would really appreciate your thought (School lunch)

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Our school does decent with lunches. The one thing I don't like is I'm trying to get Annabelle to like plain milk at home, but she always gets chocolate milk at school. Regular milk doesn't stand a chance when chocolate milk is an option. When I was in school, chocolate milk was a special thing for Fridays. Also she gets PE daily, plus recess.
 
We have PE 1-2 Times a week and recess everyday, I think recess is very important probably as important as PE. because if they are playing they are usually exercising plus they are exercising in a way that is fun for them individually, as opposed to doing what a teacher tells you. I just wish this world would use the old fashioned idea of common sence where all of these issues come into play and first and foremost not try to parent children that arent yours, in other words let the teachers teach and let the parents parent. I know crazy concept.
 
Oh, man! This whole lunch food debate was the focus of my dream last night!!!!! I was right in there with you, lovindaysalways, doing battle with the school board! LOL
 
Fortunately, I have not had this problem. The only time I have been told what is required in lunches when sending them from home has been when my children were in Pre-K. The only reason for that is that Pre-K was a federally funded program and ALL lunches (even those from home) were required to meet certain standards in order for the program to receive the needed funds in order to continue. Anytime after pre-k was not limited. I was ok with that. Of course my kids wanted to take thier lunch but since I was already having to pay for the lunches along with the tuition for the program anyway, they went ahead and ate the school lunches.

I have no objections to them taking thier lunches now - if only they would remember to bring their lunch boxes home (they don't want the paper sacks, plus they also don't get up like they should so that I have time to pack them a lunch). I would be livid if I were forced to meet certain standards. I send my kids to school to learn. Let me worry about what they eat. If I want them to eat a "healthy" lunch as deemed by the school, they will eat the lunches provided by the school. Otherwise, I know what they are eating and am ok with it.

Secondly - I understand the not sharing food, but limiting what they can/can't bring b/c of other children's allergies is wrong. My children (even my 5 year old) understand that some people are highly allergic to certain foods and that is why they are told NOT to share food with anyone and to immediately wash their hands in case just the contact with the other child sends them into an allergic reaction. On the same token, the children with the allergic reaction should also be made aware of their situation and epi-pens, etc. should be left in the nurse's office for them. That responsibility lies with the other parents. One child/adult cannot control the environment all the time, especially when you are talking 300-400+ people sharing the same space.
 
deleted unnecessary quote.....JS

I have no objections to them taking thier lunches now - if only they would remember to bring their lunch boxes home (they don't want the paper sacks, plus they also don't get up like they should so that I have time to pack them a lunch). I would be livid if I were forced to meet certain standards. I send my kids to school to learn. Let me worry about what they eat. If I want them to eat a "healthy" lunch as deemed by the school, they will eat the lunches provided by the school. Otherwise, I know what they are eating and am ok with it.
 
the children with the allergic reaction should also be made aware of their situation and epi-pens, etc. should be left in the nurse's office for them.
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Amazingly enough, at the school my kids go to, the epipens are indeed left at the nurse's office. Still, we have all these restrictions for the allergic kids. Again, I do understand, but I wonder when and where this is going to stop. On a side note, I even went to a school in Vancouver (as a children's books author, I am often asked to visit schools everywhere in Canada), a little girl was allergic to... perfume ! Apparently I had sent her to the nurse's office because I WORE PERFUME !!!! :eek: Now, I am sorry this happened, but unless they find a way to treat this girl, she is going to have to walk around in a bubble. But no, I still got blamed... well, not blamed per say, but the people in charge at the school there told me "It was too bad I had to wear perfume that day !". Like I had a way of knowing !!!
 
That is where the school failed the child. Not you. They should have told you when setting up the visit or the teacher should have said something before ever letting the child in the same room as you. If it was their classroom, a sign could have been posted or something. That's the one thing that I love about the teachers that my children have had - they go the extra mile to make sure that signs are posted on the classroom doors and when sending notes home about upcoming events (trips, food parties, etc.) they ALWAYS make sure to include the allergies in the notes so that other parents can take the proper precautions when buying (or even sometimes preparing) the needed items for their classroom. I don't mind making the necessary adjustments for the classroom activities, but to limit my children because of one child in the whole school, who they may or may not come into contact with, is just not right either.
 
I do understand that chemical sensitivities and nut allergies can mean that the "victim" of such allergies really cannot be in the same room as the allergen. And, yes, signs need to be posted!!!!!
The church I used to attend in my former town had signs posted regarding chemical sensitivities: no hair spray, no perfumes, etc. Only fragrance-free body lotions/deodorants etc. A good friend has severe reactions to chemicals, and it takes her a LONG time to recover from exposure.
 
Ok, I will be out on a limb here, but have to agree a lot with the school. Milk or milk products are causitory in type 2 diabetes, has been linked to type 1 as well even when mothers breastfeed if the mother's diet has milk products in it, it is a proven fact backed by scientific studies. . Why don't people know this? Because the Dairy industry does not want them to. After a person is weened, they do not need milk, water is the only necessity.

I do not know what yogurt was taken, but many of the little ones in the cute little containers are loaded with sugar. Most kids would not eat yogurt that is plain, but if you want to give the kids yougurt, then use a plain or Greek yogurt, adding berries, or other fruits yourself. It will probably take the kids some time to adjust to the flavor. We have all been educated with our palates to prefer sweet tastes, some of this is ingrained within our DNA, but a good bit of it has been trained in us by the food industry. Even using artificial sweeteners wakes up this craving in us.

If you check with the stats, even our military is now worried that most of our generation of kids will be too fat and unhealthy to be of any use. Research is showing more and more that it is our diet that is the cause of many of our chronic diseases. I wish the government had been less enthralled to the meat and dairy industry during my growing up years. It took a lot of trial and error to make my taste buds adjust to what is a healthier diet for me

As to what to feed or pack for lunches, homemade soups of lentil, or vegetable that you can season yourself with spices homemade peanut butters with a bit of honey, fresh fruits, raw veggies with a hummus dip, but the foremost thing to do is ask yourself, If I know what I am feeding my kids now will make them sick ten or twenty years from now, would I be willing to change what I am feeding them now, even if it is inconvenient, or they may object for awhile?
 
I do feed my children fairly healthy but I dont believe in government having authority to tell me what Iam allowed to feed my children, Iam very old fashioned and believe that the parents should be allowed to raise their children how they see fit and I will never be ok with the school butting in unless it is an educational concern or a behavior concern that is happening at school, the school should leave parenting choices to me. But then again Iam a person who believes we were better off 20 years ago when children had some respect and because government has stepped in children are rude and unruly. ( sorry I don't mean all children ) but ever since government started telling parents what to do this generation coming up is a mess, they no longer have to do what their told and nobody can make them, that is what doing things by government standards has done for us so I HATE any situation where the government butts into my parenting, I think that unless a child is in real emergent danger the government should butt out.
 
lovindaysalways said:
I do feed my children fairly healthy but I dont believe in government having authority to tell me what Iam allowed to feed my children, Iam very old fashioned and believe that the parents should be allowed to raise their children how they see fit and I will never be ok with the school butting in unless it is an educational concern or a behavior concern that is happening at school, the school should leave parenting choices to me. But then again Iam a person who believes we were better off 20 years ago when children had some respect and because government has stepped in children are rude and unruly. ( sorry I don't mean all children ) but ever since government started telling parents what to do this generation coming up is a mess, they no longer have to do what their told and nobody can make them, that is what doing things by government standards has done for us so I HATE any situation where the government butts into my parenting, I think that unless a child is in real emergent danger the government should butt out.
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I also do not think the government should tell you what you have to eat, but it does not hurt for them to educate you on what is healthy or at least to provide the research details so you can decide for yourself. If people have the knowledge that foods like milk and meat are not foods that are the best for our longterm health, and are contributing to the horrible cost of medicine today maybe a few less people will fall victim to these illnesses. What I find the government has been lax in for at least 25 years is letting the meat and dairy, along with the processed foods industries dictate what was on that silly food pyramid thing. Now it seems that with Michele Obama's campaign on childhood obesity, more information is coming out. I have nothing but admiration for her for that.

Again, it is our choice. So the question is still: if we know that foods we give our kids today will make them sick in the future (diabetes, cancers, allergies, immune disorders) would you still feed them those foods? That is not the government deciding anything, it is our decision.
 
I understand where you are coming from stellasamifam and I understand the question that you are asking. Being informed leads to better decisions and actions/reaction. However, the government informing us vs the government deciding for us is two different things. The US govt or schools for that matter telling us what to feed our children is much like China telling their people they could only have 1 child per family. They are taking the parenting and parenting decisions away from the parents when the child is no where near neglected, malnoursihed, etc. I have no problems with the schools creating healthier lunches. But some of the lunches are less healthier than what I would pack for my children. What gives them the right to determine that a lunch from home consisting of a bottle of sweet tea or soda, packed with a salad, applesauce, and ham & cheese sandwich is less healthier than their provided lunch that consists of processed frozen chicken nuggets, corn, mashed potatoes, a cup (or spoonful) of pudding and carton of milk? A good portion of that right there is nothing but starches and provides little nutritional value.
 
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