School bans crisps and chocolate - (some) parents in uproar

[Clary]

here

What does everyone think?

Personally I wouldn't say a packet of crisps (or Skips, or Wotsits) and a chocolate mini roll constitute an acceptable lunch. But I have seen children provided with just that. Is that OK because it is their parents' choice?

I don't think that insisting on an apple in addition to that bag of wotsits every day makes it any healthier tbh. and also the dinner ladies don't enforce what the children eat in their lunchboxes, so that apple would probably still come back uneaten every day.

I personally also try to not give the message that chocolate (or whatever) is a treat, whereas apples etc aren't. (I admit this is a very difficult message to get across )

With regard to all those 'them' parents who put chocolate, crisps etc in children's lunchboxes and object to the ban: they are not necessarily doing it because they are ignorant and lazy. There might be resistance to the idea of 'wasting' extra money on healthy food their DC will refuse to eat, as well as feeling insulted, patronized and got-at.

pollyanna - my DCs know that if either the fruit or the sandwich come home uneaten, the 'extra' won't be there tomorrow. It's a simple rule and it works.

but the children having school dinners are not given a chocolate bar - they are given pudding. And as far as I'm aware biscuits and cakes aren't banned? so giving a cake instead of a bar of chocolate is equivalent to the pudding surely?

I do not see why children have to have chocolate or crisps, these are a treat surely and not part of a meal. There are plenty of other options, cake/biscuits of any number of varieties.

My ds takes a roll, some fruit, yoghurt and then a home-made cake or biscuit. He has never taken chocolate or crisps and he's never asked for them.

crazy as the school sells cakes

I used to put my sandwhiches in the bin and get someone else to chew at my apple when I had packed lunches, many years ago. If you start banning things kids'll find a way round it.

We aren't supposed to take chocolate as such. But Penguins and other chocolate biscuits are fine. Which seems odd.

" do not see why children have to have chocolate or crisps" of course they don't. Neither do they 'have' to have cake and biscuits if we are talking in purely nutritional terms.

Having been on the governing body when a primary school put a ban like this in place, I did have some worries about it as I felt most children would be likely to need more calories in breaks than they would eat in a piece of fruit or other allowed snacks. Dried fruit were OK which helped.

However, I do overall support this approach as it makes things really clear and straightforward and prevents teachers having to arbitrate constantly or inspect invidiual lunches. You could regard this as a lazy/cheap approach or as reasonably practical while respecting lunchbox privacy.

Children can have whatever their parents want them to have - at home and in their own time. At school, it's the rule. I don't really see too much of a problem.

I thought this was normal in schools.

My DS isn't allowed to take chocolate , crisps, nuts, or any drink, as water is provided.

well if people think banning chocolate and crisps is bad, ...

the other my day my friend who is a pampered chef consultant did a show, and she was showing an apple wedger which cores and cuts the apple into wedges. she was then explaining that she wedges the apple, pushes the wedges back together and then rraps it in clingfilm so it stays fresh in her dd's lunchbox. And the women then all said, "we're not allowed clingfilm or foil in lunchboxes because it's not reclycleable.". now that is nuts IMO.

LOL at the parent who thought Skips were OK cos they weren't potato crisps

My dc (3 boys) eat crisps every day. ds1 (15) has about 4 packets a day. He and his brothers are like bits of string wi' knots in. My friend has 2 girls, they are NOT not not allowed -crisps,sweets,chocs,biscuits,cakes. They are big girls, not fat but def. bigger, heavier (same height) than my boys. They have real problems with food, won't eat this, won;t eat that.

And I used to be a dinnerlady in a primary school - 1 girl used to come in with leftovers from last nights 'dinner' - chicken dinosaurs with curly fries, cold, smothered in ketchup. Beans as well sometimes

Not being fat doesn't mean you're eating a healthy diet. Which is one of the hardest messages to get across to children. The emphasis on obesity rather than healthy eating isn't necessarily a good thing.

blimey that's not on
thought it was a free country
and yes pepperami is supposed to be a heart attack in a tube
shows what they know

My kids get a sandwich, fruit, crisps, choc bar/chewy bar/cake (usually homemade cake) and drink. They are still hungry when they get home. We walk to school 20 mins each way, every day.

madamez why yes

my children are full of brown rice at home

so for lunch used to give them whatever they would eat to get them through the day with limit on chocolate due to teeth

i would get cross, but i do get cross quite easily

We dont have a ban on food at our school, but have to admit I dont see the sense in banning chocolate and yet serving chocolate fudge flan with chocolate sauce (on the menu for tomorrow).

Why should teachers inspect lunch boxes I just don't get it! A ban on fizzy drinks and sweets is as far as it should go -- they could will affect kids behaviour in class. Beyond that ..it's up to the parent. And I am a nutritional thumbscrew with mine. It should be up to the parents!

I get so mad with rules that basically say "we know better than you what's best". Especially when they don't, necessarily.

Blood pressure

DS1 is in year 2 and will eat most things. His lunch box consists of: Cheese or chicken sandwich, pure fruit juice, 1 piece of fruit, youghurt (not the type marketed at children but not a holier than thou organic one either) cherry tomatoes and a chocolate biscuit.
I feel if he eats fruit, sandwiches and yoghurt he deserves a treat, and when the school dinners at DSs school are home cooked on the premises using decent quality ingredients then and only then will I be dictated to as to what I can put in his lunchbox.

I'd be fuming.

Its ahrd enough to balance a diry free gluten free diet as it is- a pack of crisps or a GF cake (usually choccy stuff topped) often makes up the fruit / sa;ad / healthy part