Mothers buy chips to get around schools healthy eating

[Blandmum]

I have just heard in the radio that some mothesr have been boycoting a schools healthy food initiative.

They have been taking orders from the kids, going to the local chippy, and taking food trollys of junk food round to the children at lunch time.

Oh FFS!

Taking out of the equation those small numbers of children who have special needs issues with food, what the fuck do these women think that they are doing?

How do they think this will help the children or the school?

hi this is redbull here as i said on my thread on SN even children WITHOUT SN no one has the right to tell you what to feed your kids, i think as my partner said the goverment have got their priorities wrong, its not as if we have an obesity rate same as america if we had a NT child i would not sit their force feeding them healthy food, as a child i was a very fusy eater and as i got older i have changed the way i eat if my parents had pushed food and healthy food upon me i would still have a problem now but as they didnt make an issue with food.

the whole point my dp was trying to make is their is a drug problem within our schools and shouldnt that be tackled first before they start on food??

fluffycharlottecorday, I do take your point that parents on a tight budget should be determined to do their best for their children, and that is part of good parenting, but food has such strong emotional connotations.

Food is more than just fuel - its comfort, pleasure and love. And a lot of cheap, plain healthy food is IMO dreary. Baked potatoes, plain salad etc might be good for you, but it's all a bit unappetising minus the salad dressings, toppings, sauces, french bread sticks, nice cheese - and these are more expensive. And eggs might be cheap but you aren't suppposed to eat them in great quantity.

For a family under heavy financial stress food is one cheap way to add enjoyment. If you can't afford to take your kids out and about much, you can at least give them food they like. In that position if I was told from on high (probably by someone with a food shopping budget many times my own) that it's wrong for me and my family to take pleasure from a plate of greasy chips, I would be really riled.

I do see your point, so far, redbull.

the trouble is that I am working with kids who's diet is do poor it is adversly affecting their behaviour and ability to learn. And at that point, it does become the schools probelm.

We had to exclude a child last year for violence, after drinking three cans of red bull (soory! ) in one day.

We see NT kids being sent to school with a mars bar and a can of coke for breakfast.....this isn't because they a picky, this is because their parents can't be arsed.

I have worked with kids who cann't (at 15-16) eat with a knife and fork, because they only eat with their fingers at home. NT kids.

It is getting to the point where these kids will not be able to fully function because of their poor diet.

I honestly do feel that children with asd need to be taken separtly from all of this, for totaly valid reasons.

I also feel that they would benefit is the other kids in the class were not pinging off the walls full of junk food an E numbers.

I remember well teaching a boy with ADHD. He would sometimes drink blue Panda pop, and what it did to him was unreal, cruel, and harmful. Once the school banned the bloody things his behaviour improved beyond measure. Don't get me wrong I'm not blaming the kid in this....he was a kid and couldn't be expecetd to know better. But the school could, and did. Were we wrong?

but surely chips are (quite) a lot of effort though?

I know the argument you're making tigermoth, but have never fully understood it. if you're going to go to the effort of putting the chip pan on, then there are all kinds of good things you can make for the same effort and very little money: stews, soups, vegetable bake type things etc. Now if we're talking oven or chip shop chips then that's not the cheapest available food is it?

anyway as for those women: I was seriously considering moving to sheffield last week. this has put me off.

sheffield sp - quite a change!

As for chips (or nuggets, or fish cakes) there are also the oven cook ones, and beefburgers, sausages etc just need to be fried.

redbull do so agree
Food is important but I think they should address the bigger picture first

The effect bad food is having on our children is a huge issue IMO. The big health crisis of the next 20+ years is brewing. Rising rates of diabetes, then heart disease, not to mention behavioural problems. It is going to cost the nation a fortune. And it is something we could do something about right now. What our kids eat is not some minor issue. Did anyone see the report I linked to showing that you don't necessarily SEE the signs in primary school children that they are being put at risk of heart disease, but they are terribly at risk.

In the original series Jamie Oliver saw a gastroenterologist who was dealing with children who's bowels were totaly impacted by chronic constipation. Now I know there can be physical reasons for this...CF and other conditions, but in these children it was because of their horrific diet.

Drugs and alcolhol are a problem, but so is food.

Schools are not selling drugs and alcol, but they have been selling crap food.

My boys have just moved up to Junior school.Last year they had a tuck shop at the school,I was not looking forward to being nagged for money to spend in the tuck shop,as I usually send them to school with a piece of fruit for their break.

I was very pleased when they came home on their first day,they said the government no longer allowed the tuck shop and for the whole of this term the school was providing FREE fruit,for anyone who wanted it at break time.

yes, ks. but we were also put off by the size of the place. I think I might be a small city/town person. still, we've got over a year to make our minds up.

In the Yorkshire Post today, they had an interview with these mums and their main argument was that the school was charging £3.50 or so for a piece of pizza and a piece of fruit, which was much cheaper from the sandwich shop...is this likely to be right? DS is at a (Yorkshire) school where the meals are included but sounds a lot!!
Does sadden me, I am a long way from being part of the food patrol, but I do think it matters! I'm angry because some parents are giving their children money for school meals but these women are selling them fatty foods. Surely nobody can think excess fat every day is OK???

The heath minister was on the radio last week saying obesity was a class issue which surprised me, as that is a huge generalisation but IMO these two aren't helping that generalisation.

Those women are NOT from Sheffield. They're from Rawmarsh, near Rotherham.

I saw this on TV this morning and initally though that it was a new sketch from Little Britain !!

On a serious note however these women were also saying that the school did not have the facilities to fed the children properly and there was not enough time for all the children to have lunch.

Howver the way they have gone about it is , as we seem all to agree, totally wrong.

I also blame the school and local council for letting this happen anf get to this state. I doubt very much that this has happened suddenly in last couple of weeks and was probably coming to a head at the end of last term .

I feel sorry for the kids involved and the parents whose kids are entitled to free school meals but whose kids are still forking out money for lunch. Daylight robbery by these women !!!

The Head of the school needs to answer some questions !

little madam, that sounds like an awful lots.

I don't know the school in question.

I do know that in our school canyeen you can get a huge bowl of mixed salads, green, cous cous etc and a small bpwm of fresh fruit salad(melon, pinapple, apple and grape in fruit juice) for £1.60.

A ham salad bagette is 80p

I think that these women are as much offended by the idea that what they think is OK to feed their children has been questioned - as they are by the new school meals, TBH.

Fish/sausage and chips every so often.....fine, IMO.

Every day? Not fine.

In my children's secondary you can get a meal and drink for £1.70 ish. I thought schools had to provide a meal to this value as it's the amount children on free school meals get to spend.

If my children were at this school I'd be furious. If they want to feed there own kids chips everyday that's fine, but encouraging others isn't on.

Can't wait to see how much weight that have put on over the next couple of weeks. Does anyone know the school in question ?

The mother alos said , I think thsi may have been in the paer, that her kids also get a cooked meal at home, but I can't imagine that its salmon steak on couscous !

Do these women think they are really doing their kids no harm !! .

As I say, I think that these women are P*d off because their idea of good food has been questioned.

The school should:

1. Make sure that all children (whether on free meals or not) can afford to eat. How much does a jacket spud with cheese and veg. cost? FGS.

2. Make sure that the school fence where these women hang out at break times is 'out of bounds' to the children.

I wonder if the school could get an injunction against them?

'Crisp-Pushers?'

ks, please don't think I was having a go. SenoraP said she was thinking of moving to Sheffield and was put off by this article, that's all. I just wanted to point out that the Sheffield Star website covers a wider area than just Sheffield...

Returning you to your thread......