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

87 replies

Clary · 17/01/2008 12:53

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?

OP posts:
Clary · 18/01/2008 23:13

psychomum I can't agree with that. I bought a box of smart price tomatoes at sainsbo's the other day, 50p or so for about 10 tomatoes, that's 5 days' worth of playtime snacks for my DS1. How much would 5 packs of Wotsits cost?

(I have no idea tbh but I'm guessing 30p/pack x 5 = £1.50?)

BTW in the staff room at our school (which is not the school in the newspaper I feel I should add) biscuits are banned lol.

OP posts:
BITCAT · 18/01/2008 23:15

I don't agree with giving fizzy pop to young children and certainly not for school(mine generally have juice, water or milk) and fizzy pop as a treat at xmas. But i think everything in moderation, 2/3 packs of crisps a day is not good but i think 1 pack per day along with proper sandwiches, pasta, fruit of some description, a yogurt, carrot sticks a good healthy lunch along with a small treat say a biscuit or 2, or i tend to make my own cakes and i would usually put one of those in. They do need a little of everything in there diet. I do object to being told what to put in my childs lunch as long as they not getting a bag full of crap, (sweets a definate no no). I am really getting sick of all these stories about kids tv stars promoting fast food, people talking about banning tv ads like macdonalds because of children watching, it's a parents responsiblity to make sure there children eat a good diet and not to be pressured into buying macdonalds whenever the children say so, these are ment for the odd treat say 1 every couple of mths. We are the parents we are in control not the children so stop blaming tv ads for our inability to say no..sorry about the rant but it really gets my goat!!

BITCAT · 18/01/2008 23:30

I don't agree that healthy food is more expensive than the crap...if you know where to shop you can get lots of fruit and veg as cheap as the bad stuff, asda great value fruit and veg, local market stalls good also!! We let the shopping slide a bit over xmas and we were buying a lot of crap food but now we are in the new year i've started a new health kick that we all have to stick with and i noticed a big difference in price of my shopping, was spending £35 per week at iceland and £70 in asda on the crap food now i'm buying lots of fruit and veg it's like £25 at iceland and i only spent £40 in asda big difference!!

psychomum5 · 18/01/2008 23:32

clary.....fair point. BUT, you and I are educated enough to know that these foods are good AND can be cheap if you know where to look.

I find markets and greengrocers incredibley cheap compared with even supermarket fruit and veg, but again, I have learnt this and used the info to my advantage.

what saddens me tho, is that so many of the 'bad' foods (ie, crisp/choc/biscuits etc) are often on special offer AND they have the advantage of not spoiling quickly.

see, another problem with the fresh.....it may be cheap to buy, but if it isn;t eaten quickly it spoils and so if you are constantly throwing it away, it can feel like false economy to buy it IYGWIM.

I feel that should other schools take on the 'make lunch boxes day', it could be a positive way of enforcing good habits without the 'nannying feeling' coming into play.....do you get what I am trying to say??

I also feel that should more mums MAKE homemade more, rather than being able to buy ready made value cakes so cheaply (less than 40p for a cake IIRC), then at leas that would be a way of knowing what your children are eating, rather than all the preservatives etc that are in ready made food.

Clary · 18/01/2008 23:40

psychomum I think we are agreeing here.

It's all about education isn't it. I guess we all find it depressing that a mum thinks a choc spread sandwich on white bread is an OK lunch and the skips are OK even fi crisps are banned (wtf?)

I suppose this rather heavy handed ban is the only way the school can take action. But I agree that education is better for everyone, now and in the future.

Got very depressed by piece in paper recently following a woman on a diet - that night's meal was fish with veg or something - she says "Oh, all the family could eat it, I just had to replace the steamed fish with fishfingers for the kids"....

(Caveat: I don't mind fishfingers, quite partial to them myself now and then, but why can't children eat some steamed fish?)

OP posts:
BITCAT · 18/01/2008 23:41

I agree about making more homemade stuff i never buy cakes and i have never bought pastry either i enjoy making from scratch but some mums that work full time may not have the time to make there own!! And you are right the crisps and choc bars are always on offer in supermarkets say buy one get one free, or 3 for £2

psychomum5 · 18/01/2008 23:52

lol about the fishfingers comment.

I love fish, and my kiddies bar DD2 do also.

but MY version of loving fish is steamed salmon and seafood mixed with pasta, but the children will insist upon tuna with their pasta (we go thro soooooo many tins of tune a week!), and fishfingers when I have the salmon.

I tho, as a child, remember HATING salmon and seafood, but as a teen, my tastes changed. (they aslo changed when I learnt how to cook them properly tho, as my aunts skills {she bought me up}, were rather lacking in the cooking dept. she was not goodbeing a icky face!).

I am finding that the constant offering of said food means tho that my children are willing to try, even if they do prefer the 'less strong' fish. altho, as an aside, my DS2 prefers his fishfingers 'peeled', so am silently praying that when he is re-offered steamed fish again he will have learnt his tastes properly.

but yes, it is down to educating in a positve way about food, as the current way of force is alienating and will only manage to backfire with parents rebeling and how is that helpful? it isn't.....the parents will sadly ruin their childrens health for the sake of "I'LL raise my kids any damn way I please thankyou very much" mentality!

expatinscotland · 18/01/2008 23:53

banning never works.

it just makes the banned object more desirable.

psychomum5 · 18/01/2008 23:55

succinct and to the point expat.

banning never does work......banning me from MN for instance (like DH is threatening), just makes me MORE determined to spend time here!

lennygrrl · 19/01/2008 00:14

Message withdrawn

lennygrrl · 19/01/2008 00:16

Message withdrawn

Scramble · 19/01/2008 00:35

I was in our school today, paying money in the office. big sign on the wall say

"NO CHOCOLATE OR CRISPS"

not sure if this is meant for the kids or the office staffs new year diet .

No notes home and DC have had chocolate fingers and choc chip cookies in with their lumch. Maybe I should send in a giant bar of toblerone as a test????/

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