to be annoyed that my dds school has been giving out certificates to children who bring in healthy packed lunches?

[spudmasher]

Today she took in a ham roll, four cherry tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber, some fresh pineapple and a small apple pie.

She was not given a certificate because she had the apple pie in her lunch!

When I was making her lunch tonight she asked me not to put a little cake in because it was unhealthy and she would not get a certificate.

I thought it was unreasonable to reward a child, or deny a reward on the basis of decisions made by the parent.

I also feel that six is too young an age to bear the responsbility of deciding what they should eat. Surely the child should be carefree and just trust the parents to know what is healthy?

I also thought that a little fat and sugar occassionally, will not be harmful to a child.

I also felt that they are encouraging children to deny themselves small pleasures - could lead to eating disorders imo.

Thanks. Feel better now.

Am I over reacting?

Have sent snotty e mail to school........

I'm confused - is it the crisp itself that does not decompose, or the packet container?

If it's the crisp - what on earth is in them that stops them decomposing - they're only potato, oil and salt...

If the packet - do they ban other things in packets?

Enquiring minds and all that.

How bizarre.

I did however get told off when I collected DD.

I (foolishly perhaps) believed her when she told me that other kids have cheese as their break time snack.

They do not. The fruit rule that I had been following was the right one it seems. (Although the TA was all for finding out if she could have cheese - told her not to bother, she is happy enough with fruit any other time)

Harpsi, o.k. it isn't white sugar...it's flour, but teh carbohydrates are simple carbs that will raise the bloodsugar as quickly as sugar does...that was what I meant with that statement.

MP...doesn't your childs school give them a healthy snack anyway...I know ours have snack time and they get fruit/raw vegetables for that....so, they don't go snackless.
Also, yes, kids need more fat (and I am one of those that does not go for low fat options...shudder...), however, it should really be more of the essential fat variety though...and anmal fats aren't in that category...however, I believe that low fat stuff is even worse...

Tiramisu, am with you completely
But shocked you use margarine...aparently Margarin would be black but is bleached/dyed or somehting like that and apparnetly it's only 1 component away from being Plastic....some real butter is much healthier me things...and certianly tastes much much better...well, the unsalted variety, I don't get the salted butter thing ( I am german, we don't do salted butter)....

Bandofmothers....I think Peanutbutter could be an issue, because of the raise in nut allergies....so, if they would be aware of a child suffering, I belief they do ask for all nuts to be banned at school (which is common sense)...hm Peanutbutter....I love Peanutbutter!

Rubberduck, but op's child was not stopped from eating the Pie, op's child just did not receive a sticker for a completely healthy lunchbox....
lol at that nutritionist thing....hm, chocolate itself is addictive due to the fact that sugar is an addictive substance, and well, there is plenty of sugar in chocolate..unless, of course you eat over 85% cocoa content one...
also interested in teh diabetis reference...as apparently caffeine makes us crave sugar....hm....

RnB...I think, sadly, few people realise the huge difference there is between homemade fresh Juices/Smoothies and most shop bought ones...urgh at flavoured water...shudder yuk shudder spit....I really can't stand that stuff....

Ghosty, love the nude food policy Sounds like a great way to discourage to much rubbish (the way ours handles this is, that children have to bring their rubbish home with them....so, not actually reducing the creation of it, lol)

aroline./MC dreamy...yes it is the parents who pack it, so, all teh more reasons to make sure you pack a good lunch without anything classed as bad food...then the child will get their sticker, etc...!

lol FMV...well...and why should you deny yourself that piece of cake...the obese person most likely isn't denying themselfs that treat ;) ( I do realise there are medical reasons why some people are obese...so, of course it isn't fair to generalise like that...but hohum)

Stickers for food = Wrong

actually, don't all jump on my head, while I totally take the point that your daughters lunch was healthy...in my kids school at least, tho maybe not in yours so maybe it is less appropriate for you, there are so many obese kids, who waddle around eating packets of crisps and coke and sherbert for breakfast, and you know, its not their fault at all, but their parents are unhealhty too, clerlay do not know any betterm and are instilling the same unhealthy bollocks into their kids, some of whom are seriously fat at only 6 or 7 years of age! That is clearly not within the child's control, but to some extent at least, is within the parents control. And for those kids, the certificats, well they are really good..they help them to learn, they encourage their parents to think before giving them a packet of biscuits for thier lunch, and i dont know, is it so bad that the crudeness of the police deprives a few kids whose parents already know what they are doing of certs, when it might be achiving the communication of an important message to kids who really need it?
don't lynch me. please!

policy, not police!
crude policy, not crude police!

Children shouldn't be excluding all fats or even all-but essential-fatty-acids. They should not eat too much unsaturated fat - so cakes, biscuits etc. etc. should be a treat, not a major part of their diet.

Some vitamins are fat-soluble - so if they have too little fat in their diet (low fat diet inc. skimmed milk, for instance) they will go short on essential nutrients.

Probably the best source of advice is the Food Standards Agency's Eatwell site which has info on different ages and stages and lunchbox suggestions. I know the FSA isn't beyond reproach when it comes to setting limits for food additives, but their nutritional advice is sensible.

www.eatwell.gov.uk

And concern about too much saturated fat only applies to older children, not toddlers, btw.

3andnomore

What lunchbox and general foods contain essential fats? (excluding nuts which my dcs can't have)

oily fish, avocados, check out the eatwell website.

psc, I just think there are much better ways to learn about healthy food than giving out a sticker.

seeds are also very good ...

crikey - the scheme worked though didnt it - one child who now knows what is super healthy and what isnt!

pointy, whilst I agree there are better methods , and education is the key....longterm anywya...but as a short term solution stickers surely are better then nutritionally poor lunchboxes (not suggesting, btw, that OP's lunchbox falls into that category)

no I don't think stickers aRE BETTER. oops

I disagree fundamentally with stickers and certificates as a food reward or (even worse) an attendance reward

very good website. Gives 4 week lunchbox planner with nutrional breakdown and cost.

Only lists oily fish, avacados, nuts, seeds and some oils as sources of essential fat, so not much to choose from really. Shouldn't girls only have 2 portion of oily fish per week ? The lunchbox menus on the website seem to average about 13g of fat each. I don't think that you could get this much fat through essential fats alone.

Vegans including vegan children don't have any animal fat in their diet, and can easily manage to remain healthy although they often tend to be leaner than usual

I think the nut allergy thing would be the problem for eating fatty foods at school, but if you have a good portion for breakfast or dinner you wouldn't need any other partic fatty foods IMO

beans, olive oil, etc, all useful sources of fat

no, I don't think you would be able to get that muhch just through essential fats...and I am not saying that all fat must come from essential oils...but of course there are better sources and not so good sources of any fat....

pointy, i know what you mean - its like rewarding the kids for the achivements of their parents, and nowhere is that clearer than in our school, where kids from deprived backgrounds are seriously in the majority, and initially i was very much opposed to trophies and medals for attendance, rewards for punctuality, healthy lunches, remembering PE kits etc, but it has worked, the kids are actually starting to teach their parents, and some of the parents who were previsouly late eveyr day, are really making the effort. it is working, the improvement are marked, and they are benefitting the children. so i had to eat my words and acknowledge tghat a policy i very much objected to, has actually benefitted those i was trying to protect from it.

Does anyone else think that the so-called obesity crisis has been partly prompted by our obsession with diets, good foods/bad foods etc. I mean, if kids are just left to get on with it, they do tend to self regulate what they eat. Telling them that certain foods are good or bad is a total recipe for disaster

devil, can see what you are saying and I do agree....p[roblem is, for a child to do this, they first have to have access to the whole range of foods...and, well, those parents that provide crisps and chocolatebar and sandwich as the daily lunchoption, don't provide a choice...and this system is meant to increase the variety they are getting...and I suppose "blanket rules" are just far easier to get through to people...

when i see an obese child, i want to shake their parents hard, and ask them what on earth they think they are doing. we had a helathy eating breakfast at our school one morning, there was muesli, yoghurt, croissants, home baked bread, juice, etc etc, all the things the middle class kids have for breakfast every day. And there was a child standing next to all this lovely food, looking at it, and clearly wanting some, she was offered some (it was all free) and her mum said 'na, she don't want none' and then took her about a metre away and poured sherbert into her mouth. Both mum and daughter are obese, with mobility difficulties as a result. i think it is just great that the school highlights that healthy eating is important, as is exercise. And that child, she has no control over what she eats, she doesn't do the shopping. But her thicko mum, she has complete control, and if her daughter starts putting the pressure on to have healthy food, walk to school more, etc, then that can only be a good thing.

well, those parents that provide crisps and chocolatebar and sandwich as the daily lunchoption, don't provide a choice...

I presume you mean me? Well im sorry if i cannot afford all the foods that "middle class" familys eat

All over a lunchbox? They have porridge or such like, egg and soldiers etc for their breakfast and meat and veg or homemade stews etc for tea, they do not eat unhealthy foods all day every day and i provide the best i can for my childen!!

OP YANBU its silly what they have done and im so sorry your dd has to go through what she has, i can imagine she was very upset and would have complained also

tHAnk goodness dd's school seems immune from this madness.The Head there was incandescent with rage because the free milk for the under 5's was changed to low fat without her knowledge.County Hall said it was because of the government targeting obesity in young children.She got rather stroppy with the powers that be,insisted,quite rightly, that there was not one single overweight child in the school.Lo & behold,the milk is now full fat again.

I had been considering a job as a dinnerlady at another school nearby,but if I have to spend my time checking lunchboxes & rating them on their 'unhealthyness',I'll not bother.