don't like sweets either.