Tired of junk food in schools rant

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 10:56 am

amother Tanzanite wrote:

Op these threads always end up the same. You're extreme, you're messing them up emotionally, they'll be picking jelly beans up off the floor and sneaking when nobody's looking and it'll all be your fault for depriving them.

You need moderation, balance, healthy relationship with food, some candy is good, it's not the end of the world, it's fun, it's part of normal childhood, let them enjoy. Dieticians agree!! //sarcasm

Seriously though, as someone who's part of your tribe, go find us elsewhere.

Sad truth! Thank you for sharing that. I need another place that is mainstream frum which is not possible

amother

Snow ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 11:08 am

amother Cognac wrote:

One pack of gushers on rosh chodesh, because the parent who sponsored it decided that's what they wanted to buy. It comes with maybe 6 in a pack. A donut, same reason. A scoop of ice cream. What's wrong with one serving of the above? One serving at school, once a month. 10 times a year. If you are of the "everything in moderation" camp, this is all a healthy approach.

A typical 2nd grade class will have 10 rosh chodesh treats a year, maybe 9. two siyums (popcorn, corn chips, a dumdum). The chanukah chagiga, the parents come so they can decide what they want their kid to eat. Purim masiba is a hamentashen or two. End of year is pizza.

Moderation. Not obsession.

25 birthdays
Teacher had a baby party
Ice cream party for finishing multiplication
Nosh for girls that finished chart first
Show and tell Nosh
Purim party
Chanuka party
Trips twice a year with loads of junk food
My nursery daughter gets a jellybean for ‘napping’, a candy for a mitzva note, a treat for not standing on the bus seat, nosh for every new bracha, a junk food for every new alphabet, weekly Shabbos party……
Please don’t forget the snack bags and junk food the kids take daily for recess time.

I’m far far from a health nut but I think it’s sad that the school isn’t putting in the slightest energy. I do t know about correlation between sugar and adhd pandas whatever.

But I do know that the Jewish world is overwhelmingly suffering from diabetes at the age of 60. Eating right begins in childhood. You don’t suddenly grow up and change your habits.

amother

↑ Tanzanite ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 11:22 am

amother Cognac wrote:

If a child can literally not have one gusher, it's usually because they have DT1. So they don't get their gusher - or more likely, the parents account for the gusher and give the insulin they need. Why? Because even their doctor agrees it's good to have sometimes.

If a kid can not have ONE gusher, please take them to see the dr.

Unfortunately most drs are not aware of the food/behavior connection. They don't support dietary changes to help with behaviors.

And a kid with diabetes doesn't "need" 1 gusher. Nobody does. But the environment creates the "need". Which is why we wish something in the environment would change.

patzer ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 11:28 am

amother Snow wrote:

I work in a preschool and know that this is 100% true. If anything, some classes/schools are much worse than what you described.

bsy ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:04 pm

amother Snow wrote:

About birthday parties: my daughter's school does a communal birthday party 4 times a year for all the kids with birthdays for those 3 months. The school makes party bags for the class with 4 things- 2 snacks and 2 candies.

amother

↑ Cognac ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:20 pm

amother Snow wrote:

Never in my life (and I taught preschool for 15 years in 3 states) have I heard of most of these things. Birthdays, we had never more than 12 kids in the class and the birthday treat was a cake we'd make in school and everyone got a very small piece.

Show and tell nosh?
Ice cream party for multiplication?
Finished chart first nosh?
Napping candy?
New alphabet candy?
Not standing on bus seat?
Bag of nosh for snack time? Why are the parents not sending in their own snacks?

I would love to know where in the world this much nosh is a thing.

What I described is reasonable. This is bizarre.

amother

↑ Banana ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:22 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

Never in my life (and I taught preschool for 15 years in 3 states) have I heard of most of these things.

Show and tell nosh?
Ice cream party for multiplication?
Finished chart first nosh?
Napping candy?
New alphabet candy?
Not standing on bus seat?
Bag of nosh for snack time? Why are the parents not sending in their own snacks?

I would love to know where in the world this much nosh is a thing.

What I described is reasonable. This is bizarre.

I taught preschool and never heard of more than half of the things.
They have shabbos party with a fruit.
A birthday.
And for farbreingens they get a mini cupcake and grape juice.

amother

Molasses

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:27 pm

Given my experience with the amount of nosh I received in my school, I always thought these threads were exaggerated. Now I have a kid old enough to be in school and he receives an obscene amount of nosh! I’m fine with a treat here or there but he receives constant treats every weeks it’s out of control. My elementary school forbade students from bringing soda (poison as our principal called it Smile

candy chocolate etc as snacks. We got donuts or cupcakes for girls birthdays and for siyumim. I remember one teacher that gave out nibs for davening nicely or something but each girl got only one or two. My brothers got more nosh at school but I don’t remember it being in the quantities my son gets at school.

amother

↑ Snow ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:52 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

Lucky you.

Since your child’s school is bh not sufferring from this infliction, maybe don’t argue on this thread because it doesn’t pertain to you.

amother

↑ Snow

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 12:56 pm

I remember a thread before Purim about kids and the amount of junk food. Most of the responses were - it’s once a year, I look away. (I do too because I have no other options)

But the thing is, it isn’t once a year.

There’s pre Purim in school,
Purim,
Simchas Torah,
Chanuka,
Siyums,
Ross chodesh,
Birthdays,
Visiting Bubby,
Treat for returning the davening sheet,
Carnivals and parties all summer long,

And all the above mentioned.
Our kids are inundated with sugar and they aren’t even appreciating anymore. It’s totally overkill.

amother

Navyblue

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 1:11 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

I've been a SEIT in many preschools throughout NY for 15 years (and a classroom teacher for 8 years before that), and I can tell you that nosh is a big problem in many schools. I'm not familiar with show and tell nosh, but I do remember that when my kids learned alef in preschool, they were given orange soda, and I was disappointed since it was my kids' first exposure to soda, and I was worried about the rest of the alef bais. I'm not familiar with multiplication parties. There were a few schools I worked in that had charts with prizes, not necessarily nosh. Only one school I worked in had napping candy. I thought it was horrible that the kids spent naptime lying down with a lollipop in their mouths and said something to the teacher. She said it's the only way to keep them quiet. I never heard about nosh for the bus. What I'm seeing is different.
Shabbos party has nosh. In some schools, it's only one nosh plus challah and grape juice, in other schools there are chips, cookies and candy. Some schools are okay with kids saying that they don't want the chips or candy; other schools say that everyone has to taste everything.
I'm in a Catholic day care this year, and kids get a full cup of juice at breakfast and lunch. They're not allowed to leave the table until they finish their juice. If you sit during circle time, you get cheez-its. If you sing, you get fruit snacks. Every Friday, everyone gets ices. On the way back from the park, each kid gets to pick out a snack at the grocery- usually donuts or chips.
The last 2 years I was in a frum school that had baking day every Wednesday where they made cake every week. They also had cake for birthday parties and Shabbos party. Snack was sugar cereal flavored with food coloring. Teachers gave out chocolate chips, candy and marshmallows as bribes for random activities. It wasn't completely out of control like the school that gave out lollipops for naptime, but I wouldn't want my own kids getting 3 marshmallows for every question answered correctly.

amother

Tealblue

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 1:42 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

I am a principal of a small school. I have so much respect for one of our parents, a mother, who is a registered dietitian. Unlike heath "coaches" or "nutritionists", she went to school and got a masters in the field and truly knows what she's doing.

She has never uttered a peep about what her daughter's teachers give out and the opposite, she has participated as a sponsor for rosh chodesh treats many times, always bringing the typical treats that the kids love.

I've asked her about it and her response is so healthy in my opinion. She wants her daughter to have the typical school experience and develop a healthy relationship with food. Nothing is toxic or poison. She allows her daughter to eat whatever she wants in school and accounts for it as she menu plans for the rest of the week. Her daughter has her gushers or ice pop or donut but she, unlike the kids who clearly are forbidden to eat it, stops at one. You can always tell who has a mother who restricts the kids to an obsessive level (NOT saying OP does), because those are the kids who beg for more and even grab when they think no one is looking.

Actually I have two kids that are highly addicted to sugar and crave it much more than the rest of my kids. They will literally do anything for a candy. Saying that it must be because I am an obsessive mother is just everyone’s way of getting rid of their guilt in this massive issue which is 100% out of hand. My son got an entire 2 liter soda bottle as a prize. Why is that normal? It’s just the cheapest way to get everyone to cooperate.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 1:42 pm

amother Snow wrote:

Yup my daughter is in a Boro park mainstream Chassidish school and this is actually extremely accurate sadly. It's just not ok Nd we should not stay quiet. The end of the year they cram in 8 bday parties in 2 weeks and a siyum for something else every min. They made every kid bring a nosh in for a different ABC so that means they got 24 different nosh in 1 bag at one party!!