I haven't read all of the responses, but to the people saying the kid should have his/her own lunch with no money, that can't be the issue- in MCPS the kids are given a code. They can buy snacks / lunch with the code whenever they want without bringing money. Then the parents receive a bill later.

More than anything, you have to have a discussion with your child about what to buy and what not to buy. Is the bill itemized when it comes home? (I teach HS in MCPS, and believe me, it will just be vending machine crap when your kid is older.) I would withhold privileges at home if my child were disobeying me and buying something I told him not to, but of course I would only know this if the bill were itemized.

Also, you may want to consider if it's worth forbidding. Nothing makes things more tempting to kids than forbidding them. Why not pack a thermos and make your own strawberry milk using some healthier alternative (like a yogurt smoothie with real strawberries?) Then you could simply tell your kid that the milk at school is full of sugar and crap.

Anonymous wrote:If that is what it takes to get your child to consume milk and get adequate dairy, then I wouldn't worry too much.

I grew up drinking chocolate milk throughout my school yrs. and never had a cavity until I was twenty five and was always very thin until my thirties.

Am 45 now and still have a clean bill of health Thank God!!!

Dairy is not a necessary part of a healthy diet. And I say this as somebody who drinks a lot of milk and eats a lot of cheese. If a kid won't drink milk unless it's chocolate milk or strawberry milk, it might be healthier for the kid to not drink milk.