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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not want dd doing this homework?

73 replies

upsideup · 05/12/2018 18:27

DD2(11) is in Y7. Homework she's been set is to record everything she eats over 3 day's, discuss how well balanced each day's diet is making links to the eat well plate and then to write a one day meal plan you could follow to make your diet healthier.

I feel really uncomfortable about her doing this and it being set to this age group. At 11 it's surely the parent's responsibility to be providing a healthy diet and the children shouldn't be worrying about what they are eating and if it is healthy enough. I can also imagine it will create the perfect opportunity for kids to compare and be unkind about what and how much someone else is eating and also for some to become obsessed with counting what they are eating or feel they have to lie or change their diet.

AIBU to think this is a bad idea to set to 11/12 year old? Would anyone else be uncomfortable with it?

I have struggled with eating disorders in the past so willing to accept that I am over thinking and projecting my own feeling's.

OP posts:

PickAChew · 05/12/2018 19:02

It's part of the science curriculum and has been for a long time.

www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zyjx6sg/revision/1

WomanOfTime · 05/12/2018 19:02

YANBU.

I remember being set the same homework many years ago and making it all up because my eating patterns were all-over-the-place unhealthy and I was aware of it. By all means learn about what a balanced diet is but it's up to the child and their parents to decide what they actually eat.

Any child who is seriously calorie restricting, eating nothing but junk food, or otherwise following an unhealthy diet isn't going to honestly report that to the school for homework and discuss why it's unhealthy. And a child with a generally healthy diet doesn't need to obsess over the minutiae by recording it all.

Thejezebel · 05/12/2018 19:04

yanbu. It's bound to make her feel conscious about food/weight.

Chocolatedeficitdisorder · 05/12/2018 19:05

11/12 is exactly the correct time to teach children that what goes in their mouth affects their health. It's the age they go to secondary school and have a wider choice of foods in the dining hall, or go to meet their friends in town. Many will have some money and the opportunity to spend it on their way home from school. It's THE perfect age to connect what they and eat and their health.

EdisonLightBulb · 05/12/2018 19:05

Education is the way to ensure children eat healthily. Whether that education is the home or the school, any education is better than none.

This is no different to our home economics lessons in the early 80s. I am cool with it.

ThatsNotHealthy · 05/12/2018 19:06

I’d feel the same as you OP. A similar school project aged 9 or 10 triggered 18 years of anorexia for me.

I think learning about healthy eating is important but this approach of food diaries and meal plans risks making children who are more susceptible to eating disorders acutely aware of what they’re eating and highlights what they can cut out.

EdtheBear · 05/12/2018 19:12

YANBU
I think some kids are bound to be economical with the diary. Being diet aware doesn't need to include this.

Starlight456 · 05/12/2018 19:12

I have a year 7 Ds. I think this is the perfect age. He is picking his own lunch is at the shop on his own.
It is important he learns at some point responsibility for his diet.

DontDribbleOnTheCarpet · 05/12/2018 19:16

my kids would just make stuff up! They would never remember to record that many meals, or wouldn't want to bother, so they'd make something up. So it's unlikely to be very useful even if it's done sensibly and nobody is shamed or humiliated (which they probably wouldn't be).

Missingstreetlife · 05/12/2018 19:17

Are they in charge of family food budget, no

Caprisunorange · 05/12/2018 19:18

I do see your point OP. What about the children from chaotic backgrounds who will have to put that their dinner was chicken burger and a can of Coke? That they didn’t have breakfast? It’s really awkward isn’t it?

GemmeFatale · 05/12/2018 19:18

I think it could be made more rounded so easily by looking at diets for different people (say an office worker, an athlete, a physical labourer, a young child, etc)

HexagonalBattenburg · 05/12/2018 19:19

When we had similar homework I sent it in with a covering note that "this is not a representative view of my children's diet - we are in the middle of having our kitchen fitted"

MiddlingMum · 05/12/2018 19:19

It sounds far better than a lot of homework my DC were given. My only concern is that by age 11/12 children should have learned from home what is healthy and what isn't, and should be able to self-regulate their food. Sadly this is often not the case for a variety of reasons.

user789653241 · 05/12/2018 19:20

I used to do the food diary for years for my ds with severe multiple food allergies. Making a notes of everything they eat is a great way to find out what they are eating enough/not enough, how balanced/unbalanced, etc, etc. It's a great way for children to take interests in what they eat.

missperegrinespeculiar · 05/12/2018 19:22

I agree with you OP, my niece is 11 and already all the girls in her class are aware of being chubby or thin, she is already self-conscious, terrible to see

She is a big girl, not overweight in the slightest, but tall, muscular and athletic, she towers over her peers, perfectly healthy, but not dainty, she eats very well, has no sweet tooth at all, loves fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, but she eats adult portions (she is as tall as me, she should!)

this would be her idea of hell, she would fear comparisons with her smaller friends, and I am sure she would probably lie, not good

they can learn about healthy choices without having to share at school their own food consumption!

RebelWitchFace · 05/12/2018 19:24

It bugs me, but not because of the topic or the task. It bugs me because there will be kids that 1.have absolutely no control or choice over what they get and 2.live in poor households.
Ofc they probably already know their diet isn't adequate,but a homework like this just drives the point in more. Plus technically they'd have others know about it too and feel shame(tbh I think most would just lie).

When so many people rely on food banks and kids are living in poverty I don't think it's ok to demand lists of what they eat, why is it bad how could it be better.
Little jimmy could write a whole essay about avocado on wholemeal bread but won't change the fact that all they have in the cupboards is tinned beans and pasta.

ladybee28 · 05/12/2018 19:25

I suspect a lot of this hinges on the delivery of the content, right? A switched-on, sensitive teacher who can hold a room and facilitate a conversation shouldn't have any trouble keeping it health and wellbeing-focused.

I can get why you're concerned given your own story, OP, and I also think it's really important for kids to connect theory and practice. My biggest question as a kid at school was always "But how is this relevant? When am I going to USE it?" and connecting the theory of healthy eating with their own day to day lives is a big part of making it real.

donquixotedelamancha · 05/12/2018 19:28

AIBU to think this is a bad idea to set to 11/12 year old? Yes.

The teacher doesn't care about what they are eating and won't be haranging them. The point is to teach them to analyse which food groups are in a diet and discuss how to improve the balance of the diet.

Just make it up if you are bothered.

I think it could be made more rounded so easily by looking at diets for different people (say an office worker, an athlete, a physical labourer, a young child, etc)

They do that too, in class.

corkandwood · 05/12/2018 19:29

I can see why you are uncomfortable with this. As some posters have raised from their personal experience, some children may be at risk of this activity triggering an unhealthy obsession.

And what RebelWitch said

madmum5811 · 05/12/2018 19:31

DS did this as part of his curriculum. Came home told me what I was to feed him for a few weeks. I did point out that broccoli, carrots etc. were available ditto chicken, fish, in fact healthy foods every day, he just did not like them and refused to eat them because he was faddy. Fast forward a few years, he eats them all .

Molakai · 05/12/2018 19:38

I agree with all posters saying education about healthy eating is vital, but the focus on recording their own diet with the prospect of sharing that information publically is not helpful. And for some of the most vulnerable students it is potentially damaging.

It doesn't matter if the teacher has no intention of getting kids to stand up and read out their diaries, the mere thought of that would be horrendous for some.

Those that have some awareness already will do as PPs have suggested i.e. make it up! So what would the point be?

Objective analysis of fictitious characters' diets is just as informative and allows individuals to reflect on their own experiences without the fear of the spotlight.

starfishmummy · 05/12/2018 19:39

She's 11? My friends and I could plan and cook a simple family meal at that age.

So yes, it's something she needs to learn

BlimeyCalmDown · 05/12/2018 19:43

YABVVVU

Godowneasy · 05/12/2018 19:45

Most children, including yours probably, become much more autonomous once they start secondary school, and are making independent choices about what they eat. It's the ideal time to make them more thoughtful and informed about what they choose to eat.
Don't be 'that' parent' that insists she doesn't participate in this topic!

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