to think that my DSs should be allowed to eat what I give them at breaktime?

[lonelymom]

My DSs school seems to have an unwritten rule that they are ONLY allowed fruit at breaktime. Problem is one of my DSs only eats bananas unsupervised. Any other fruit and I have to stand over him saying 'Git it down yer throat NOW!'. Anyway as his bananas have been coming home uneaten and bashed (even though he has a 'bananaguard' being the height of coolness that he is) I started to give him 'schoolbars' and apple crisps but he is coming home saying that his teacher will not let him eat them and he has to put them back in his bag . Now come on - these are a form of fruit , they contain lots of fruit anyway. I am furious about the apple crisps as these are essentially dried apple slices dipped in lemon juice. I have spoken to his teacher about this a few times and she has said that it's OK so I don't know what the hells going on. This nanny state we live in makes me bloody angry. I am a grown adult who should be able to decide what my kid eats!! If I want to give him a Mars Bar, I should be able to, fgs. By the way, my other DS (in a different class) gets to eat his.

well...i was wondering that msH...so, you are not a sociasl worker then...so, why make a point of it to misinterprete your position...possibly...
if someone says in this kind of argument that they should know (basically) than they are working the fiels, otherwise, why mention it?
I do work the field....in a nonregualr basis, I work wiht youth that are in a resenditial care setting, due to their behaviour and situation...and I also live where I live observing what I observe...

the issue is that you try to underpin your argument by saying you are working for SS....leaving it open what you do, therefor ppossibly mis-representing SS....

Oh, come on, FairLady. I don't have a problem with a recommendation about having fruit. It's the banning of anything else when the food is supplied by the parent.

I'd just like to see them try to force teachers to only bring fruit in for snacks. I'd be interested to know how many correspondents on this thread would agree to that. AbbeyA?

I do know what people can be like. Experience, in life and at work, has taught me that allowing people self-determination (whether in choice of snacks or more weighty matters) works better than regimentation. Taking decisions entirely out of people's hands demotivates and de-skills them (children just as much as adults). I'm shocked that anyone would think that working in social services would incline me towards forcing people to follow rules instead of exercising their decision making capacity.

I misrepresented nothing, FairLady.

does it though...I know it can work in a less regimented way, but it depends of the group you are aiming for if that will work....

thing is, no one was saying don't give your child whatever...people were saying that is the schools ruel you agreed to it, thereofre you stick by it....

anyway, if you give packed lunch you rpobably have far more free range in that...as long as you offer a good mixture...there is still nothing wrong wiht a just fruit rule at lunch, tbh

so...what are you? You culd be the cleaning lady for your local ss deparetment, not that thetre would be anyhting wrong with that, but it would not give you the proffessional knowledge of the issue...

No one would have to force me to bring in fruit! It is the only thing I take in! What is so wrong with fruit? I am quite happy to have fruit only in the staff room-especially if supplied free.

I am an OT, FairLady. Don't know if that sheds any light for you or not.

Have to disagree. I see a lot wrong with having a fruit only rule when the food is supplied by the parent. And if the school has the rule before your child goes there (and if, like me, you believe in sending your child to the local state school) you cannot be said to have "agreed to it".

AbbeyA, "I am quite happy to have fruit only in the staff room-especially if supplied free" - my whole issue is about fruit being mandated but NOT supplied free. If it was free I would not have a problem with it (as I believe I made clear earlier).

It would, surely be the height of hypocrisy for the teachers to accept free fruit but insist that parents had to pay for it for their children?

And once and for all, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH FRUIT.

You are agreeing to all the rules of the school before you send your DC there! Schools are very proud of their Healthy Schools Awards, they are framed and on display-it is beyond belief that a new parent appears and says "I'm not doing it-I will send whatever I suits me"!
I am usually the person having a go at those who ban sweets,shudder at the thought of custard and think rice cakes are suitable party food but I find this thread utterly bizarre! The argument is mad: "I don't want my DC to have fruit-I want the freedom to give my DC junk"!!
It is all rather pointless-if the school has the policy it will remove the snack from your DC. I don't see what you can do about it, apart from looking pretty ridiculous if you create a fuss. The whole thing is petty-save arguments for things that matter!

MsH, that clears that up indeed
(I better be nice to you ...never know I might need to pick your brains, you see....have just started on my OT degree....you see....)

Message withdrawn

AbbeyA - you are totally missing my point (I am the original poster). My gripe is that schools (aka the 'State') are putting petty rules in place to dictate how parents bring up their kids. Therefore all the people agreeing that this is OK are accepting that they are crap parents and need to be told what to do! I have nothing against fruit and would not send my kids to school with a choc bar, infact my other 2 kids (like rubyloopys) love fruit and were brought up on advocado and banana smoothies etc. As for you saying that I agreed to the rules before I sent my kids there - what a load of shite - it is our local state school and I am hardly likely to send my kids to a school 3 miles away because they can't have a schoolbar. My kid should not be left hungry and made to feel as though he has done something wrong because he had a bag of dried apple instead of a fresh one!! Bloody small minded people make me sick.

I don't really agree with these sanctions but if he was really hungry he'd eat the fruit wouldn't he? I sort of think they ought to all eat the same thing rather than pander to individual likes and dislikes BUT the school should provide the snacks if they are being so pinickety.

They should say NO food brought onto the premises and then supply all the food. The current situation is bloody crazy. You could sneak apple crisps through the railings

Rebelmum1 - can you explain why it is wrong to 'pander to individual likes and dislikes'. Kids are individuals arn't they? So they should wear the same uniform, eat the same things - how about girls having the same length hair (no more that 10 inches!) and boys should have No 1s (to prevent the spread of headlice). Oh, and they should all have the same school bags and coats as well, so no one has anything better than anyone else. Bloody sheep in this country would accept that too!

Kids can be so picky about food, my dd likes something one day and doesn't like something the next. If she doesn't like something that is good for her I don't replace it I keep giving it to her and she eventually eats it and likes it. I'm conscious of kids being treated differently because my dd has intolerances I'd rather she could just eat what others eat rather than be singled out. Although i do know it's more common these days.

FairLady, best of luck with your degree :-).

AbbeyA, are you deliberately missing the point? THIS IS NOT ABOUT FRUIT. You admitted that you would happily accept free fruit for teachers at work (I doubt the taxpayer would stand for that, though). I would happily accept free fruit for my dd at school (once she goes to school). I merely object to the idea that the school should insist that I ALWAYS ONLY provide her with fruit. I would object just as much if it were something else specific they were insisting on.

Why should my dd and I not have a free choice as to what snack she takes to school if we are paying for it? It's the principle, not the fruit I am objecting to.

I'm surprised that, as a teacher, you would encourage the mute acceptance of blanket rules. Rules, like laws, if wrong, should be challenged. No?

I disagree with pandering to likes and dislikes BUT I do actually agree the policy to sanction what parents provide is ludicrous and if the school are so strict and pinickity they should provide the food rather than police snacks. We are increasingly living in a nanny/police state, and this isn't what we pay taxes for. As far as I'm concerned the school should be concentrating their resources on education NOT policing parents eating habbits..

I would not comply I'm afraid I so hate being told what to do.. do any other parents feel the same?

Maybe you should band together

The trouble with not complying with a rule like that is that it could be the dc who takes the flak. I'm not sure what I'd actually do - it's still hypothetical for me. I hope it doesn't arise, tbh. I'd really hope that sense would prevail.

In fact, I think there is a policy to provide free fruit in primary schools in Scotland. Unfortunately, I have heard anecdotal evidence that much of it goes uneaten - which I suppose is why I think that action to address eating habits has to be much more sophisticated than a pompous "fruit only" rule.

Yes that's true, I would be bending the ear of the head, it's easy to make the rule in the comfort of your office ..