WHAT ARE SCHOOLS DOING TO OUR KIDS????

pink_fortitude

pink_fortitude

Banned
Okay, so obviously I am p*$$#%. *deep breath*

I pack my kids lunches because the schools serve such nutrient deficient crap loaded with sugar and simple carbs and chemicals and hormone & antibiotic loaded meat. I pack their snacks, same reason. This week, my daughter is taking ISTEP so I have been making some super brain foods: steel oats and peaches, whole wheat and milled flaxseed waffles and berries, etc.

Anyways, I got a note at the end of last week stating that they would also be providing a free breakfast to ensure that kids would eat a well balanced meal to ensure higher concentration and focus. Right....... Mariah comes home. Ask her how her day was. Great. How where the tests? Great. Then there was, "Mommy, guess what!" I am getting excited. "I got to eat pop tarts as a second breakfast since we are doing the tests. And because we had so many tests today, we got an extra snack! We had Nutty Bars!"

Huh??? Yeah, you heard right. Freakin Little Debbie snacks. Our kids are on sugar buzzes while they are taking important state tests. Way to raise the kids, our future, up. I am also upset since I have been taking extra care to make sure that she is set up for success and the system that I pay taxes to is sabotaging her teeth and health and my efforts as a parent.

Okay, sorry for such a long rant! I know that this is a huge problem since they say that now 1 in 3 kids born today will end up with diabetes. I am trying to raise my kids the best that is humanly possible but I feel like the system that we live in sets our kids up for failure. I wish there was something that I could do to change it but I am GROSSLY outweighed and outnumbered here, no pun intended. UGH!!!

Sorry, and thanks for listening.

Missy
 
Hey Missy,

I work in the school system and I can say they could do better with the food. They changed somethings served because they wanted kids to not have so much sugar. I can't understand this when they serve now lowfat chocolate chip cookies, when you know they're still loaded with sugar. But I can say that pop-tarts aren't sold at my school. We usually have cheese omelets and toast or pancakes and sausage, cinnamon buns (yes that is bad!). I guess I'm trying to say that I agree with some of the things you're saying. A pop-tart is not a healthy breakfast! They will try to make things healthier, but they will always make their sales. Kids will buy ice cream, cookies,dougnuts and all of the junk.



kim
 
Missy,

I don't have children but I have heard these complaints from so many of my friends. I don't blame you one bit for being upset!x( Do you think it would help to talk to her teacher? I know, tie her down and stuff her face full of twinkies :7 :7

Michele
 
My MIL works in the school system and in her particular school they gave out much healthier food than you describe. And guess what? the kids will not eat it. This irritates me as well, because loads of food is being thrown away--our tax dollars at work, eh? I mean if these kids were truly hungry, they would eat the food put before them. They have developed a taste for junk food and nothing healthy appeals.

I have several other rants related to this issue, but it could get politically ugly, so I'll keep my thoughts to myself for the time being}( }(

Maggie
 
I would call and write to my school board members and also attend a meeting. Also, maybe you could find other parents who feel the same. There is power in numbers!
 
Our school district has the same problem. I've asked the teachers and the principal to not reward/motivate the kids with junk food with no results. At open house this year, one teacher encouraged us to send junk food for snacks for the entire class! I think it sets such a bad example and it's bad for the kids' health/teeth. The junk food given out in class is neverending and I'm so disgusted.x(

Plus, the snacks sold at the school are all junk. I'm so tired of my kids coming home telling me all about the treats that "all the other kids" eat.

Erica
 
I see this with my grandchildren as well. One of my daughters can take snacks for the other children but if they are not individually wrapped she has to take antibacterial wipes. She provided enough wipes for a couple of times and sends things like triscuits reduced fat crackers. Kids do seem to be raised on fast food. It was hard doing daycare and providing home cooked healthy meals and watching them not eat it. If schools and parents would all feed them healthy foods they would devolope a taste for them. I hate picking up grandhildren and they come out with suckers in their mouths before lunch.
Diane Sue
http://wd.1ww.us
 
Not to take away from your original post, because I would be furious, but I just wanted to say that my daughter is named Mariah too! I don't see or hear it very often, so I just had to comment;-)

I will add that you are right to be upset, and considering how much care you take to offer healthy choices in your daughter's food, I would talk to the school and tell them that is a big no-no for your child.
 
>Missy,
>
>( Do you think it would help to talk to her teacher? I
>know, tie her down and stuff her face full of twinkies :7 :7
>
>Michele

I'm a teacher and it's not my fault so please don't tie me down or stuff me full of twinkies.


Angela
 
I don't have children, but this kind of stuff infuriates me!! My mother did as you do, she made sure to always pack me lunches so I wouldn't eat the garbage the school offered. I cheated occasionally, but at least I know I received a darn good foundation.

What bothers me so much is that most people genuinely do believe items like poptarts are a "well-balanced breakfast." I remember a friend of mine describing how her son (2 yrs old) ate so healthy one night because he ate pasta-roni and frosted flakes!!!! What the heck is he eating most nights that makes that healthy? The ignorance knows no end. And if I try to pipe in with healthy suggestions (only if they ask!!!) they don't want to hear any of it. Often, people get angry or defensive if it's even insinuated that their diet isn't "right". Whatever. And you can't walk a mile because you're naturally a sprinter.

At least you know your kids are well-taken care of by you, and that is more than just about any other kid at that school can say.

Sara
 
Ugh...how frustrating. I feel your pain. My kids are not in school yet, but we have my stupid in-laws to sabotage my kids' healthy eating efforts.

I was feeding my 19 month old carrots, and while she normally likes them, she just didn't feel like eating them at the time. My MIL proceeds to "mix" in some Doritos saying she won't know the difference. Huh??

And then there's my 4 year old niece who MIL gave a donut for breakfast, cookies and diet soda for lunch, and more cookies for dinner. WTF?

Sorry to hijack, but I think society (and schools) make it so hard for us to try to feed our kids healthy stuff! And people wonder why kids are so darn overweight these days?

Marcy
 
Small wonder why our kids are too fat! It was VERY rare to have fat kids in school when I was growing up, and we DID have cars back then, so I'm not coming from the "I had to walk 10 miles in a snow storm to get to school generation." It's so sad what we're doing to our kids, and the remedy is so simple - feed them better and get their butts outdoors to play!!!!!!! Calories in, calories out, no matter what the age!!!
Just Do It! :)
 
I work in a public school and am a high school teacher. I too feel that our lunches need to be seriously looked at and changed. I hear the same kinds of things in my school, e.g. "kids won't eat healthier foods, a lot of it will get thrown, etc." Last week I bought a lunch because I hadn't had time to pack one. I don't remember what the main dish was, but I do remember that the veggetable was baked beans. Now, I asked, "are there any veggies today?" and our food worker responded, "the beans are considered the veggie." It turns out that the federal gov't considers baked beans not another protein but a veggie, so our school - probably like some other schools - doesn't have to offer anything else as a veggie. Interesting. Also, I work luch duty this year, which basically means that my presence is important to preserving some order during lunch. Our pop and candy machines are off during the school day. But there is still A LOT of pop and candy being eaten at lunchtime. Good discussion here, things do need to be changed.
 
oh i know all about school food. with one autstic kid and one diabetic brother and you tell them about the food sensitivities and it just goes over their heads. if anybody ever seen the movie super size me, there was a school in the movie that did all natural low-fat,low-sugar(or no sugar),no salt foods and it cost the same to serve as the other junk. USDA food my arse, you don't want us to eat certain foods and get sick but you will feed it to our kids. luckliy this school will not cross the line b/c they have already been through this with the other parent with an autistic child and food sensitivities. i would complain again. tough if they don't like it, you are raisiing your kids and nobody has the right to sabotage that.
kassia
When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
That would infuriate me. When I get my kids Poptarts they know they are pure junk and for desert and Little Debbie's which I don't eat but pick up because my mom used to buy them, are the same. Can you send her her own healthy snacks and let them know that your child doesn't need that kind of crap to muddle her thinking? Yikes. I am glad Sam only likes Thursdays pizza in the school lunch room. The food they serve turns my stomach. I read that Maine is implementing hormone and antibiotic free meats at school. Arizona is so far off the mark, it isn't funny. They have quit selling soda to the kids during the school day. But the food remains pure garbage. That sad thing is how delighted it makes the kids to get the junk. Talk about mixed signals. It plays into the nutritional problems plauging this country and it makes me want to spit! And I'm not even PMSy! :)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
Hi I work in a school cafe. We serve very healthy food to the kids.
My state has been using a change over plan getting rid of soda machines now they only have water and 100% juice in them.
My cafe make soups and breads and most of the meals from scratch.
The pizza on Friday does come frozen.It taken some kids awhile to get use to them but they are. I bring lunch over to a small kindergarden and some of the kids come to school with no breakfast and the lunch boxes are filled with gummy bears, cookies etc.Thats were the parent has to take the blame.
 
Hi Missy! And by the time your DD enters the middle school let's not forget about those VENDING MACHINES!!! They're packed w/such junk food its ridiculous. Keep setting healthy standards for your daughter. I did w/my son & every time he sees what his friends at the lunch table are eating, he just shakes his head & says to himself "my mom would never eat that crap!" He has a little voice always telling him "now what would my mom eat?" Your daughter will be thinking just like my son. It'll click. Believe me. She'll be making healthy choices just like my son. I wish there was something that I could do but between working full time the school never schedules their meetings in the evening its always during the day. :eek:( Kathy:D
 
I agree with you. So many parents are feeding their kids junk. That is why I feel so outnumbered. Out of all the kids in this neighborhood, I am the only mom who doesn't stock the pantry full of chips and sugar snacks and has more fresh produce in the fridge than koolaid. I am very strange to many of my neighbors because I excercise and shop at different grociery stores. I think it is horrendous when eating as healthy as possible and taking care of your heart and body is strange. I don't know of a single person, at least in my kids' classes and moms in the 'hood, who feel the same way that I do.

What state do you work in? What can I do to get things moving in that direction here (Indiana)? Health is not a concern for many people here :-( so I know it will be an uphill battle, but anything that I can do to help, I want to. Our kids really deserve the chance to start life right.

I have always wanted to be a nutritionist, I read so much on health and food, and wanted to wait until DS#2 was in school to start classes (daycare is $$$$$$), but I feel like I should start now and then maybe offer classes to parents through the school. I need to do SOMETHING. x( x( x( I am just so happy to know that I am not alone here, thank you so much for your support, guys!!! :)

Missy
 
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