Anonymous
Post 11/18/2023 19:41     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:We are new to MCPS and middle school, and what is new to us is that there is ice-cream available to middle schoolers for lunch. I quickly noticed when my daughter started to eat ice-cream for lunch in the fall. We have had a discussion about it and she understands the importance of eating healthy. (We try at home). But she has since gained weight and doesn’t fit into some kind of her pants she fit just a month ago. She admitted today that her friends eat ice cream every day and share with her. Parents have no idea, most of the time.

Parents, check transaction history in your kids lunch accounts!!! Talk to them about eating healthy. Mom of her one friend found out about her eating ice cream today and was not happy. She does not know yet her daughter has been having ice cream almost daily for the past 2 months.

Has anyone tried to remove ice cream from the school cafeteria in MCPS? Why is there ice cream at schools in the wake of obesity epidemic? Kids are addicted to sugar. There is so much info on how bad it is for them. WAPO has a long one on how it damaged liver in kids.

Any ideas on how to get ice cream out of schools would be appreciated.




Uh, no. Send your kid with packed lunch and no money. Done.
Anonymous
Post 11/18/2023 19:39     Subject: Re:Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Instead of overly regulating the food, increase the exercise and offer more vegetables without cutting back on (or even talking about) other things. Register DC for a new sport or more intense outdoor activity. Put carrot sticks or similarly easy snacky veggies out ahead of every meal or snack, and wait to put the other things out for 15-30 minutes. Call the veggies "appetizers" if anyone asks, and if they start eating them, quietly slow down the service of the 'main' meal or intended snack. If dips help, go with a light soy dressing that you whisk up yourself, a fat-free ranch made with plain yogurt, or a modest amount of hummus made dippable (rather than scoopable) by blending in a little water. My DCs are, alas, super picky, so rather than leading with veggies we often lead with fruit - yes, more sugars, but at least a whole and plant-based food item that is lower in overall calories and higher in nutrition.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 23:58     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:Omg who cares. They are growing. Let them eat ice cream.


-1. Crap parent alert.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 23:49     Subject: Re:Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Private schools have Ben and Jerry's
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 16:48     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
This was back before school lunch accounts, but back in middle school my cafeteria had ice cream and all sorts of junk food you could buy at lunch. While I would generally bring lunch from home, I would tell my mom I wanted to buy school lunch on, say, pizza Fridays, and instead use the lunch money to buy a bunch of junky snacks and lemonade. This stuff is made to be addictive and I wish cafeterias didn't have it at all, but it's the American way.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 15:51     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This reminds me, back when my kid was in ES, some parent complained about teachers giving student candy as an encouragement.


We have this now at our ES. The PTA president got up in arms about it and he got the principal to tell the teachers to stop doing it. Utterly ridiculous. Cannot imagine trying to impose your worldview on an entire school like that. Fortunately most teachers are ignoring the principal's new direction.


Good for them! Why let one control freak ruin it for everyone. Self-control is a real life skill folks. Please let your kids learn it.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 15:26     Subject: Re:Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OMG ice cream! Not ice cream! That’s it we’re going private.


No kid wants to be the fat kid. I wish my parents had shamed me when I started gaining weight during puberty. The middle school years were pure hell because of it.


Why were they hell? Were the other kids mean? Then you must have quickly lost the weight, right, because shaming is so effective?


+1
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 14:58     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
I think being able to self moderate is a life skill. Like with phones/tech - some kids are totally addicted and some have, like, real friends that they hang out with in person.

She should be able to self moderate without fear of you, without shame of turning fat, and without legislation banning ice cream. If you can't teach self moderation that's on you as a parent primarily, not on the school or anyone else.

My MS kids play 7-10 hrs sports a week, bring their vegetarian lunch (from home) 4x a week (their choice, they prefer what we make), and buy lunch 1x a week where they purchase pizza, cookies/ice cream. They have dessert at home 1-2x a week. Both are in 5th percentile for weight, and they grow out of their clothes every few months! Every person I've ever known with parents who control/judge food has ended up with an eating disorder, fat, or depressed.

Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 14:48     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
One of my fav memories of school lunch was getting a Dixie cup for 20 cents everyday. Best 20 cents I ever spent.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 14:35     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do not try to micromanage your pre-teen's food choices. Ice cream is not poison and it's just fine as a daily snack. Heaven knows, that kid probably gets limited food choices at home if the parent is having conniptions over ice cream. Did you think your child would stay the size and weight of a 10-year-old? Kids this age grow, gain weight, and change shape. Girls this age are already having body image issues. You should ensure you are not subconsciously reinforcing disordered eating habits.


Thanks, but not an issue here. We are not judging body sizes, and my child does not have a body image problem. I am concerned about HEALTH. It is important what you put into your body. We all should be able to have discussions on healthy diet/weight without gettIng offended.


I really hate the people, like OP, whose reaction to them not wanting their child exposed to some book, food, idea, is to ban the item for all children.

OP, you need to do a better job teaching your child your rules and enforcing them. Other families have no problems with their children having some ice cream. My children have no problem only getting ice cream once in a while as a treat. And having that as an option for them when they want a treat is perfectly fine for us. If your child is having problems with weight, then you need to address the issue with your child, not try to ban ice cream for all kids.


Oh, I hope you were equally livid about the parents in MCPS who forced our ES to ban Halloween. Heck, our ES even banned birthday celebrations. MCPS has banned all sorts of things in the name of Equity and I agree that it sucks.


They banned education at our school in the name of equity.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 14:35     Subject: Re:Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
The term "ice cream" doesn't have a hyphen.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 14:32     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:This reminds me, back when my kid was in ES, some parent complained about teachers giving student candy as an encouragement.


We have this now at our ES. The PTA president got up in arms about it and he got the principal to tell the teachers to stop doing it. Utterly ridiculous. Cannot imagine trying to impose your worldview on an entire school like that. Fortunately most teachers are ignoring the principal's new direction.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 13:50     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do not try to micromanage your pre-teen's food choices. Ice cream is not poison and it's just fine as a daily snack. Heaven knows, that kid probably gets limited food choices at home if the parent is having conniptions over ice cream. Did you think your child would stay the size and weight of a 10-year-old? Kids this age grow, gain weight, and change shape. Girls this age are already having body image issues. You should ensure you are not subconsciously reinforcing disordered eating habits.


Thanks, but not an issue here. We are not judging body sizes, and my child does not have a body image problem. I am concerned about HEALTH. It is important what you put into your body. We all should be able to have discussions on healthy diet/weight without gettIng offended.


I really hate the people, like OP, whose reaction to them not wanting their child exposed to some book, food, idea, is to ban the item for all children.

OP, you need to do a better job teaching your child your rules and enforcing them. Other families have no problems with their children having some ice cream. My children have no problem only getting ice cream once in a while as a treat. And having that as an option for them when they want a treat is perfectly fine for us. If your child is having problems with weight, then you need to address the issue with your child, not try to ban ice cream for all kids.


Oh, I hope you were equally livid about the parents in MCPS who forced our ES to ban Halloween. Heck, our ES even banned birthday celebrations. MCPS has banned all sorts of things in the name of Equity and I agree that it sucks.


Yep. Not a fan of the "if my kid can't/won't/shouldn't have it, no one should" mentality. I prefer inclusiveness to exclusiveness. I prefer to expose kids to everything and let families choose what to teach their children to accept.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 13:13     Subject: Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do not try to micromanage your pre-teen's food choices. Ice cream is not poison and it's just fine as a daily snack. Heaven knows, that kid probably gets limited food choices at home if the parent is having conniptions over ice cream. Did you think your child would stay the size and weight of a 10-year-old? Kids this age grow, gain weight, and change shape. Girls this age are already having body image issues. You should ensure you are not subconsciously reinforcing disordered eating habits.


Thanks, but not an issue here. We are not judging body sizes, and my child does not have a body image problem. I am concerned about HEALTH. It is important what you put into your body. We all should be able to have discussions on healthy diet/weight without gettIng offended.


I really hate the people, like OP, whose reaction to them not wanting their child exposed to some book, food, idea, is to ban the item for all children.

OP, you need to do a better job teaching your child your rules and enforcing them. Other families have no problems with their children having some ice cream. My children have no problem only getting ice cream once in a while as a treat. And having that as an option for them when they want a treat is perfectly fine for us. If your child is having problems with weight, then you need to address the issue with your child, not try to ban ice cream for all kids.


Oh, I hope you were equally livid about the parents in MCPS who forced our ES to ban Halloween. Heck, our ES even banned birthday celebrations. MCPS has banned all sorts of things in the name of Equity and I agree that it sucks.
Anonymous
Post 11/17/2023 13:07     Subject: Re:Ice-cream in middle school cafeteria
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you don’t want your kid to have ice cream, pack lunch and don’t fund a school lunch account if your kid won’t follow your rules.


Not a solution at all, unfortunately. Kids share food and provide for friends all the time. They also trade for food.

There are kids who only eat ice cream and chips for lunch almost daily and nothing else.


You will always have the problem of food sharing and eliminating ice cream won’t eliminate your kid from getting junk. It will just be candy and chips and baked goods.

Like I said, if your child won’t listen to your directives about junk food, the single only thing you can control is whether she buys it. I mean, basically OP wants to solve her parenting problem by eliminating ice cream for all and it’s so ridiculous to think it would matter one single little bit since junk food is everywhere and freely accessible beyond the lunch line.