Parents rebel against school ban on junk food

[Caligula]

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!

Well mojo I can go further and tell you that my school installed water towers and gave all the students water bottles which they are allowed to drink from during lessons - not anything else. This is because research has show a hydreated brain is a more effective brain for learning - they are finding out stuff about the brain all the time.

I am sure you are all aware of the benefits of fish oil supplements. How many more propgrams do we need on tv for people to get their heads round these type of issues re 'honey wer're killing the kids' and all of the latest statistics on childhood obesity and diabetes? get you heads out of the sand folks.

RANT OVER.

WORDS you are absolutely right - we have contracted caterers in our school who want to put on the menu what they know will sell well so there is definately a conflict of interests. There is much upset from older students when we have 'no chip' days etc and can cause probs. It is to the dismay of many teaching staff that they still sell such unhealthy stuff and overcook the veg.

I think its is wrong to dictate life choices to people but really some parents do not know what constitutes a healthy meal. Talking to a nutritionist the other day, she was telling me how she does cookery demonstrations in the community to teach certain groups on how to shop and cook for food and the extent of the problem.

I also ackowledge that I may have a narrower perception as I do teach in an area of high levels of deprivation - and this isn't sterotyping its a fact that many of our students do not have access to a decent meal on a daily basis.

In essence not all parents can be trusted to make positive choices for their child - from a schools perspective this does have an impact upon learning and that of others - would you rather those poorly fed/nourished children disrupt your childs future?

My DS's school provides water during the school day and also snacks of fruit, toast and cereal which the kids are allowed to access whenever they need to. This costs £1 a week and is I think much more effective than banning parents from putting snacks in the kids lunchboxes. They are also taught a lot about healthy eating.

Big Scaryeyes - no, but do you really think those same parents will then put 'healthy' food in the boxes that their kids won't eat? No. They will just eat nothing - and then fall asleep instead. You need carrots rather than sticks, I believe.

Your sons school sounds pretty sussed on the snack score. Point taken re 'those parents' but some may be swayed who's to say? I think the govern and LEA's like to be seen to be taking action. I'm not sure what sort of carrot would work with our student or with 'those' parents?

bigscareyeyes - are you me ?

No! WORDS ive thought about this some more: surely the carrot should be a healthy outlook for the future of their child - changing such attitudes though can take generations these are the same tough barriers that need to be overcome as the ones some parents have to learning and the value of qualifications (but I'll not get into that! ) But how to educate the parents about this who don't believe in education! - its a tough one. Maybe said parents should all be on 'honey we're killing the kids' and be made more accoutable as is with the case of truancy? I don't know - if we figure this out we should be worth a fortune! LOL

I know on a lighter not -maybe Tony B should employ MOJOMUMMY as a town cryer and distribute tesco vouchers that can only be spent on fruit and vegtables! Yes you can buy tesco value brocoli which is absolutly the same as the more expensive packaged stuff!

Seinsibly though One step in the right direction would be to get rid of contract caterers in school canteens and have them all run by the LEA's again. (Contract cleaners are just as bad too!)

yes, readily accept the role, providing I have one of those bull horns instead of a bell & can be REALLY strict !!

"In essence not all parents can be trusted to make positive choices for their child -... "

so you say to parents on benefits with three children - send in fruit for break and fruit for lunch - no chocolate and only bottled water.

homestly - i really think sometmes many many people dont know what life for some is like i truly believe this - and before i get the cooking brigade telling me how much you can make a healthy meal out of pulses for 2 pence let me tell you that you do what you can with what you have - and that maybe some big bloke from the prudential is looming heavily at your door asking for his 300% interest loan repayment.

but obviously the middle classes know better what to dictate to some parents.

the Govt have decided to ban 4x4's for people who never see a field. they have decided its for your own good. the govt have decided no driving anywhere within a 3 mile radius.

they know best of course.

there is no disputing the fact that if a kid ets a marsbar for lunch then its not good. but there is a principle of freedom of choice here.

talk about ruining education - if the govt were that fking serious they would put more mney in reduce class sizes increase teacher training - get decent school building - stop blaming the parents for failing education standards - becuase the kids wear hoodies, the kids have no respect, the kids dont eat properly.

the amount of paretns who simply " dont care " are a minority. most people try to do what they can with what they have. and i resoundly resent the implication that because people dont have the money or the education that someone who does have money and education knows "better" and in practise force feeds our children.

my children went to a junior school where they meditated before class to help with study and the calm the class after the hustle of the morning.

my children bought letters home telling parents the benefits of taking water into the class room and how it improves study. at no point did i get a "you will or else"

so i retain my position that if i make the sandwiches i decided what my child eats. if i give the child money they can chose from what the school canteen has to offer
or go to the local shop and spend it on sweets
or spend it all in the VENDING machines at school at break time - meaning they have no lunch anyway.

When I worked at HomeStart we had a family group on a Friday where we would provide the kids with snacks and a drink. We started out really keen- cheese cubes, grapes, banana- after throwing a few plates away went onto crackers with cheese spread, after about two months gave up and went for biscuits.

Why?

Well, apart from the limited budget of a charity (the scheme went under last year and has only 1 employee now from 5 at the time), the parents were not giving it to the kids. The kids- now they'd eat it, but the parents would be all 'yuck, so-and-so won't eat that' before said toddler had a chance.

We gave in once we found several Mums were not feeding the kids before (or in some cases after) group, and this was their ONLY chance to get ANY food inside them before evening.

How to educate those peopl? Not sure you can! I certainly believe in fruit and veg vouvhers replacing the next rise due in child benefit (there of course are a few parents who would trade them for cigs or whatever but you can't help some people). But there are other issues too: a lot of low income parents are stuck out on edge-of-town estates reliant on Spar / One Stop for their shopping: Spar and One Shop rarely sells a decent range of fresh fruit and veg. A lot of our parents without cars quoted this as a main issue. There's also the waste factor: if you have £25 a week for food and your child chucks the healthy stuff on the floor, it must be heartbreaking. If you're going to have to give them something else instead, which bill don't you pay?

Custy- similar posts crossed

HELLOCRUSTY yep agree 'those' parents are in minority but i will restate it only takes one or two students to absolutely ruin a carefully planned lesson. I did also state that i beleive in freedom of choices but some parents really do make poor decisions for their child. I never mentioned class directly but spoke of my knowledge and experience of my school. I would like to point out I may be a teacher now (which if you want to put me into a 'class' is a middle class profession) but I was raised in a single parent family situ as the result of a divorce on a council estate.

I still hold the view that 'some' parents need further support on such issues and it's not a question of saying such parents are bad parents or bad people they just need further guidance - how this guidance should be given/offered is a big question.

I refer to my earlier post whereby I stated that Iwork in an area of high levels of deprivation I did not refer to people on benefits.

peachyclair - read your post with interest sounds like you had a v tough job and must be frustrating - some of the reasons you cited from the parents are difficult circles to break in my opinion.

big scarey eyes i was refering to the subject as a whole rather than your post.

however i dont think saying i was raised on a council estate vilifies an argument of force feeding kids what a third party dictates.

some people should try bringin up kids on sod all money whilst mc people tell you " 5 a day" no shit genius....really! wtf am i gonna pay that with then?

incentives and education is the key not a metaphorical gun point and the 5 a day voucher is a genius idea.peachy clair.

the govt knows it is - Hence such funded programmes as sure start and home start and kick start and community workers. but the media therefore political benefit? zero. so they think up a new scheme retract funding leave communities in the lurch - get a big press campaign going again telling society that parents who are poor = bad. where do these people get off?

if your a community worker you know this is how they work and you do what you can in your 3 year funded post. waiting for the next spin doctor to come up with their bright idea.

i mean i was obviously refering to your post in the begining BSE but i didn't mean the whole post as a personal attack - is what i emant in my last post - no personal attacks. just middle class ones. love you hugs and kisses peace out xxx

They don't call her 'hellmouth' for nuthin'

Seriously, though, I see where you're coming from, hellmouth.

I'm not on benefits, but am working poor and very low income.

We used to live on an estate, and I have to say it was the saddest place I've ever lived, and that includes a lot of places in the developing world.

The isolation was a very real issue. We used to walk 1.7 miles to get to a decent supermarket - that was not served by a direct bus line. Other than that, the only other choice to buy food was a KwickSave.

I had a good education, and wanted to keep fit, so walking didn't bother me. But a lot of folks on there didn't go to that supermarket.

Custy, Love and peace, my arse !

I teach any number of kids who dine on mars mards and voke for breakfast and their parents can def afford to give them a proper meal....middle class even.

my two have own brand wettabix or porrage or teast for breakfast.....much cheaper than a quid for crap!

ever bought fruit form a co-op? i love the co-operative movement i do i love the principle but the fresh stuff is appaulling. thats wha serves us. one at the top of the street and one at the bottom. to buy fruit there would be to throw your money into the dustbin

lmao hmb, errr i have no defence.

i cannot believe the middle classes give their kids mars bars. - dont they have herbs ?

Maybe you can get herb flavoured mars bars now, Custy?

My kids have the same breakfast as mb's - right down to the own brand bit.

This is one of those, 'there are so many reasons for this probelm' problems.

One biggie is that lots of people don't know either how to cook, or what is 'healthy'

Added to that the poorest cannot access reasonable qulaity friut and veg....ie proelems with getting to shops etc, cannot afford to make the best of discounts

We need a big drive to teach good old fashioned Home Economics. Also to provide access to good quality food....I read about a scheme when fruit and veg was bought in bulk and the saving were passed onto people in deprived areas.

Hellmouth - whoooaaa!! No it doesn't villi thingy an argument but I just wanted you to know i didn't have some sort of middle class downer on people on benefits and low incomes type of view. Anywhay what do you suggest is the answer? I still feel certain constraints/standards should be adhered to as the benefits of decent effective lessons in classrooms outweigh any drawbacks.

Thanks for the post MARTIAN you know the score, and kids who havn't been fed that can't concentrate and the ones who try to sneakly eat their food during the lesson. (they are usually the ones without pens who ask 10mins into an activity to borrow one - now i know that will get some posts buts its bloody well true)

Parents should have the opportunity to observe their kids and lessons just to see what its really like and then they can understand where educationalists are comming from.

Fair enough feed them wot you can afford and reap the rewards later/or not. But i could spend ages on here recalling the amount of times i have been told to f-off for confiscating a drink or sweets or for trying to stop older students sneaking out at break time to local shops -- OOOOOOHHHHHH the list is endless incidents such as these take up a lot of school time and stop us doing what we are trained to do

Porridge Oats and Apples for all SO THERE!!!!

i think the government should provide school uniforms in the shapes of vegetables. yes indeedy. for free our children can BE the advertisements for healthy eating.

the teachers each week would wear a simple recipe on their back.

and instead of "houses" you can have groups by colour, or dominant vitamin.

..."miss one of the carrotts is fighting with a sprout, please miss the tomatoes gonna get involved and we know what hes like!"