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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask the school WHY if 'sweets aren't allowed' ...

29 replies

TotorosOcarnina · 21/12/2010 20:22

'to be handed out on birthdays' (we had to go hunting for shit cheap toys, erasers etc, as we got a letter asking parents not to bring sweets in on their childs birthdays but " a nice pad or pencil set" would be accepted ( Hmm )

Then WHYYYY did the teachers give out freddo bars on the last day today??

Surely if parents have been told not to do this (and instead of going to the newsagents and buying 30 x 10p sweet bags like we hoped to we had to get the frigging bus to Asda and spend around £7 on tat) then the teachers shouldn't be doing it either??

I have NO PROBLEM with sweets being given out BTW.

I have a problem with being told not to do it myself then the school handing out sweets!!

(Don't even get me started on jam rolly polly and custard for pud if a bag of 10p haribo aren't allowed)_

OP posts:
BusyMisstletoeIzzy · 21/12/2010 20:24

Well, maybe it's because end of term at Christmas is only once a year, whereas with 30 kids in a class there would be a birthday at least every two weeks on average?

cornyPrawnsdefrostJasonDonovan · 21/12/2010 20:25

because parents complain?

jasper · 21/12/2010 20:25

Nah, don't complain.
The teachers can put a limit on sweets (once a term or whatever). There are birthdays every day of the week!

I am biased, though, having just scoffed the chocs my daughter's teacher gave her ( she did not want them )
Xmas Smile

mrshess · 21/12/2010 20:26

OMG i was going to post this. After asking a teaching assistant whether sweets would be allowed and told yes i bought a load of 10p haribo and then told on the day they are a healthy school and not allowed to give out sweets, cue my son 4 crying as i made a big deal of him sharing with the class.
Then on last day tehy got a small selection box and also had a load of party food. I was fuming

Mutt · 21/12/2010 20:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
TotorosOcarnina · 21/12/2010 20:28

it was because they are a 'healthy eating school' they said, not allergies.

I don't see how they can ban handing out sweets then hand out sweets.

OP posts:
create · 21/12/2010 20:29

YANBU to feel like it, but not worth the fuss TBH.

YABU to do tat instead though. Really, just dont bother!

2muchtodo2littletime · 21/12/2010 20:30

Completely contradictory imo. I teach and healthy schools are a minefield. We say bring a book for the class library with dedication inside and we dont give out choc at xmas. You have to practice what you preach. Personally I think sweets are ok on special occasions. What annoys me is the regularity of chips at dinner time!

theevildead2 · 21/12/2010 20:31

Because they get to feed the children the e-numbers and then send them home Sensibly they don't want to reverse the process.

Mutt · 21/12/2010 20:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
TotorosOcarnina · 21/12/2010 20:33

create DS is 6, he had friends bring in sweets the term before for their birthday - how could I tell him he wasn't allowed to take something in when he had been so excited about it being his turn??

Plus its unfair financially, 30 x 10p bags is £30 - try getting anything not food related for under 50p (£15 a class) nightmare!

OP posts:
Original poster
TotorosOcarnina · 21/12/2010 20:34

is £3 i mean!!

OP posts:
Mutt · 21/12/2010 20:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mutt · 21/12/2010 20:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

belgo · 21/12/2010 20:36

It is a bit cheeky to ask for a nice pencil and paper set. That would cost a lot for 30 children.

I don;t think children should receive presents or sweets at school anyway. Birthdays should be kept out of school. I don't want my children to be given a near constant stream of gifts and sweets, they end up expecting it.

Original poster
TotorosOcarnina · 21/12/2010 20:37

typo mutt Hmm that was corrected in my following post.

OP posts:
belgo · 21/12/2010 20:39

My children's school requests that we give in cupcakes for a birthday, that's even more annoying as I feel obliged to bake.

MumBarTheDoorSantaUsesChimneys · 21/12/2010 20:40

DS school is a healthy school. They are allowed to give out sweets on birthdays. They get them on the way out at hometime.

DS has unknown allergies so the school have said he must wait until he's with me to eat them.

On this basis I can't see the problem, but schools have rules/policies and as parents we just have to accept and adhere to them.

Gentleness · 21/12/2010 20:44

Healthy school stuff is a nightmare - one thing I don't miss about teaching. YANBU, but give the teachers (who want to treat your kids but have to deal with edicts they don't agree with every day) a break... More than likely they hate having to say "no sweets on birthdays". Yet another rule created where teaching self-control is more profitable.

onceamai · 21/12/2010 22:23

IMO if a gift, ie, a small bag of haribos with about 10 tiny sweets in it, is offered it should be accepted gracefully. Anything else is teaching the children to be little ingrates. Cannot stand this attitude where others think they can dictate what they or their children are given.

madsadlibrarian · 22/12/2010 01:36

vegetarian sweets only at my ds school - so I now know that Haribos aren't vegetarian as they got sent back -oops

incidentally when did this lark of having to take something in if it was your birthday start?

itsawonderfuldarleneconnorlife · 22/12/2010 02:52

Kids take sweets into school on thier birthday? Confused I've never heard of this.

I wouldn't mind my child being given one plain chocolate once a term. I would object to him coming home with bags of e-number filled 'candy' every fortnight.

SkyBluePearl · 22/12/2010 03:40

what about sending in something healthy - two loafs of soreen or 30 small packets of raisin or 30 fruit bars or home made flapjack? Treats don't have to be sweets, they can be healthy too.

onceamai · 22/12/2010 07:47

The PILs rationed sweets with their children. They all now eat sweets in secret - I'm constantly pulling a screwed up Mars Bar wrapper out of DS's pockets.

I had a shelf in the cupboard stacked with sweets and could have had anything I wanted, sweet wise, had I asked. Helped myself to one or two occasionally and wouldn't care if I never saw another sweet.

Personally I think all this control is a bit counter-productive. It's only a few sweets.

Oh and the SILs are way beyond their BMI's - I'm within mine Grin

create · 23/12/2010 11:20

SkyBluePearl, this is what drives me mad about "Healthy Schools" In what way is sugar and butter laden flapjack healthier than few sweets?

The schools peddling this campaign just don't understand nutrition for children and the campaign to make certian foods "wrong" just makes them more desirable. Fat and sugar in moderation is not bad for children, they need it. Cereal bars are no more healthy than a biscuit or cake.

I also agree with once. My DSs know what a healthy meal is and we don't do much snacking, but cakes and sweets are available if they're hungry after their meal. Both are very good at deciding when they're full and will turn down treats when they're not hungry. A friend's DD had no sweets at all for her first 5 years, but there is no stopping her now and given the opportunity she will eat sweets til she's sick Shock