quick qu: sweets given out at school for birthdays

[vannah]

DS is coming to the end of his Reception year. The amount of times he has come out of school with bags of junk sweets that are handed out in the classroom for birthdays, alongside insisting on cakes from the cake sale (theres one almost every week), I've been finding empty wrappers in his bedroom hidden...
Plus parents at this school seem to have some kind of code that whenever there is a playdate, you come to pick up the kids armed with chocolates.

Its all too much I think. Should I speak to the head? What do children do in your school?
thanks

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Well ... if everyone in his class gives out sweets on their birthdays, then presumably he comes home with sweets 29 times a year maximum. That's just over once a fortnight spread out. Is that worth making a fuss about?

[Beauregard]

I think you worry too much
My dd's classmates have always given out sweets after school when it's their birthday.It's not like it occurs every day.

[vannah]

hmm. ok...

[OddBoots]

I'm not sure I would be happy about any insisting about cakes, do you mean he insists or the school do? Either way, once or twice a half term is plenty for that, if he hasn't got money he can't buy cake. If you are worried about after school sweets then maybe buy a jar into which they could go until you felt it was a good time for him to have a treat?

Oh, and it gets easier as they get older, fewer sweets on birthdays.

[bitzermaloney]

Well it would annoy me. But then ds's school is strictly no sweets/chocolate to be brought in. And I'm fairly lax about letting mine have sweets and choc at home. I sort of feel if it got handed out at school frequently I would have to keep much more of an eye on it at home. There are birthday parties all the time, with dozens of sweets in the party bags, so I'd feel it was overkill if they also came home from school with them for the birthdays. Maybe you could suggest the school goes for one of the 'healthy schools' initiatives or something. Ours is big on it, and though it does lead to some slightly mad inconsistencies like 'no chocolate bars in lunchboxes' but chocolate pudding with chocolate custard on the school dinner menu, I still think it's a good thing.

[exoticfruits]

If you eat healthily at home there is no neeed to stress about it-it is generally counter productive.

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Can't say fairer than that exoticfruits. Infact, I would go so far as to say that is the perfect answer and should be put in safe keeping and wheeled out for the many occasions that threads like this are started .

[seeker]

Cake once a week? Outrqgeous - call in the social services immediately!

[exoticfruits]

I wheel it out regularly,bibbety, but it doesn't mean people listen! It is what you eat everyday, portion size, attitudes to food and exercise that count. Not every DC will have a birthday in term time, or give out sweets, 20 times a year is no big deal.
The school head can't dictate food policy on playdates!

Try and rigidly 'police' food as they get older and you get a DC who craves it (out of sight of mum of course!)

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Well quite, its obvious (you'd have thought).

[exoticfruits]

Obviously not-note the use of 'junk sweets', as if DCs have adult tastes.If it was a certain make of chocolate it would probably go down better than Haribos. They don't get vast quantities-you don't have to buy it yourself.