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Original poster

Parents rebel against school ban on junk food

197 replies

Caligula · 17/10/2005 17:27

I decide kid's lunchbox

Had to share this with you. My DB was telling me about this earlier - a friend of his works in the school concerned and the reason they've banned juice etc. is because there's too much room for confusion with fizzy, sunny D and other e-numbered shite. The paper version of this newspaper had a big splash about their kid's yuman right to eat crap but apparantly, no information about how their human right to be educated can be seriously affected by them eating shite. Hilarious!

OP posts:
Gobbledispook · 17/10/2005 18:34

I don't drink water. In fact dh brought a glass of water to bed the other night and I drank some - I nearly wretched. Yuk! Hate the stuff.

But anyway, I've done that old debate before!

gigglinggoblin · 17/10/2005 18:55

i know he will drink it eventually spidermama, but he will not drink it until he is desperate. and then he will wait until he is desperate again until he has another sip. believe me, i have tried! and i dont think a dehydrated child will learn much better than one pumped full of e numbers. one way to get round it would be for school to supply the drinks at cost price and otherwise the option is water

alux · 17/10/2005 19:02

I've seen a parent lurking at the school gate shortly before lunchtime, McD in hand, waiting for DS to 'come and get it'. And this morning, a chubby teen walking in at 8:20 am with a bottle of Coke in his hand.

hunkerpumpkin · 17/10/2005 19:04

I'd not have a problem with fresh juice at lunchtime (the article doesn't say juice, it says "a soft drink" btw - makes me think it was a Scummy D-type drink). Think children should have access to water throughout the day too.

We used to have water jugs and cups, right through school. I love water, DS loves water - it's pretty much all he sees me drinking (although he can imitate a fizzy drink bottle being opened ). He has had three sips of juice ever, and milk otherwise - that's not me being holier than thou, it's just that we don't tend to have juice in the house and it wouldn't occur to me to give it to him if I was having water. Squash is the work of satan to me - I hate the taste

GDG, really interested, what does water taste of to you? To me, it tastes of nothing, but it quenches my thirst beautifully.

Gobbledispook · 17/10/2005 19:21

Mine have fresh juice with water in or milk. They don't have squash, sunny D or anything like that.

Manchester water tastes like soil - it's gross.

oops · 17/10/2005 19:35

Message withdrawn

Gobbledispook · 17/10/2005 19:41

I must admit, I'm terrible and I don't drink enough at all - I just drink fresh juice or tea or wine!!! If I'm really thirsty I might have a squash or water down juice but not water on its own cos it's horrible.

SoupDragon · 17/10/2005 19:43

I agree that only water or pure fruit juice should be allowed with a packed lunch. It's not difficult for a school to remind parents that Sunny-D, Fruit Shoots etc are not pure juice.

LilacBump · 17/10/2005 19:44

when i was in nursery and primary school we got milk, tea and coffee to have with our sandwiches. in secondary school we got coca-cola, fanta or sprite in a glass bottle. but i freak out about what my DD might drink with rubbish in it.

Gobbledispook · 17/10/2005 19:45

Does anyone really think Fruit shoot is pure juice?? I think I've got a warped perception of what other people think! I've lead a sheltered life

Mytwopenceworth · 17/10/2005 19:48

Isn't it sad that the government feels that there are such a significant number of parents who are so bad at the job that it has to step in and make parental choices on their behalf in the first place?

Original poster
Caligula · 17/10/2005 19:48

I don't understand how a child can get to a stage where s/he won't drink water when s/he's thirsty, unless the people who have been in charge of his or her drinks have given him or her juice all the time.

OP posts:
jac34 · 17/10/2005 19:52

I would love it if my DS's school banned crap from lunch boxes.
It is banned from snack time ie, no crisps, chocolate,sweets,etc only milk or water allowed to drink. However, if a child takes a packed lunch crisps and biscuits are allowed.
I am constantly told by my kids that so and so has crisps/biscuits in their packed lunch, and that it is allowed.
If they banned crap from lunch boxes,then the rest of us parents who put healthy things in our kids lunch wouldn't come under so much preasure to feed our kids crap!!
OOh!!It makes me so annoyed

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 19:53

I rarely drink water myself, although I know I should I don't think it is that big a deal. I will certainly try and get both myself and dd to drink it but I certainly wouldn't be happy with a school telling me she can only have water.

I agree with frogs.

colditz · 17/10/2005 19:54

How can you prove, if a drink is in a flask, whether it is pure orange juice watered down, or squash?

and if you ban sending a flask of juice, you put the poor kids whose parents won't stump up for juice boxes (HA! me) at a disadvantage. Only the more affluent parents will cough for those boxes. I won't as it is cheaper and as healthy to pour some of a big carton into a container.

SenoraPostrophe · 17/10/2005 19:54

lol at this thread.

I think the "rebelling" parents are being rather unreasonable, and selfish to be quite honest. junk food quite obviously has a direct effect on the school's ability to teach and I'm v glad that it is being banned in some places.

But anyway, if you think that's bad, this is dd's "breakfast" (mid morning snack) timetable - i have to send the right thing on the right day:

Monday: peeled fruit
Tuesday: sandwich made with proper spanish bread (they won't learn to chew properly on that poncey english stuff apparently)
wednesday: yoghurt or cheese
thursday: cake, biscuit or juice (I usually rebel on thursdays and send a biscuit AND juice)
friday: free choice.

how do you lot fancy that?

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 19:54

Plus, I love crisps and I am not at all overweight! Everything in moderation.

stitch · 17/10/2005 19:56

this thread is just a kids version of juice versus water.

well done school. keep up the good work. its having to fight generations of parents brought up on the juice, not water thing. and its taking a stand. excellent.

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 19:56

I also managed to learn just fine at school and behaved almost perfectly!

hunkerpumpkin · 17/10/2005 19:56

I love that MN has nicknames.

"I agree with frogs" is not a sentence you'd hear in RL, is it?! Not unless you wanted to be carted off to the funny farm

"I think the amphibians have a point" - sorry, serious tangent.

Er...trying to get it back on track - GDG, do you drink mineral water? Or sparkling water (I think fizzy water is horrible nasty stuff!)?

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 19:57

I agree with hunkerpumpkin.

SenoraPostrophe · 17/10/2005 19:57

but weesaidie, excess junk food DOES affect behaviour and you can't exactly have a "junk food in moderation" rule can you?

hunkerpumpkin · 17/10/2005 19:58

I think that parents should be allowed to send junk food in on Fridays and then they should take turns to teach the classes on Friday afternoons

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 19:59

But that is exactly what I do have!

However I know that you couldn't have that at school. I just think that not allowing juice is taking it too far.

Parents need to be educated.

weesaidie · 17/10/2005 20:00

Although obviously not you lot!