AIBU to think this WAS a healthy snack.

[Bathsheba]

DD1 is in Primary 1. Her school aren't very strict on Healthy Eating (not as hugely strict as some places I've heard about) but they do have healthy school dinners (which DD1 has 4 days out of 5) and they have the rule of "Healthy Snack on Wednesday".

DD1 has 2 teachers - 1 does Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and the 2nd does Wednesday - so she only ever sees DD1's snack on Healthy Snack day.

My conversation with DD1 this morning -

DD1 - Mummy, whats for snack today
Me - Its Apple and Blueberries Angel.
DD1 - Is that a Healthy Snack Mummy, because its healthy Snack day
Me - Yes Angel it is, but you always have a healthy snack...
DD1 - I didn't last week
Me (frantically wracking brains) - You did Angel - trust me you Always have a Healthy Snack...
DD1 - Well Mrs S said it wasn;t healthy - it was cheese and crackers and Mrs S said that wasn't a healthy snack.

Now, am I wrong in thinking that 2 crackers with some cheese on it is a healthy snack..?? Most days she has fruit, but soem other days she has a carbohydrate snack - crackers, or some home made banana bread. She NEVER, since she started, has had sweet biscuits, crisps or "sweeties" for her snack....although Mrs S never sees her on any day other than a Wednesday to know this.

DD1's memory is fairly rubbish so I can only think that Mrs S must had fairly obviously pointed out to her that her snack was unhealthy on Healthy Snack day for ehr to remeber it a week later...

Is it worth sending a wee note in her message book to say apologies for the confusion, I thought cheese and crackers was a healthy snack but I'll ensure now that she ONLY ever has fruit on a wednesday.

I would say that it's healthy in that it's sugar free, high in calcium etc so ideal for a child. I expect the teacher was thinking of the high fat content of the cheese. So probably not a healthy snack for an adult but fine occasionally for a child.

I was so distracted wondering what an "Apple and Blueberries Angel" was that I took a while to pay proper attention.

However, having read your post again properly, I'm supposing that the fat and carbohydrate content in cheese and biscuits may move them out of the Healthy Snack category so far as Mrs S is concerned.

It's not worth a note though - just do fruit on a Wednesday to keep the food police teacher happy

that is healthy for a child, Mrs S is being OTT

Cheese and crackers is debateable as a healthy snack.....depends on the cheese, depends on the cracker. For example full fat cheddar on a cream cracker is not healthy, cottage cheese or low fat cheese on original or dark ryvita is! It's a minefield out there.

don´t send the note if you don´t mean it!

I mean, sending an apology to the school for sending your child in with cheese, WTF, is this an offence now?

People are mad and know nothing about healthy food.

Growing children NEED fat, they also NEED cholesterol....for them it´s good, for adults it isn´t. Carbs are good for children too.

Fruit is good for you, but not if you don´t ALSO eat carbs, protein (and dare I say it) some fat.

Yeah she is totally going on adult diets! It isn't really healthy or anything but it is unhealthy for a child!

it is definitely a healthy snack for child.

it has carbohydrate for energy, fibre, the right proportion of fat (children do have to have fat!), calcium, iron.

Yes it is a healthy snack! FFS children do not need low-fat food. Salt might be an issue I guess but not the fat.

If a child eats nothing but heaps of fruit it's going to be malnourished! For a start fruit is packed with sugar. Protein is important.

You can't look at a food item in isolation and label it 'healthy' or 'unhealthy', it needs to be looked at as part of someone's overall diet. If your daughter had had cheese for breakfast, a cheese sarnie for lunch and macaroni cheese for dinner then yes, cheese and crackers would have been an unhealthy snack that day. Mrs S is a prime example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

LOL at 'Apple and Blueberries Angel'

Cheese is not a healthy snack, IMO. In fact, cheese is so unhealthy (all that fat) that I buy very little of it.

I buy crackers for my DD, but makes sure they have the lowest salt content possible.

She loves them with thin slices of cheese - which as other posters have said contains fat and nutrients that children need.

If this was the case then I think that the teacher is being a bit heavy handed. If you sent in super salty crackers with hulking great lumps of uber-processed cheese then she wasn't. I'm assuming you sent in the former rather than the latter

I really dislike this idea that foods are "good" "bad" "healthy" "unhealthy". Different foods fulfil different needs, and the phrases "everything in moderation" and "a little bif of what you fancy won't do any harm" are sorely underused IMO.

For eg fruit is full of sugar and can be very acidic. Also not many calories. Appropriate and nice in some situations, not in others. Cheese and crackers salty, yes. But fat is not "bad" children need a bit of fat to grow especially if they are nice and active.

I woulnd't send a note to the teacher though. If you really want to check what was said and whether she wants you to change your snacks, then talk to her. If you just want to make a point, I would't bother. Just know that you are reasonable and don't give it another thought.

Small children don't need to be eating Ryvita and cottage cheese. Cheese and crackers is a perfectly healthy snack for children, they need fat and carbs to give them the energy they need to grow and develop properly while still being able to function properly. While fruit is good, it isn't when it's eaten at the expense of other nutrients and isn't the be all and end all of a child's diet.

To be honest, it's not even that bad for an adult as long as it is part of a balanced diet. There is far too much hysteria surrounding food nowadays.

I would not be worried about the fat at that age (kids need fat) - but I would check out the salt levels - I am guessing both would be quite high.

But not as snacks, unless they are underweight. Fat should be incorporated with meals (or else they will not satisfy) but snacks should be low fat - a banana or a piece of fresh bread is sustaining but not fat laden.

But, Bonsoir, Young children (particularly pre-school) need a high fat diet to aid brain development. mablemurple is spot on.

I keep rolling my eyes at the mother who brings in a stick of liquorice, on the grounds that it came from the health food shop. In my house that passes for sweeties!

I understand Riven, but your DD's dietary requirements are, very sadly, not those of someone expecting to live a full, healthy life. So hardly a guideline for the population at large.

This is not pre-school child - this is a Year One child.