Sweets as classroom treats

[Carmody]

Twice this week, my 8 year old has exited her classroom at the end of the day chewing a sweet that she has been rewarded for good work/behaviour. Today was the third and final straw for me when, at home, she pulled out a Curly Wurly from her book bag and told me that it was her prize for doing well in a spelling test. Dd added that they sometimes receive hardboiled sweets during the day too. My husband* jokes that it's a way for the teachers to easily spot the hardworking kids: they are all overweight with bad teeth.

I'm particularly annoyed as we parents frequently receive reminder letters about providing healthy lunch packs and snacks! I wouldn't have any problems with stickers, stamps and/or cheap/tacky stationery as rewards (or even just a "Well done!" and an old-fashioned pat on the back) and can't understand why the children are being inundated with sweets as treats.

Anyways...I was in the process of writing a letter to the headteacher about my dissatisfaction with the school's reward scheme when I paused, mid-rant, to wonder whether it would be a better idea to talk to other parents of the school first and get some kind of a "Save our Kids Teeth" campaign going. It just struck me as slightly self-serving if I simply secure an opt-out for my dd (which she would hate as her friends chow down).

What do you think? Have you had similar experiences? Would other parents care?

Carmody

• Oops...should that be "dh"? Where's the mumsnet glossary for these acronyms? Everytime I see "dh", I read "Department of Health". And "DD" were the initials of an enemy of mine at secondary school who ripped my skirt off during a scuffle (over a pencil case!) and ran off with it, laughing.

Raise it to the board of Governors, with stickers suggested as a replacement?

My childrens primary has a variety of'rewards'the 'heads high' award where you get certificate, 'ace badges' given out in assembly each week. Stickers and marble pots where they have to fill the pot and then the whole class gets a treats ie in ds3's class they all got hot chocolate and a film to watch. In the warmer weather its often a picnic or a treasure hunt outside. They also have a house point system and children get mentioned in the school newsletter, all sorts of things ie doing well at swimming gets them a starfish' award (school has its own pool and all go swimming every week). Kids get a mention for being helpful, being good at turning out lights/ecofriendly etc. Or for doing a good job at being cloakroom moniter, so its not all academic and if a child does something out if school is a beaver badge or a sporting club and they do well you fill in a slip in the office and they get mention in the newsletter. The children are all really proud of e very little mention or badge etc.

There is no need to go to the goveners, way to piss off a teacher! Just speak, politely to the teacher.

I never understand why people get advice 'raise it with the governors' before they have raised it with the teacher.

Cross posted 5madthings!

I never understand go to the ht or the goveners, just speak to the teacher first, if you don't get anywhere then try higher up but a quick chat with the teacher normally resolves an issue ime.

Why not come to an arrangement with your DD? If she keeps the sweets, she can trade them in with you and let's say 5 sweets = 1 new book or something?

How about a token system. 10 tokens would give you first place in the queue, best seat in the quiet area or your choice of a piece of stationery/collectors card/etc?

Dd came out of art club with a fudge bar. It was Ash Wednesday and it's a flipping catholic school! I appreciate the teachers mean well but I can't help thinking it's setting the kids up to fail in their new Lenten resolutions. They nearly all say they're giving up chocolate or sweets and then are given sweets as treats or raffle prizes and it's too much to expect them to put them in a drawer until Easter Sunday! It's a very minor niggle I know, but it still irks me.

By the way Carmody there's an 'acronyms' list ^^ up there at the top of the page, below the 'Munsnet Talk' heading - should help with the DHs, YANBUs etc

I would speak to the teacher.

Occasional sweets or chocolate is fine, but several times a week is too much.

Hmm. I wouldn't be happy if I sent my child into school and they were being given several boiled sweets and then a curly wurly on a daily basis. But if it was just a sweet every now and then, for doing very well at work, then I wouldn't be bothered at all. Occasional sweets accompanied by regular brushing is nothing to worry about.

I remember sweets being used as rewards in school. It certainly never damaged my teeth, but back then there was no hypocrisy regarding school meal restriction. We ate stewed mince with hard dumplings and boiled cabbage most days

Thanks, TiaMariaandSpringCleaning. Great name btw! May change mine to DisaronnoAndWearingPinguSlippers.

TheIcingonTop, dd has no cavities but there are children in her class with two and even three fillings already. Hardboiled sweets daily wont be helping their dental care.

I work in a school where every child gets 5 sweets after lunch every Friday, a throwback to rationing in the War. KS1 kids get 2, one to eat immediately and one to take home.

They also get 3 sweets when they get a star (after 10 housepoints). Excellent way to motivate the children, as 99% are motivated by sweets. I keep a pot of sweets in my classroom for when the need arises. However all the parents know we reward with sweets before they sign up to join the school (a prep school).

I wouldn't like it but that's cos' I have a dairy-free child so curlywurlies make us sad.

My kids got potty trained using smarties as rewards. Thank goodness for chocolate!

As a secondary teacher I really dislike it when colleagues use sweets as rewards when pupils for what they're expected to do. In its simplest form it's a substitute for high expectations and insistence on them. It also undermines the whole school rewards system that we ought to be using to recognise effort (rather than just compliance).

In my experience the ones who do it need a bribe to achieve control in the classroom, or like to ingratiate themselves with the kids and want to be popular. It's juvenile.

Secondary teacher here so my kiss probably get plenty of junk at lunch times anyway! I have over the years made cakes, fudge, provided little parties with crisps and juice, offered chocolate as prizes etc. it's not every week or even every month but I use it as intended...a treat. God some kids lives are so crap it's just a little thing to make them feel special. I remember one girl couldn't believe that a bar of chocolate was for her and her alone. Lighten up op...be plussed that your dd teacher cares.

Haha just the above...I have no problems with discipline! I don't use the treats as rewards either but just for something nice at end of a term etc.

It would annoy me, my oldest was given a lot of sweets as treats at school, he didn't have a weight problem but we didn't encourage sweets and tried very hard to stick to a healthy diet, I talked to the teacher about it and bought her some sticker sheets asking if she could substitute. She switched completely over to stickers and the kids loved it. Ds stuck them to his lunch box and had them all year.
Dd is now encountering the same sweets as rewards and treats in school, she is boderline overweight and we don't do the sugary treats/sweets at home unless it's a party or holiday. It's really starting to bother me.

My other problem is the treats are given at the end of the day so as she's getting in the car at pick up I see her chewing finishing off the sweets, by the time we get home she's bouncing, then she feels ill and usually has a meltdown. Thanks to the rubbish she's just eaten.

Its not on really, what parents do in their own time is up to them but I would not accept mine being given sweets regularly. Kids love a reward and stickers, gold stars etc are just as well received, food really should not ever be used as a reward as it can lead to a very unhealthy attitude to food in the future. I grew up learning to 'reward' myself with food and have struggled with weight issues. some kids have health issues where they shouldn't have sweets, some are overweight, none of them need that sugar sitting on their teeth all day. with all the education and 'healthy school' stuff going on. schools should know this is not a great reward, plenty of other options so I would be raising it with the school. no need for it and I am surprised at how many people think daily sweets is not an issue for a child's health.

From a teacher's point of view handing out sweets is a cheap, quick reward. With younger children a sticker and a certificate does just as well. The problem as a teacher I find is that then kids start to expect these treats. I got really hacked off with my tutor group one year who just seemed to assume I would buy them all sweets/choc at the end of term and one or two dropped very obvious hints as to theor expectations. Needless to say I didn't get them anything (my money for a class of thirty its difficult to do for ubder six quid) as I felt it shouldn't be a norm.

As a mum of a diabetic child, I do find it annoying and often thoughtless and insensitive although His year 6 teacher bought special diabetic choc for him which was very thoughtful if somewhat misguided but at least my son felt special. Others are clueless and thankfully DS has the sense not to scoff the sweets as they could make him really ill if he did but it does make him feel different. He's also had kids waving the sweets in front of his face and taunting him that he can't eat them. That makes him feel like crap too.

Silverfrog, that does sound like a lot of sweet stuff happening.