Anonymous wrote:My kids eat the school lunch and refuse to bring a snack. It's really frustrating. Sometimes I send in a snack but it always comes back uneaten. Should I continue to send? I feel it's wasteful to send food that doesn't get eaten.

I mean, send in something like a bag of chips and replace it as needed. My 4th grader only eats her snack once a week or so, but it's usually a packaged snack, and she grabs a new one on the days she eats it.

As a former classroom aide I can tell you that all the reasons you all mention are valid. However, I can also tell you that it is very common that the hungriest and skinniest kids don't have a snack. Frustrating for teachers (and aides) to watch. That's why teachers (and aides) will spend their own money to buy a big box of goldfish or a package of crackers so that some hungry, skinny kid doesn't sit there watching everybody else eat their twinkies and apples.

Anonymous wrote:Are snacks mandatory??

Maybe parents don’t think is necessary to send one in for their kid.

Of course it’s not mandatory, schools can’t force your child to eat if you told them you don’t want them to have a snack. They are your children, not the school’s children. Everyone can make the choice that is best for their families.

Anonymous wrote:When does snack time stop in school? I would have expected kindergarten or at the latest 1st grade but it sounds like 2nd grade snacks are normal from this post?

We only had snack time when it was either a really early or really late lunch.

Are snacks mandatory??

Maybe parents don’t think is necessary to send one in for their kid.

When does snack time stop in school? I would have expected kindergarten or at the latest 1st grade but it sounds like 2nd grade snacks are normal from this post?

I also have a 2nd grader in MoCo with a teacher who has set a snack time. I forgot to send snack the third day.

Kid and I agreed that from now on, if he wants snack, he packs snack. He is more than capable of it, and I'm not in the business of stealing chances for him to experience the pride of taking care of himself.

Cheerios in a ziploc bag. This is not rocket science.

I am the furthest thing from a health nut but if lunch ends at noon, why is there a snack needed at 2pm? I could see it if the lunch is really oddly early like 10:45/11, but this just seems like a pain for parents to have to remember/send when it is unnecessary. My kids are hungry hippo snack monsters and could make it from noon to dismissal and eat an after school snack like all children have done for decades.

Ours has a very early lunch and snacks were suggested. Think I was sending in too much. I would love to contribute to a room snack fund to make it easier for everyone.

My kids don’t eat snacks at school, they get enough food otherwise and teachers know not to feed them during snack time. They say they do homework or read or talk to friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat the school lunch and refuse to bring a snack. It's really frustrating. Sometimes I send in a snack but it always comes back uneaten. Should I continue to send? I feel it's wasteful to send food that doesn't get eaten.

Maybe your kid likes the one the teacher gives better than the one you are packing. They are smart to not say anything because they don’t want it to stop. This is how mine got the chocolate mini muffins for a long time in early elementary one year.

My kid was doing this in K and when I got wind of it I asked the teacher what she wanted and went to Costco to replenish her snacks.

My kids have snack in K and 3rd in APS because their lunches are at 11am and almost 1pm.

I would ask the teacher if she needs help stocking a snack basket for kids who don’t bring snack. She can ask parents to let her know if they don’t want their kids to snack. My son’s teacher kept a basket or of apples, bananas, pretzels and goldfish stocked by parents.

At our school parents bring in one big class snack each month and the teacher hands it out. I love this system.

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat the school lunch and refuse to bring a snack. It's really frustrating. Sometimes I send in a snack but it always comes back uneaten. Should I continue to send? I feel it's wasteful to send food that doesn't get eaten.

Maybe your kid likes the one the teacher gives better than the one you are packing. They are smart to not say anything because they don’t want it to stop. This is how mine got the chocolate mini muffins for a long time in early elementary one year.

I worked a summer camp this summer where kids brought lunch and had 2 snack times. First snack time they ate their most favorite item. Lunch was everything else they liked and what was left usually the sliced vegetables were promptly thrown out leaving nothing for the second snack.