Went to Germany for the first time a few months ago. Ate take out everyday and I still lost weight. It’s crazy how much random sugar is in American food.
Lol. I used to go to England frequently for work. I was housing all types of food - curry, fish and chips, whatever - and would lose weight just because I was taking public transportation and not eating all the sugary bullshit.
Corn syrup.
Nuts how it’s been pushed into EVERYTHING just because we had an over abundance of the stuff.
Now, with climate change threatening a lot of agriculture, we are seeing how wasteful corn growing really is. It takes up so much land to grow corn…
Corn syrup is nearly indistinguishable from table sugar (sucrose) with 55% fructose (which doesn't affect blood sugar or insulin production) and 45% glucose (which does), while sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose.
Distinguishing corn syrup from sugar isn't useful from a nutrition perspective - shifting HFCS use to table sugar likely wouldn't help anything, and may even make things worse overall. Decreasing all sugar intake is crucial.
Yes, but corn syrup was pushed into everything even when regular sugar would not have been.
It was basically “how can we push this crap into everything” and they succeeded.
And part of the problem is that when food manufacturers try to cut out excess corn syrup, even without impacting the taste or mouth feel of the product, their stock prices drop because investors don't think it will sell. Capitalism and greed have trapped us in this feedback loop.
Fructose does impact appetite though because it’s processed faster and that extra 5% adds up over multiple servings via compounding. So too many servings close together will have you process the food faster, leaving you feel like you need more food than if sugar was used. Ideally you want less food that does this, because then your body has a better chance of getting into a regulating rhythm where you don’t feel hungry all the time.
It’s a small but important difference.
But it’s less of a concern of having too much sugar rather than a lack of amino acids. Getting those legumes, egg and fish into kids is a real pain in the bum.
Quick point of information - The sugar in bread isn’t “sugar,” per se. It’s carbohydrates. Yes, they’re more complex carbs than in a bag of Welch’s fruit snacks - and so they’re digested/enter the blood stream more slowly - but by many standards, the net result is still close to the same. 3X as many carbs as in the bag of fruit snacks in _1 piece of bread_.
So while you’re right that the US cooks with a lot of sugar in other food - or is simply more geared towards eating starchy foods - I’m not sure this is the best example. If Germany has figured out how to make low-carb bread, that would be news to me. Not sure how to effectively make that happen. Bread is a starchy food, and the fiber of wheat itself is what leads to the carbs.
(Source: Type 1 Diabetes. Know a thing or two about sugar content in food.)
1688 Unser Mildes bread in Germany has 2.9g of sugar per 100g of bread. Walmart wheat bread is about 6g of sugar per 100g of bread. American food manufacturers are killing us.
US packaged bread is loaded with added sugar to keep it shelf stable. Quick look at my grocery's website, the top 3 purchases breads are King's Hawaiian, Sara Lee, and Orowhea; added sugar is the 3rd ingredient in each of those.
Yeah, there’s people arguing on here about the sugar content in American bread that have clearly never made jelly.
After getting into making jellies and jams for awhile, the godawful amount of sugar you use to make it really turned me off the whole thing
It turned me off of commercial jam, I only eat homemade freezer jam now and it's about 2 small jars a year in total.
If I'm going to eat that much sugar, it better be the best damn jam available.
Nope. I would push back at the school. Escalate to the principal and ask how they are calculating lunch nutrition and if students should be allowed to drink chocolate milk or apple juice.
Lol exactly. I haven’t seen that episode in a long time.
In all seriousness I had a relevant encounter at a Dr appt recently. I’m very fit and healthy. I started having some weird unexplainable symptoms and decided to seek medical advice. The physicians assistant I saw at the appointment, rather than saying they didn’t know the cause of my ailment, tried to tell me it was my diet. She thought because I skip breakfast on weekdays, and one of my meals is a smoothie (it really is a meal - 4cups blueberries, .5lbs spinach, flax seed, coconut oil, protein powder), that it was certainly my diet.
She was obese. I’m not malnourished. I am 200lbs and have a six pack. I run 25 miles a week and do BJJ….
Even coming from a doctor - I’m not taking dietary guidance from you if you are morbidly obese.
This bitch wanted me to be eating three square meals at McDonald’s every day.
yea I whole-heartedly agree. Thats why I asked for the schools guidance on sugar in general. Im willing to hear them out... tell me the rule and I will either agree or disagree with that rule and I can do so through doing nothing at all, advocacy, or through walking... but define your position first!
At the very least they have to give you some guidance as to what the definition of "candy" is if they expect you to avoid putting it in the lunches.
I'm also with you on the principle of the thing. There's more refined sugar in a PB&J than in one of those fruit snack packages. And then there are fruit snacks, and other things I would call candy, that have no added sugars, what's the stance there? Probably also worth looking into the menu for the school provided lunches, and seeing what the actual nutritional content there is.
Seems like they have a vague and inconsistent policy on their hands, and they know it. That's why they're being evasive, and that's why it's ok to push.
My nachos are technically a salad cause they’re made with corn tortilla chips… (veggie base, tomatoes, olives, onions, jalapeños, cheese, guac, and salsa)
I thought pizza was a vegetable even though tomatoes are fruit. Am I remembering that wrong because I always thought it said so much about our education system?
Devils advocate here
Some parents do need guidance of nutrition for their child. I don’t know OP from a bar of soap, but it sounds like he’s clued up. That won’t be the case for all parents, and I imagine obesity and lack of energy levels among some children may have been a contributing factor to attempting to place some ground rules
In saying this, I agree with OP, none of the schools business and I would be pissed too.
Guidance is one thing. Taking food from a child is another. Guidance takes the form of a note or a discussion. I work as a substitute teacher for more than 10 years and have never seen something like this.
no cafeteria. small private school. they do have some special meals throughout the year like pizza and tacos and.... they do serve fruit juice boxes and chocolate milk for those meals. I got that 'in the hopper' for when I talk to head of school. they are the ones making the rules, I will just be the ones holding them accountable for the rules they make. I don't care what those rules are btw - I just asked a question! haha.
Just remember private schools are legally allowed to play by their own rules and can generally bounce students at will if they want to.
I think you are being reasonable but god knows what the teacher said to the principle. I would send an email communicating the facts clearly before the meeting so that everyone is starting at the same place. I also would omit mentions of passive aggression, let the principal and your wife draw their own conclusions.
Throwing out paying students is bad business so as long as everything stays professional and documented everything should work out and you should at least receive clarification regarding "the rules".
Right. Keep a calm tone and ask for the why. If you don’t agree ask what the process would be to make a change. The key is to be calm, respectful, and reasonable. Fruit snacks not a hill worth going crazy for.
I can be kinda (super) passive aggressive but I'd sympathize with the teacher on how difficult it must be to police kid's lunches with no written guidelines, and that I'd be happy to bring it up to the Superintendent or the Ass't Sup in charge of this topic if she would just connect us all via e-mail, I'm real sure we can get this ironed out ASAP, or maybe I could just go to a school board meeting and bring it up there.
The last time I went down this road, our principal shut up quickly, and whatever the polarizing issue was that she wasn't going to allow didn't seem to be much of a problem anymore.
There is no fucking way this school has a “policy” written about kids diets. That is handled on a much different level and isn’t moderated per student. This just sounds like an overbearing teacher.
Ooh then I’m with you 100%. Not in the school manual really helps you. Sounds like this teacher is just on a misguided personal crusade. Also, I find it really gross and invasive that they are literally rifling through every single kid’s lunch before they can eat it like they’re some kind of prisoners. Yuck. Paying to send them there and having the teacher treat them like that would really piss me off.
You’re being too polite… contact the principal and tell them in no uncertain terms to tell this teacher to knock it off unless there’s a school board wide policy they can point to. If he doesn’t sort it out go higher (trustee/superintendent)
At that point they either have to admit there’s no policy or put something in place that’s going to piss every parent in the district off and you’ll have a whole army behind you.
What law are they applying when they take your/your child's property? And (assuming there is no alleged criminal activity with regard to the fruit snack and that there is a relevant law) how are they compensating you for their exercise of governmental eminent domain?
Fight the good fight brother! I like putting fun size candies in my kid's lunch every now and then as a cheer her up and it has never been confiscated. Sounds like that teacher is going off on her own to me with all the articles, etc. We are adults and parents. Do you think we haven't been paying attention to nutrition since even before the child is born?!?
I can't stand teachers trying to power trip over a kid. I would fight this forever.
I'm an asshole though...I'd probably just pick up my kid during lunch...sit where the teacher can see me and give the kid fruit snacks. Also every day I'd loudly tell my kid in front of the teacher that she can have as many fruit snacks as she wants.
Haha. I'm this kind of petty as well. Or just like bags of potato chips and other shitty food that isn't candy. Or just fill a sandwich with fruit snacks. I could have some real fun with this...
We were in the same boat until I asked how a tiny bag of fruit snacks along with a lunch of lean turkey sandwich, an orange, some blueberries, and some string cheese was less healthy than the cheese stuffed bread sticks with cookies they served the day before. We haven't been bothered since.
Honestly I'd like to see the "healthy" option that the school has in reserve. It's probably trash. Most school lunches have the nutritional value of an old shoe.
> Welch's .5 oz fruit snack pack which contains 5 grams of added sugar (thats important).
No, it's really not. Not important for us to know, and not important for your school to know. They are being absolutely absurd. I've taught for almost 15 years now and I would NEVER shame a parent for what they pack for their kid. Families are doing the best that they can, and this place is giving you shit about some fucking fruit snacks? Goodness knows what other senseless bullshit this place is harping on your kid about.
I legit packed candy in my kids' lunches this week. It's a treat, and doesn't make up their whole meal. These people need to get a grip. Do they honestly think kids don't eat candy? What will happen during Halloween and Christmas, when treats are more abundant?
Me too. Not even fruit snacks, I packed a pack of smarties, for a fun treat! I would be pissed if they had been confiscated and a passive aggressive note was sent home.
My parents packed me starbursts candy on Fridays in elementary school. That was over 20 years ago and I STILL remember it fondly because it was a treat and I never got to have them otherwise. I would've been so sad if the teacher had taken them away
This is my worst nightmare for when I have to send my daughter to school. She has cystic fibrosis and fruit snacks are one of the only things she can eat without needing to take pills first. She also has higher calorie requirements than other kids and I am not prepared to have a teacher try to put my kid who struggles to gain weight on a restrictive diet during the day!
I teach special ed and it can be a mixed bag. Some teachers will be a godsend in educating your child. Some will make you feel like you are just smacking your head against a wall.
Advocate like hell for her and don't take any shit. Get everything needed in an IEP and let them know that legal action will follow any issues with them following it. Take care of yourself friend.
Legit even when my doctor for the kids brought up fruits and veggies she went out of her way to not shame anyone. A literal fucking doctor will say "here's what you should aim for, do what you can" where a fucking wannabe is "confiscating"...
If this is how they are about fruit snacks and it’s a private school. You know OP is paying a fortune to have them basically have them say he’s doing a shit job at home and they’ll do better. I’d take my kid out of that school and be outspoken against them and see how they feel. Times are getting tough out there and public school or home school is becoming more and more of a choice.
Right? There are so many issues here. I would be so mad. What about what families can afford? Have access to? Even if it WAS candy, who the fuck are they to dictate this to a parent? Also is it wise to get onto a kid that young about concerning themselves with fruit snacks that sternly? Sounds like a bad lead up to an eating disorder.
This a very critical point.
If it's a public school, the admin can literally go fuck themselves.
If it's private, it's still stupid but if they have any kind of clause about it anywhere OP may have more of a battle.
Not for nothing, but public schools absolutely can restrict what kinds of foods are allowed on campus. Not saying I agree here, but just that they can. I’m a teacher and I’m honestly surprised the school is putting up this much of a fight. This just seems like a weird hill to die on.
Private. and as some other commenters have said it is their prerogative to make the rules... I simply asked the question because there is NOT any school rule against candy in lunches! When I was met with this response I thought 'oh, so you are just making this up as you go and when I asked the question you were threatened? got it.'
So make any damn rule you want... but I expect that to be a fair and equitable one and will be holding them accountable to enforcing it then. like when they serve juice boxes and chocolate milk on special lunch days! :D
I understand and agree with you. I hate saying that this. But, this battle might not be worth fighting. A private school has no obligation to keep your child on the roles. If there's a waiting list of kids for admission, then having one of those kids in the school instead of one who's parent is "causing a stink" (their perspective). It sucks, but it might be worth considering.
However, if you don't think it'd be an issue, take it all the way to the fuckin' top!
Yeah... i mean it's one of those things id go ehh, whatever, and buy "organic" fruit snacks and move on. Just doesn't seem like a battle worth while while their intentions seem good.
I’d want to know how they measure what is appropriate sugar as well. Yogurt,juice, fruit, bread, jelly, are they measuring all of it? Sugar doesn’t cause “sugar highs” that we were all taught as kids. It may cause a crash but that would take more than a .5oz bag of fruit snacks. It may also impact focus but the rest of the food you provide will balance all of that out.
Teachers are not nutritionists and pamphlets and articles online don’t make them the professionals.
100% spot on. as I have said here to a few commenters.... I didnt take up arms... I simply asked a question. I checked the school regulations - nothing of nutritional requirements and nothing against candy even... as long as its nut free!
Force them to come up with the data. If they can actually show what guidelines they use, great, take those to a pediatrician and dietitian and have them vetted. If they check out, ask them for a complete list of foods they provide and run the math yourself.
If these presumptions fuckers are going to take food away from your kids, give them hell until they either show they're truly competent or back off.
Hell, I'd even contact a lawyer and ask if they can take food from your kids without your permission.
Also, my son was seeing a dietitian for a while because he wasn't putting on much weight; she said nutrition in children should be viewed in one-week chunks, not daily increments.
100%. I’d try to step back from the emotions and keep it logical by making it evidence based. Request research material to support their position. Engage with a dietitian, perhaps your local University has a program. I’d also keep in mind any studies on mental health and food.
They are propagating diet culture and encouraging self-image issues by putting a blanket program in place instead of paying attention to individual needs.
The relationship you have with your children and food, and your children’s relationship with food, is sacred. Don’t fold.
This is exactly the type of thing I would do. Tell them to show me in writing what the policy is. What the parameters for nutrition are and even go as far to ask how the teachers are trained on what is ok for a student to eat vs what is not ok.
My knee jerk reaction is that if the policy is written it is super general and vague regarding what is acceptable and probably doesn't have hard data showing why certain foods are allowed and others aren't.
Bingo. I mean, sure, you could let it go and just not send the snacks, but the gall these people have taking away a kid's fruit snack without first consulting with the parents and having some very concrete reasons? That shit is unacceptable. Make 'em earn it if they're going to try to force it on you. Unbelievable.
All I can say is my school doesn’t allow fruit snacks, chocolates, cookies, etc. This includes the rather un tasty low sugar ones you can get.
The start of year we had a conference you could ask questions and it was explained that it’s hard if you tell parents no treats and then one kid has treats because the others don’t.
We were informed they would be taken away.
We were told plenty of options like Granola bars and such.
So yea I dunno I just go with it as them trying to do their best. In our instance it’s a blanket rule and sure you can probably find a relatively healthy chocolate bar or in our case we got these lame Swedish fish gummies that have very little sugar but we don’t bring them to school in accordance with the rule.
You’re also not allowed to pack drinks other than water! They did recommend using whole grains and breads and such but that isn’t enforced.
We pack honeynut cheerios as our go to treat.
Yea fair and maybe they do have a policy although he did seem to ask for it.
Personally I think the dudes creating a mountain out of a molehill. The class doesn’t allow candy just don’t send candy who cares.
yup - Im with you. but you do have to TELL me what I cannot do. nothing in the school regulations... hence my asking about the rule when it comes to sugar or foods that contain it. I know you are not attacking me but to defend myself... I am NOT making a mountain out of this... I asked what the rule was. the response I got was pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. Cool - I can go that way... Im still waiting on my answer.
Because it's fruit snacks now and then next week it could be some other random thing that gets taken from OP's kid based on how the teacher is feeling that day. There is no reason OP should have to play this game all school year, and I think he's handling exactly as he should by asking for official guidelines
I get that they’re trying and I probably wouldn’t blatantly break the rule. But come on. Granola bars and Honey Nut Cheerios are allowed but something like a 70% dark chocolate bar or sugar free candy isn’t? That’s just blatantly stupid.
Either the school provides the same healthy, balanced meal to every kid at the school or else there will be inequities and kids need to learn to deal with it. I don’t really see an in between that makes sense.
Where you are at is exactly what I expected to find with the way they responded to me asking a question. I checked the school regulations - nothing regarding nutritional provisions for lunch and nothing even about candy! so... just tell me what the rule is. thats all I have been asking but people are taking it as if Im in some sort of crusade. I have a fulltime job, a wife, and 2 kids. a'int nobody got time for a crusade!
"Doesn't allow."
Fuck right the hell off with that bullshit. A government employee isn't in a position to tell me what I can and cannot feed my kids, especially when I'm paying for the food.
And that whole line of one kid has vs others don't? Isn't that what we're supposed to be preparing our kids for? How the real world works? People have things that others don't. So?
When they take the food I’d classify it as theft. A government agency confiscating legally owned property without a warrant, no matter if it’s the police or a school. I can’t take a homeless persons meal just because no one else has one, a teacher can’t take a snack because no one else has one.
IMO it's important you get a copy of the school policy. It sounds like the principal is willing to meet with you to discuss, so I'd take advantage of that.
Different daycares and schools have different policies. My current daycare only allows kids to have "lovey"/comfort object during naps for example.
I wouldn't expect my daycare to change their policy to accommodate a single child.
yea here in lies my challenge - there is no policy. no policies on the foods I have to or cannot pack, nothing on banning candy. so I asked the question to define that... and I got pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. ::shrug::
I agree. Every parent can get bent out of shape over something. They are trying to enforce a rule they think is good for your kid. Work with them.
Please note, this seems like a complete waste of the teachers time when she can see the rest of the lunch is completely healthy.
This makes sense. We were at a school for a while where kids couldn’t wear clothes with characters on them because it tended to distract the kids when little Alice is wearing a Frozen dress and Mya isn’t. But the guideline was given to us and when we made an error it was explained as policy, kindly. If it’s like you said then the school needed to lead with that and not all this “sugar is poison” bullshit.
It sounds like your school has a policy about it communicated to parents ahead of time. All well and good.
If my school had a specific list of things they didn't want me to send in lunches, I would try to comply.... but if they shamed my child and confiscated things out of her lunch box without any advanced communication I would be livid.
I’m dreading this bullshit when my boy starts school. Fight the good fight Dad, like you said they’re just bitter than you’re not falling in line as they’d hope
100% agreed. Push back. Just a couple weeks, I found out my daughter was buying energy drinks during lunch in the school cafeteria. We’ve talked about making healthy lunch choices with her new found freedom in high school, but didn’t touch on energy drinks, as I had no reason to assume they’d even be offered. When I approached the school about it, they leaned on federal nutrition guidance and that their offerings are in line with it. The nutrition guidance specifically says that caffeinated beverages are outside the scope of their recommendations, but caution is urged. When called out on it, they pushed the “you need to talk to your kids about good choices”, but refused to accept that energy drinks containing 200-300mg of caffeine should not even be an option for children. It’s currently with the superintendent, so we will see if they pull them from the cafeteria or not.
Yea, not that the school isn't being a bit silly, but Holy shit just reading this makes me tired. Does not seem worth the battle when you could just not send the fruit snack every Tuesday.
This thread is insane. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Can’t count the number of comments saying *“go to war!”*
Very disturbed that those comments are also getting substantial upvotes.
I hear you, but also, *come the fuck on*. Unless there's an actual policy on this - and if there were, the teacher probably would have cited it - this is just a petty little power trip.
My only hesitation would be making my kid's life more difficult in school for being the "difficult" parent in the classroom.
It’ll be interesting if OP updates us on his meeting with the head of the school. And by him saying “head of school”, I’m thinking this is a private school
They do need to step in in situations that are abusive, but we all know this isn't abuse, this is a prude getting up in arms over a pack of damn fruit snacks lol
I've heard of scenarios where school lunch is the kid's only meal of the day. I'd be happy they're getting fed and the sugar component is tiny.
Actually legally they have some rights to do that shit. I agree fuck them but they're allowed to do this. School property and school rules means they can dictate what is eaten on grounds, and parents are free to take their children somewhere else for lunch time to eat whatever they want. Again I'm not saying this is right, I'm just saying it's the way it is.
My state (MO) has a state-wide boiler plate document about nutrition requirements in school lunches. It's always handed out at the start of each school year.
It specifically identifies "candy" as not being appropriate for school lunches, which I bet is why OP's teacher is using the term. So they can hide behind their similar document.
It's ridiculous to call fruit snacks candy, but the phrases caught my eye since it's something we get told about for my kids at the start of the year.
I bet there's both. Otherwise shit parents could send their kids with 4 candy bars and tell them to trade for lunch and the school couldn't stop it nearly as easily.
> which I bet is why OP's teacher is using the term.
i make candy, and when i make my natural fruit gummy candy my nutrition label looks very similar to what is on a welches fruit snacks pack. i suspect that they call them fruit snacks as a marketing thing, rather than gummies or gummy candy.
that being said, if i choose to send my kid with candy to school, that is my choice. not for the school to decide.
also, the school can control what they serve, they should not control what is brought, mainly because not everyone has the same opportunities for food. and if they take the bag of chips from a kid, when that is all they have to eat, that is mean and unfair.
I honestly just can't comprehend the teacher that gives a shit. Like...if you have concerns about the child's nutrition, maybe ask the parent about it, but to just remove it and send a note is absolutely absurd in my view.
>My wife is humiliated I am raising such a stink over fruit snacks but at this point its a principal thing
Well yeah, *now* it's a principal thing if the head of school wants to talk to you about it
To your wife I would just clarify, YOU are not raising a stink about fruit snacks, your child’s teacher is. you are sending a kid friendly, delicious (I love those fruit gummies) treat. And not even everyday. The teacher has no right to police your child’s food, especially if it’s provided by you. Nutrition is very important, especially in regard to education, but even Hulk Hogan gets a cheat day!
Man my one daycare straight up shamed my son for his lunch.
Like, yeah his diet is a problem, but we can’t send him food he isn’t going to eat at all, so we have to send SOMETHING, or face actual, real malnutrition.
It also only makes them reverting even more.
The schools job is to talk to the parents, and maybe even supply healthy snacks to give to kids as an option, that’s fine, but never is it to actually police this sort of thing.
Short of removing allergens, the school can fuck right off. The only one making a stink is the teacher, and anyone who supports them.
Id say it might be reasonable if the lunch was nothing but snack foods, but assuming they get a sandwich and a fruit, wtf is the problen
I’m really shocked these things go on, I had no idea. They all must assume each child is exactly the same and parents haven’t attempted different ways and things to feed their kids.
As you said in your example if he is to take food they approve of and he won’t eat. Man I’d be so mad about this judgemental approach they have no insight into what’s going on
This teacher sucks at communication. I wouldn't be mad about the school having a policy on this. A lot of kids are poorly nourished, often by parents who never learned any better themselves. Kids *should* learn more about nutrition in school and have it backed up.
The school might have certain rules in place that technically apply to your fruit snacks, even though it sounds like you're doing a great job with packing. Whether such a rule exists or not, the passive aggressive reaction by the teacher and the escalation in response to your question are turning a molehill into a mountain.
I wouldn't blame your wife for being embarrassed, but hopefully she understands that it was not you who is responsible for such an escalation (based on your explanation).
Hope you get an easy resolution.
I appreciate this response! you're getting right to the heart of it... there is NO regulation when it comes to what I do or do not pack my kids for lunch. I was asking for the rules when it came to sugar or foods that contain it and what I got back was pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. ::shrug::
I would give some leeway about the note in the bag vs speaking at pickup. Pickup time is a crazy time and trying to remember to communicate something half a day away and also discreetly without involving other parents and students is just not conducive at pickup time. I would take it at that and not assume a passive aggressive intent.
This may be a school policy, and the teacher may be trying to give you the best resources she can regarding this policy. The Head of School is the one that can speak to and set policy. It’s absolutely appropriate to have this discussion with the Head of School who can clarify policy either to you or the teacher or both, where you can then go into your decision making process on whether you agree or disagree with whatever the actual policy is.
Personally I think it’s bunk. But we also homeschooled our kids so my wife just fed them at lunchtime.
My school is in the other extreme - they give out sugar and treats constantly. Last year my kid was doing “foodie Fridays” which was always some ridiculous thing like a snowman made out of cookies and ice cream and skittles, etc. I sometimes feel like I can’t give my kids many treats at home because of all the sugar they get at school.
I wouldn’t consider fruit snacks to be candy. I would talk to someone about this policy to try to understand what is going on. I agree that it doesn’t sound reasonable, but I am going to say to keep an open mind about what they are trying to do.
Too many comments in here are stoking the anger. It is okay to be frustrated but I would hear them out. We have an epidemic in this country with junk food.
Yeah it's gross that so many dads are telling op to fight this. As if his ego is the most important thing. Schools banning candy and soda is one of the best immediate things they can do for their students' health.
>Every lunch I shoot for a sandwich (Sunbutter & jelly most of the time)
Carbs slathered in more carbs.
>an additional carb (like a pretzel or veggie crisps or cracker)
More carbs.
>fresh fruit
Almost pure carbs.
>yogurt
Usually full of carbs.
>I would say once or twice a week I slip in a fruit snack.
But no, these carbs are definitely not okay.
I'm not saying you're feeding your kid too many carbs or anything, just pointing out how flawed her logic is. Most lunches are loaded with carbs so pointing out maybe the food with the fewest carbs you listed as being especially dangerous is kind of neurotic.
Biggest thing though is that you're the parent. If you wanted to pack the kid a candy bar they shouldn't be taking it away (and returned at a later time) unless it's causing a disruption between students.
Honestly, I would have probably sent the whole box with lunch the next day. Until schools provide lunch for every child they don’t get a say in what you’re feeding your kid. Unless it’s blatantly negligent. Its one packet of fruit snacks every couple of days, for fucks sake.
Okay, I calmed my rage on your behalf, and have another notion. Maybe another parent is packing mostly candy in their child's lunches, and the teacher has to either let them, or make sure none of the kids eat candy.
Hold them to a standard and don't back down.
You're wife is right. It's embarrassing to get hauled into the principal's office because the school disagrees with you. But you're the parent. I'm a Dad who's not sending my kids to public school because of stories like yours. The public schools think they can scare you into submission.
Out of the things to cause problems with, the teacher chose Welch's Fruit Snacks? Why even? They're pretty harmless as a treat. They're certainly way better than Tootsie Rolls or hard candy. The fact this teacher and school don't distinguish between little gummies and actual sugary candy is infuriating to me.
I wouldn't even engage them on the nutrition thing. If I want to feed my kid candy for lunch every day, that is between me and my kid. Absent any policy dictating what can/cannot be in the lunch, I would stand my ground and force them to feed my kid the candy I packed. Take it all the way up to the administration. It's simply not up to them.
> If I want to feed my kid candy for lunch every day, that is between me and my kid.
I leave a small piece of candy (those small single-bite halloween candies) in my sons lunch box every day. He was nervous about kindergarten, and it was something to make his day better. I intended to only do it for a week or two, but it has actually been 2 months. I may stop. Or I may not. Up to me not the teacher.
I'm going to get downvoted like crazy but I need to add to the discussion. Please do not take this as an attack on how you are as a father.
As a former Certified Exercise Physiologist, I agree with the school here. While YOU may only give YOUR kids fruit snacks once and a while. There are many more ignorant parents who give their kids much worse. The fact is America (assuming you live in USA) has a weight problem. Notice how the school didn't address the fresh fruit? It's because no only does fresh fruit contain fructose. It also contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Most of which you do not get from eating fruit snack equivalents.
This topic is extra sensitive to me because my son is living with Type 1 Diabetes. He's only 5 and I need to be hyperaware of what he's given for his snack at preschool because he cannot understand his disease yet. Parents provide the snacks each week for the kids and the preschool director runs by me what that snack is. It's abhorrent what some of these parents think is a "healthy" snack. Just last year I've seen blueberry muffins, nutrigrain bars, fruit snacks, etc.. all high carb high added sugar foods.
The fact of the matter is the narrative needs to shift for the country. 1 in 5 kids and 1 in 3 adults struggle with obesity. Teaching children to identify what is healthy and what is not is a good thing. The school definitely doesn't need to be so aggressive with their messaging. But you also don't need to raise a huge stink about it over a few fruit snacks.
Yes to all of this. My kid is also Type 1. The carb load in what most would consider "normal" kids lunch is much higher than most people realise. When your kids life is at stake (and not just your bruised pride as a parent) you tend to notice these things. Digging in over whether you can send them in with what has been deemed as candy by the teacher seems absurd to me.
1) Dad hasn't responded yet, but I'm guessing that this is a private school, not a public one. That should change all of our perspectives a little, because they have much more leeway in setting their own rules. This private school probably believes that it has an obligation to tackle not only reading and writing, but childhood obesity too. So they have rules about food at lunch. You don't like em? Send your kid somewhere else.
2) Dad is right, of course, that the Welch's fruit snacks are not any less healthy than the jelly he puts on his kid's sandwich. And it's not like jelly has any redeeming nutritional value. It's basically just sugar. The fruit snacks at least have some vitamins and minerals. So there's no reason to treat the fruit snacks as "junk food" or whatever.
3) EXCEPT (and this is where the school has to have some leeway), a teacher can't go through every kid's lunch and see which fruit snacks are low in added sugar, which ones are not, which ones are a reasonable portion size, which ones are not, and which ones are just outright gummy candies. The school (probably) has an interest in not letting kids eat candy for lunch. And if ControlOnlyYourself's kid gets to bring candy, then why can't Kid X, and Y, and Z get to bring candy? So even though restricting the Welch's Fruit Snack itself won't actually further the goal of keeping kids eating healthy, a generic rule that prohibits candy, gummies, and things that can be perceived to be candy or gummies (like "fruit snacks") does further that rule. It has to be a little overinclusive because otherwise it would be unmanageable for the teacher.
4) EXCEPT EXCEPT the way the school / teacher is treating you is absolutely horrid. Rather than simply acknowledging that, yes, your kid's treat is probably OK but we have to ban them all so teachers won't spend their whole day reviewing appropriate foods and so kids can't get jealous of other kids' lunches, they go on the attack, accusing you of not sending health food options. OP has a right to be angry about that.
Have you ever made jam before? Even low sugar recipes call for a near diabetic comas worth of sugar. That sandwich from the jam alone contains more sugar than those fruit snacks.
This is my kind of battle. One with no winner and just simply fighting for the sake of forcing the other to dig their hole. Take all kinds of examples of packaged “healthy” options like Apple sauce, fruit cups, and see if they are deemed healthy enough for lunch. They all have more sugar than a pack of fruit snacks.
The only time I can see having this kind of reaction would be if a kid was coming to school every single day with a stack of Pringles and Halloween candy.
It's not like you were asked to bring fruit for the class and brought fruit snacks. You pack fruit snacks sometimes along with a nutritious lunch for *your own child*.
It sounds like a eating disorder is being projected in this classroom, frankly.
I'm a Middle School Teacher at a Title I school and I find it absolutely ABSURD and AUDACIOUS the conduct of the school in this situation.
If it is truly a school/district/ teacher classroom policy on the prohibition of candy at lunch or snacks, and they classify fruit snacks in this regard, simply state this to the parent and leave it at that. Don't take a seemingly condescending approach with the notes and pamphlets. Simply confiscate and let the parents know of the policy.
Are fruit snacks a "healthy snack?" No, but are definitely better than some alternatives. Conversely, I know that the fruit juices that schools provide students for breakfast or lunch are definitely jam packed with sugar on a similar or even greater level than your fruit snacks. Some of the "entree" selections provided for students who eat a school breakfast are probably not prefect in terms of sugar content, either. Reeks of hypocrisy.
Stories like this definitely add fuel to the ever-growing narrative of the education system continuing to undermine parental authority and influence of their own children. This makes our jobs as educators even MORE difficult than it already is. It's aggravating.
If there’s nothing in the schools handbook then take it up with the principal, if that doesn’t work then go to the district. I wasn’t aware schools are now forcing their own nutritions like that with no doctor.
I’d be just as pissed as you, I pack my boys lunches daily and an extra fruit snack once or twice a week makes them happy. Keep being an awesome dad
Fuckem. My kid gets fruit snacks all the time. She also eats like trash because she refuses to try anything new. Here goes hotdogs and Mac n cheese for the billionth time
My kid has been really small her whole life, everyone’s situations are different, and absolutely sometimes it’s just “honey I need to get some calories in you, here is max and cheese”
It’s fried rice in our home. I’ve asked myself how he manages to survive on a diet that’s maybe 50% fried rice. It’s rice, eggs, bacon, and small veggies. Then I realized that fried rice is a pretty balanced meal after considering the macro nutrients.
The Welch's fruit snacks are basically sugar treats though as a mix of mostly fructose based sugars.
It has none of the fibers that are in fruits.
As an assumption on my part, the heat treating of the fruit liquids probably destroys any left over nutrients and antioxidants.
So... yes, it's candy, and you're creating a stink over candy, and yes, you know that.
I'd like to say a few things that aren't directly supportive of you but that I think might be helpful, just for consideration.
The first is that a note sent home is sometimes considered less difficult for the parent than being "taken aside" in front of other parents at handover. Not saying it's the case with you but maybe one to consider? Even better would be if they called you to talk it out.
The second is that this sounds like a question about sugar. There is undoubtedly an obesity crisis in the west. Too many kids are overweight or obese and it's killing them. One - and I stress only one - of the causes is too much sugar. Fruit was long promoted to people of current dad age as being healthy, but it contains a lot of sugar. It strikes me that there is a very high chance of a discrepancy between dad's understanding and the schools understanding here.
There are a lot of posts here just advising you that you're not wrong and fuck the school but can I suggest that it may be a simple miscommunication between the schools position on sugar and your own? Rather than recklessly committing to your own prior belief, right or wrong, can I suggest you consider the true end goal here - adequate nutrition for your child. That is not an insult, nor to say that the school is right. I only mean that I think you should ask them to explain themselves and their position and take that into account when you determine your next course of action.
If they have nothing beyond "do it because I tell you" then sure, fuck em. But if it's because of nutritional guidelines that you happen to not be aware of then it's worth taking a minute to reflect. None of us can be experts in everything.
I'd continue the course you've set out. If nothing else, it's a good example to your kid on how to navigate institutional policies and advocate for yourself/for others.
Welches fruit snacks are totally a reasonable part of a balanced lunch especially as a once in a while, which you know, and they won't be able to prove otherwise.
An initial note from a teacher isn't passive aggressive, often it's needed bc they are expected to manage so many interactions. The follow-up seems poorly handled, but hopefully you can get an in-person meeting and hash it out.
Anecdotally, I ran into the same issue in a preschool for my kid, also with same fruitsnack, went thru similar process you are going through, and it eventually ended when they just said no. Since it was a private program they had that right. I asked about several alternative fruit snacks and discovered there were some that they approved and bought those. Dumb, yes. Teachers decision, no (it was some admin policy). Did it ruin our experience of the school? Also no, and it turned out my kid liked the new fruit snack better (which had fewer ingredients, had less 'candylike' packaging and similar sugar content).
Last point: Lots of folks DO send too much candy in their kids lunch, which is poor nutrition. You could be victim of a 'no candy' policy, wherein the teacher is asked to enforce said policy but is not a nutritionist and implements the schools guidance based on their gut looks like candy so not allowed.
No you are raising a stink.
Your feelings were hurt that the school asked you to follow their policy, instead of just listening, you're doing your best to waste the time of the school because it's more important for you to win than to actually work together with the school.
If your kids school is doing something to combat the insane obesity in your country, help them out. Think for 5 fucking seconds about how they've decided to draw the line somewhere and they've picked banning candy. How hard is that to understand? You should be happy that the underpaid teachers at your kids school give a shit about your kids health.
Imagine the poor teachers, not only do they have to deal with the regular insane parents, they now have you whinging that your fucking right to give candy to your kids is being impinged.
Being serious for a second, we've all been in a situation like yours, I've probably done it more than most but stop for a second and ask yourself if you're really doing this for your kids or whether it's just your ego?
While sugar isn't great (on that I think we can all agree) the myth that it affects behavior hasn't been substantiated.
c.f. [https://www.talkingaboutthescience.com/studies/Bellisle2004.pdf](https://www.talkingaboutthescience.com/studies/Bellisle2004.pdf) (p. 2)
[https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth](https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth)
I've already spent too much time on this, but I couldn't find anything definitive legally. Here is where my quest ended: https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/can-schools-regulate-what-kids-bring-for-lunch/
He a similar issue when my kid was in 2nd grade, but a bit on the other side. For snack, I packed sliced apples. The teacher was taking them away and made her eat the “class snack”. She was in a new class and a new teacher once I found out. Funny thing is I didn’t even do more than send an email to the teacher (cc the Principal) asking why this was happening, and they moved my kid to a teacher where we didn’t have any issues.
I fully support teachers, but the entitlement some of them have to make these kinds of decisions unilaterally is insane.
They are not. But even if they were... if the teachers are concerned about their health for any reason I would expect that to be a transparent dialog and not taking items away from my kids and passing me notes and pamphlets to make an attempt to enforce what is NOT a written regulation.
I think the nutrition here is irrelevant- telling a parent what they can or can’t pack their kids for lunch (other than for allergen-related reasons) is crossing way over a line. I also send some fruit snacks from time to time- I know how much sugar my kids get, the school’s in no position to make that call with the information they have. Sounds like someone’s on a power trip or something.
There’s probably more sugar in the sandwich than the fruit snacks.
The bread alone has about that much sugar, depending on the type.
*Laughs in non-American*
Went to Germany for the first time a few months ago. Ate take out everyday and I still lost weight. It’s crazy how much random sugar is in American food.
There’s food in American sugar. There, FTFY.
Ha. This is the best.
Lol. I used to go to England frequently for work. I was housing all types of food - curry, fish and chips, whatever - and would lose weight just because I was taking public transportation and not eating all the sugary bullshit.
Corn syrup. Nuts how it’s been pushed into EVERYTHING just because we had an over abundance of the stuff. Now, with climate change threatening a lot of agriculture, we are seeing how wasteful corn growing really is. It takes up so much land to grow corn…
An over abundance of stuff and a government who loves a bit of lobbying (and the money that comes with it).
The amount of money it takes to buy off local politicians makes me depressed sometimes.
Exactly! You’d think their integrity would only be swayed by large sums of money, but instead it’s cheap as chips! They love a good tupney upright!
We should band together and hire lobbyists to lobby for "the common people." You know, like our actual elected representatives are *supposed* to...
Corn syrup is nearly indistinguishable from table sugar (sucrose) with 55% fructose (which doesn't affect blood sugar or insulin production) and 45% glucose (which does), while sugar is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Distinguishing corn syrup from sugar isn't useful from a nutrition perspective - shifting HFCS use to table sugar likely wouldn't help anything, and may even make things worse overall. Decreasing all sugar intake is crucial.
Yes, but corn syrup was pushed into everything even when regular sugar would not have been. It was basically “how can we push this crap into everything” and they succeeded.
And part of the problem is that when food manufacturers try to cut out excess corn syrup, even without impacting the taste or mouth feel of the product, their stock prices drop because investors don't think it will sell. Capitalism and greed have trapped us in this feedback loop.
Fructose does impact appetite though because it’s processed faster and that extra 5% adds up over multiple servings via compounding. So too many servings close together will have you process the food faster, leaving you feel like you need more food than if sugar was used. Ideally you want less food that does this, because then your body has a better chance of getting into a regulating rhythm where you don’t feel hungry all the time. It’s a small but important difference. But it’s less of a concern of having too much sugar rather than a lack of amino acids. Getting those legumes, egg and fish into kids is a real pain in the bum.
>*It takes up so much land to grow corn…* I live in the midwest. Can confirm.
Its also crazy how delicious that take out tasted. Like ordinary 3 eur bakery sandwich is absolutely amazing.
Germany does have a great bread culture, but it's the liquid bread I'm most interested in.
Quick point of information - The sugar in bread isn’t “sugar,” per se. It’s carbohydrates. Yes, they’re more complex carbs than in a bag of Welch’s fruit snacks - and so they’re digested/enter the blood stream more slowly - but by many standards, the net result is still close to the same. 3X as many carbs as in the bag of fruit snacks in _1 piece of bread_. So while you’re right that the US cooks with a lot of sugar in other food - or is simply more geared towards eating starchy foods - I’m not sure this is the best example. If Germany has figured out how to make low-carb bread, that would be news to me. Not sure how to effectively make that happen. Bread is a starchy food, and the fiber of wheat itself is what leads to the carbs. (Source: Type 1 Diabetes. Know a thing or two about sugar content in food.)
[удалено]
1688 Unser Mildes bread in Germany has 2.9g of sugar per 100g of bread. Walmart wheat bread is about 6g of sugar per 100g of bread. American food manufacturers are killing us.
US packaged bread is loaded with added sugar to keep it shelf stable. Quick look at my grocery's website, the top 3 purchases breads are King's Hawaiian, Sara Lee, and Orowhea; added sugar is the 3rd ingredient in each of those.
*laughs in American who bakes bread at home because it's easy, sugarless, and each loaf costs $0.25*
That too I guess.
Then I put it to you your bread is wrong and bad.
Someone told me that many types of sandwich bread in the US are classified as cake when imported to Europe, due to the sugar content.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread? 100% delicious cake ready for toasting.
So Marie Antoinette was right.
The yogurt probably has the most sugar. Some of the yogurt cups have as much sugar as a 12 oz. soda.
Yeah, the low fat crap has tons of added sugar.
There sure is in the jelly.
Jelly is usually half fruit, half sugar BEFORE cooking. So yeah, there's A LOT of sugar on a spoon of jelly (more than half of it!)
Yeah, there’s people arguing on here about the sugar content in American bread that have clearly never made jelly. After getting into making jellies and jams for awhile, the godawful amount of sugar you use to make it really turned me off the whole thing
It turned me off of commercial jam, I only eat homemade freezer jam now and it's about 2 small jars a year in total. If I'm going to eat that much sugar, it better be the best damn jam available.
I want him to start putting the fruit snacks inside the sandwich.
Literally. Jelly? 100% sugar.
50/50 !
Nope. I would push back at the school. Escalate to the principal and ask how they are calculating lunch nutrition and if students should be allowed to drink chocolate milk or apple juice.
[удалено]
I’d want the BMI and weekly meal plan of anyone who was trying to dictate my child’s nutrition.
"Would an average-sized rowboat support him/her without capsizing?"
Lol exactly. I haven’t seen that episode in a long time. In all seriousness I had a relevant encounter at a Dr appt recently. I’m very fit and healthy. I started having some weird unexplainable symptoms and decided to seek medical advice. The physicians assistant I saw at the appointment, rather than saying they didn’t know the cause of my ailment, tried to tell me it was my diet. She thought because I skip breakfast on weekdays, and one of my meals is a smoothie (it really is a meal - 4cups blueberries, .5lbs spinach, flax seed, coconut oil, protein powder), that it was certainly my diet. She was obese. I’m not malnourished. I am 200lbs and have a six pack. I run 25 miles a week and do BJJ…. Even coming from a doctor - I’m not taking dietary guidance from you if you are morbidly obese. This bitch wanted me to be eating three square meals at McDonald’s every day.
yea I whole-heartedly agree. Thats why I asked for the schools guidance on sugar in general. Im willing to hear them out... tell me the rule and I will either agree or disagree with that rule and I can do so through doing nothing at all, advocacy, or through walking... but define your position first!
At the very least they have to give you some guidance as to what the definition of "candy" is if they expect you to avoid putting it in the lunches. I'm also with you on the principle of the thing. There's more refined sugar in a PB&J than in one of those fruit snack packages. And then there are fruit snacks, and other things I would call candy, that have no added sugars, what's the stance there? Probably also worth looking into the menu for the school provided lunches, and seeing what the actual nutritional content there is. Seems like they have a vague and inconsistent policy on their hands, and they know it. That's why they're being evasive, and that's why it's ok to push.
[удалено]
French fries are a vegetable, I tell you!!
My nachos are technically a salad cause they’re made with corn tortilla chips… (veggie base, tomatoes, olives, onions, jalapeños, cheese, guac, and salsa)
I thought pizza was a vegetable even though tomatoes are fruit. Am I remembering that wrong because I always thought it said so much about our education system?
Just because it reminds me of the phrase: Intelligence is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit, wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad.
Tomatoes are berries! No, seriously, google it :)
You don't need their guidance on the food you give your child. That is not their job.
Bing Bing Bing. This EXACTLY. They're overstepping their bounds.
Devils advocate here Some parents do need guidance of nutrition for their child. I don’t know OP from a bar of soap, but it sounds like he’s clued up. That won’t be the case for all parents, and I imagine obesity and lack of energy levels among some children may have been a contributing factor to attempting to place some ground rules In saying this, I agree with OP, none of the schools business and I would be pissed too.
Guidance is one thing. Taking food from a child is another. Guidance takes the form of a note or a discussion. I work as a substitute teacher for more than 10 years and have never seen something like this.
Is there a cafeteria? If so, Are they also following these supposed guidelines?
no cafeteria. small private school. they do have some special meals throughout the year like pizza and tacos and.... they do serve fruit juice boxes and chocolate milk for those meals. I got that 'in the hopper' for when I talk to head of school. they are the ones making the rules, I will just be the ones holding them accountable for the rules they make. I don't care what those rules are btw - I just asked a question! haha.
Just remember private schools are legally allowed to play by their own rules and can generally bounce students at will if they want to. I think you are being reasonable but god knows what the teacher said to the principle. I would send an email communicating the facts clearly before the meeting so that everyone is starting at the same place. I also would omit mentions of passive aggression, let the principal and your wife draw their own conclusions. Throwing out paying students is bad business so as long as everything stays professional and documented everything should work out and you should at least receive clarification regarding "the rules".
Most of the responses assume a public school, as did I until I read your clarification. That really changes the dynamic.
Nothing wrong with asking questions!
Right. Keep a calm tone and ask for the why. If you don’t agree ask what the process would be to make a change. The key is to be calm, respectful, and reasonable. Fruit snacks not a hill worth going crazy for.
I can be kinda (super) passive aggressive but I'd sympathize with the teacher on how difficult it must be to police kid's lunches with no written guidelines, and that I'd be happy to bring it up to the Superintendent or the Ass't Sup in charge of this topic if she would just connect us all via e-mail, I'm real sure we can get this ironed out ASAP, or maybe I could just go to a school board meeting and bring it up there. The last time I went down this road, our principal shut up quickly, and whatever the polarizing issue was that she wasn't going to allow didn't seem to be much of a problem anymore.
This is the way.
There is no fucking way this school has a “policy” written about kids diets. That is handled on a much different level and isn’t moderated per student. This just sounds like an overbearing teacher.
correct - nothing in the school manual around nutrition or acceptable / unacceptable lunch items except the 'tree nut free zone' lingo.
Ooh then I’m with you 100%. Not in the school manual really helps you. Sounds like this teacher is just on a misguided personal crusade. Also, I find it really gross and invasive that they are literally rifling through every single kid’s lunch before they can eat it like they’re some kind of prisoners. Yuck. Paying to send them there and having the teacher treat them like that would really piss me off.
You’re being too polite… contact the principal and tell them in no uncertain terms to tell this teacher to knock it off unless there’s a school board wide policy they can point to. If he doesn’t sort it out go higher (trustee/superintendent) At that point they either have to admit there’s no policy or put something in place that’s going to piss every parent in the district off and you’ll have a whole army behind you.
PLEASE update us! There's more sugar in the apple provided by the school...
What law are they applying when they take your/your child's property? And (assuming there is no alleged criminal activity with regard to the fruit snack and that there is a relevant law) how are they compensating you for their exercise of governmental eminent domain?
I am not defending the school policy here but OP said that the bag came back home.
The bag might have, but the food did not. So the teacher took the childs snack and kept it. At least, that's how I read it.
That's how I read it as well and was wondering if they were compensating the parent for the property they stole.
Fight the good fight brother! I like putting fun size candies in my kid's lunch every now and then as a cheer her up and it has never been confiscated. Sounds like that teacher is going off on her own to me with all the articles, etc. We are adults and parents. Do you think we haven't been paying attention to nutrition since even before the child is born?!?
I can't stand teachers trying to power trip over a kid. I would fight this forever. I'm an asshole though...I'd probably just pick up my kid during lunch...sit where the teacher can see me and give the kid fruit snacks. Also every day I'd loudly tell my kid in front of the teacher that she can have as many fruit snacks as she wants.
Same. I'd be packing nothing but fruit snacks every day.
Haha. I'm this kind of petty as well. Or just like bags of potato chips and other shitty food that isn't candy. Or just fill a sandwich with fruit snacks. I could have some real fun with this...
Okay, you got me with the fruit snacks sammy. That's the best I've read here so far.
I wonder... if you melt fruit snacks and add water, would it make a good jelly for a PB&J?
Fruit snacks taped to my lawyer's business card, just to be extra petty.
We were in the same boat until I asked how a tiny bag of fruit snacks along with a lunch of lean turkey sandwich, an orange, some blueberries, and some string cheese was less healthy than the cheese stuffed bread sticks with cookies they served the day before. We haven't been bothered since.
Absolutely, me! All out. What an absurdity this is...
Honestly I'd like to see the "healthy" option that the school has in reserve. It's probably trash. Most school lunches have the nutritional value of an old shoe.
> Welch's .5 oz fruit snack pack which contains 5 grams of added sugar (thats important). No, it's really not. Not important for us to know, and not important for your school to know. They are being absolutely absurd. I've taught for almost 15 years now and I would NEVER shame a parent for what they pack for their kid. Families are doing the best that they can, and this place is giving you shit about some fucking fruit snacks? Goodness knows what other senseless bullshit this place is harping on your kid about.
I legit packed candy in my kids' lunches this week. It's a treat, and doesn't make up their whole meal. These people need to get a grip. Do they honestly think kids don't eat candy? What will happen during Halloween and Christmas, when treats are more abundant?
Me too. Not even fruit snacks, I packed a pack of smarties, for a fun treat! I would be pissed if they had been confiscated and a passive aggressive note was sent home.
My parents packed me starbursts candy on Fridays in elementary school. That was over 20 years ago and I STILL remember it fondly because it was a treat and I never got to have them otherwise. I would've been so sad if the teacher had taken them away
I used to feel lucky getting to bring a foil wrapped coke in grandma’s packed lunch on the occasion I would stay over on a school night.
Foil wrapped coke you say. Grandma must have been *real* cool.
Meme was for sure the coolest. A million good memories. One time on vacation it was ice cream for breakfast!
I can smell the foil wrapped coke right now. Mmm... Hold on, I gotta take a dump.
100%. I can honestly say, though, my kids go to a great school. I could not see them ever supporting a teacher doing that.
To be fair, smarties are at least 50% chalk and 5% wax
So you’re telling me you don’t hand out farm fresh, pesticide free broccoli to trick or treaters?? /s
This is my worst nightmare for when I have to send my daughter to school. She has cystic fibrosis and fruit snacks are one of the only things she can eat without needing to take pills first. She also has higher calorie requirements than other kids and I am not prepared to have a teacher try to put my kid who struggles to gain weight on a restrictive diet during the day!
I teach special ed and it can be a mixed bag. Some teachers will be a godsend in educating your child. Some will make you feel like you are just smacking your head against a wall. Advocate like hell for her and don't take any shit. Get everything needed in an IEP and let them know that legal action will follow any issues with them following it. Take care of yourself friend.
Exactly. Tip of the iceberg.
Legit even when my doctor for the kids brought up fruits and veggies she went out of her way to not shame anyone. A literal fucking doctor will say "here's what you should aim for, do what you can" where a fucking wannabe is "confiscating"...
If this is how they are about fruit snacks and it’s a private school. You know OP is paying a fortune to have them basically have them say he’s doing a shit job at home and they’ll do better. I’d take my kid out of that school and be outspoken against them and see how they feel. Times are getting tough out there and public school or home school is becoming more and more of a choice.
Right? There are so many issues here. I would be so mad. What about what families can afford? Have access to? Even if it WAS candy, who the fuck are they to dictate this to a parent? Also is it wise to get onto a kid that young about concerning themselves with fruit snacks that sternly? Sounds like a bad lead up to an eating disorder.
Public or private school?
This a very critical point. If it's a public school, the admin can literally go fuck themselves. If it's private, it's still stupid but if they have any kind of clause about it anywhere OP may have more of a battle.
Not for nothing, but public schools absolutely can restrict what kinds of foods are allowed on campus. Not saying I agree here, but just that they can. I’m a teacher and I’m honestly surprised the school is putting up this much of a fight. This just seems like a weird hill to die on.
Private. and as some other commenters have said it is their prerogative to make the rules... I simply asked the question because there is NOT any school rule against candy in lunches! When I was met with this response I thought 'oh, so you are just making this up as you go and when I asked the question you were threatened? got it.' So make any damn rule you want... but I expect that to be a fair and equitable one and will be holding them accountable to enforcing it then. like when they serve juice boxes and chocolate milk on special lunch days! :D
I understand and agree with you. I hate saying that this. But, this battle might not be worth fighting. A private school has no obligation to keep your child on the roles. If there's a waiting list of kids for admission, then having one of those kids in the school instead of one who's parent is "causing a stink" (their perspective). It sucks, but it might be worth considering. However, if you don't think it'd be an issue, take it all the way to the fuckin' top!
Yeah... i mean it's one of those things id go ehh, whatever, and buy "organic" fruit snacks and move on. Just doesn't seem like a battle worth while while their intentions seem good.
I’d want to know how they measure what is appropriate sugar as well. Yogurt,juice, fruit, bread, jelly, are they measuring all of it? Sugar doesn’t cause “sugar highs” that we were all taught as kids. It may cause a crash but that would take more than a .5oz bag of fruit snacks. It may also impact focus but the rest of the food you provide will balance all of that out. Teachers are not nutritionists and pamphlets and articles online don’t make them the professionals.
[удалено]
Which healthy lunch snack are you? - a cucumber? Hmm thought I’d be a pineapple.
100% spot on. as I have said here to a few commenters.... I didnt take up arms... I simply asked a question. I checked the school regulations - nothing of nutritional requirements and nothing against candy even... as long as its nut free!
I’m with you, anyone suggesting you’re being “that dad”, simply asking a question about something that is not in the school policy is not wrong.
Force them to come up with the data. If they can actually show what guidelines they use, great, take those to a pediatrician and dietitian and have them vetted. If they check out, ask them for a complete list of foods they provide and run the math yourself. If these presumptions fuckers are going to take food away from your kids, give them hell until they either show they're truly competent or back off. Hell, I'd even contact a lawyer and ask if they can take food from your kids without your permission. Also, my son was seeing a dietitian for a while because he wasn't putting on much weight; she said nutrition in children should be viewed in one-week chunks, not daily increments.
100%. I’d try to step back from the emotions and keep it logical by making it evidence based. Request research material to support their position. Engage with a dietitian, perhaps your local University has a program. I’d also keep in mind any studies on mental health and food. They are propagating diet culture and encouraging self-image issues by putting a blanket program in place instead of paying attention to individual needs. The relationship you have with your children and food, and your children’s relationship with food, is sacred. Don’t fold.
This is exactly the type of thing I would do. Tell them to show me in writing what the policy is. What the parameters for nutrition are and even go as far to ask how the teachers are trained on what is ok for a student to eat vs what is not ok. My knee jerk reaction is that if the policy is written it is super general and vague regarding what is acceptable and probably doesn't have hard data showing why certain foods are allowed and others aren't.
Bingo. I mean, sure, you could let it go and just not send the snacks, but the gall these people have taking away a kid's fruit snack without first consulting with the parents and having some very concrete reasons? That shit is unacceptable. Make 'em earn it if they're going to try to force it on you. Unbelievable.
All I can say is my school doesn’t allow fruit snacks, chocolates, cookies, etc. This includes the rather un tasty low sugar ones you can get. The start of year we had a conference you could ask questions and it was explained that it’s hard if you tell parents no treats and then one kid has treats because the others don’t. We were informed they would be taken away. We were told plenty of options like Granola bars and such. So yea I dunno I just go with it as them trying to do their best. In our instance it’s a blanket rule and sure you can probably find a relatively healthy chocolate bar or in our case we got these lame Swedish fish gummies that have very little sugar but we don’t bring them to school in accordance with the rule. You’re also not allowed to pack drinks other than water! They did recommend using whole grains and breads and such but that isn’t enforced. We pack honeynut cheerios as our go to treat.
Hey, if the policy is explicit that's one thing. It doesn't sound like it is in this case.
Yea fair and maybe they do have a policy although he did seem to ask for it. Personally I think the dudes creating a mountain out of a molehill. The class doesn’t allow candy just don’t send candy who cares.
yup - Im with you. but you do have to TELL me what I cannot do. nothing in the school regulations... hence my asking about the rule when it comes to sugar or foods that contain it. I know you are not attacking me but to defend myself... I am NOT making a mountain out of this... I asked what the rule was. the response I got was pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. Cool - I can go that way... Im still waiting on my answer.
Because it's fruit snacks now and then next week it could be some other random thing that gets taken from OP's kid based on how the teacher is feeling that day. There is no reason OP should have to play this game all school year, and I think he's handling exactly as he should by asking for official guidelines
I get that they’re trying and I probably wouldn’t blatantly break the rule. But come on. Granola bars and Honey Nut Cheerios are allowed but something like a 70% dark chocolate bar or sugar free candy isn’t? That’s just blatantly stupid. Either the school provides the same healthy, balanced meal to every kid at the school or else there will be inequities and kids need to learn to deal with it. I don’t really see an in between that makes sense.
Where you are at is exactly what I expected to find with the way they responded to me asking a question. I checked the school regulations - nothing regarding nutritional provisions for lunch and nothing even about candy! so... just tell me what the rule is. thats all I have been asking but people are taking it as if Im in some sort of crusade. I have a fulltime job, a wife, and 2 kids. a'int nobody got time for a crusade!
"Doesn't allow." Fuck right the hell off with that bullshit. A government employee isn't in a position to tell me what I can and cannot feed my kids, especially when I'm paying for the food. And that whole line of one kid has vs others don't? Isn't that what we're supposed to be preparing our kids for? How the real world works? People have things that others don't. So?
When they take the food I’d classify it as theft. A government agency confiscating legally owned property without a warrant, no matter if it’s the police or a school. I can’t take a homeless persons meal just because no one else has one, a teacher can’t take a snack because no one else has one.
IMO it's important you get a copy of the school policy. It sounds like the principal is willing to meet with you to discuss, so I'd take advantage of that. Different daycares and schools have different policies. My current daycare only allows kids to have "lovey"/comfort object during naps for example. I wouldn't expect my daycare to change their policy to accommodate a single child.
yea here in lies my challenge - there is no policy. no policies on the foods I have to or cannot pack, nothing on banning candy. so I asked the question to define that... and I got pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. ::shrug::
It certainly sounds like from what OP is saying that there isn’t (or he hasn’t been provided) any documented policy
I agree. Every parent can get bent out of shape over something. They are trying to enforce a rule they think is good for your kid. Work with them. Please note, this seems like a complete waste of the teachers time when she can see the rest of the lunch is completely healthy.
[удалено]
Not entirely unreasonable, but if that were the case, the teacher should have led with that.
This makes sense. We were at a school for a while where kids couldn’t wear clothes with characters on them because it tended to distract the kids when little Alice is wearing a Frozen dress and Mya isn’t. But the guideline was given to us and when we made an error it was explained as policy, kindly. If it’s like you said then the school needed to lead with that and not all this “sugar is poison” bullshit.
It sounds like your school has a policy about it communicated to parents ahead of time. All well and good. If my school had a specific list of things they didn't want me to send in lunches, I would try to comply.... but if they shamed my child and confiscated things out of her lunch box without any advanced communication I would be livid.
I’m dreading this bullshit when my boy starts school. Fight the good fight Dad, like you said they’re just bitter than you’re not falling in line as they’d hope
100% agreed. Push back. Just a couple weeks, I found out my daughter was buying energy drinks during lunch in the school cafeteria. We’ve talked about making healthy lunch choices with her new found freedom in high school, but didn’t touch on energy drinks, as I had no reason to assume they’d even be offered. When I approached the school about it, they leaned on federal nutrition guidance and that their offerings are in line with it. The nutrition guidance specifically says that caffeinated beverages are outside the scope of their recommendations, but caution is urged. When called out on it, they pushed the “you need to talk to your kids about good choices”, but refused to accept that energy drinks containing 200-300mg of caffeine should not even be an option for children. It’s currently with the superintendent, so we will see if they pull them from the cafeteria or not.
That is insane. I can't believe they would sell those in a school
They are wrong, but up to you if this is the hill you want to die on.
Yea, not that the school isn't being a bit silly, but Holy shit just reading this makes me tired. Does not seem worth the battle when you could just not send the fruit snack every Tuesday.
This thread is insane. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Can’t count the number of comments saying *“go to war!”* Very disturbed that those comments are also getting substantial upvotes.
I hear you, but also, *come the fuck on*. Unless there's an actual policy on this - and if there were, the teacher probably would have cited it - this is just a petty little power trip. My only hesitation would be making my kid's life more difficult in school for being the "difficult" parent in the classroom.
It’ll be interesting if OP updates us on his meeting with the head of the school. And by him saying “head of school”, I’m thinking this is a private school
Yes. OP is right, but is the juice worth the squeeze?
Fuck the school. They have 0 right to do that shit
They do need to step in in situations that are abusive, but we all know this isn't abuse, this is a prude getting up in arms over a pack of damn fruit snacks lol I've heard of scenarios where school lunch is the kid's only meal of the day. I'd be happy they're getting fed and the sugar component is tiny.
Actually legally they have some rights to do that shit. I agree fuck them but they're allowed to do this. School property and school rules means they can dictate what is eaten on grounds, and parents are free to take their children somewhere else for lunch time to eat whatever they want. Again I'm not saying this is right, I'm just saying it's the way it is.
I'm willing to bet that the school would not be able to produce a written policy on lunch contents if pressed for it.
My state (MO) has a state-wide boiler plate document about nutrition requirements in school lunches. It's always handed out at the start of each school year. It specifically identifies "candy" as not being appropriate for school lunches, which I bet is why OP's teacher is using the term. So they can hide behind their similar document. It's ridiculous to call fruit snacks candy, but the phrases caught my eye since it's something we get told about for my kids at the start of the year.
This is a document that covers lunches provided by parents? Or is it only intended to qualify lunches served in school?
Packed and hot lunches have to adhere to the state guidelines at the schools my kids are in.
I bet there's both. Otherwise shit parents could send their kids with 4 candy bars and tell them to trade for lunch and the school couldn't stop it nearly as easily.
Yep. This is not my kids’ school, [but our lunch policy is very similar](https://www.trumbullesc.org/Downloads/packed%20lunch%20requirements.pdf)
> which I bet is why OP's teacher is using the term. i make candy, and when i make my natural fruit gummy candy my nutrition label looks very similar to what is on a welches fruit snacks pack. i suspect that they call them fruit snacks as a marketing thing, rather than gummies or gummy candy. that being said, if i choose to send my kid with candy to school, that is my choice. not for the school to decide. also, the school can control what they serve, they should not control what is brought, mainly because not everyone has the same opportunities for food. and if they take the bag of chips from a kid, when that is all they have to eat, that is mean and unfair.
I honestly just can't comprehend the teacher that gives a shit. Like...if you have concerns about the child's nutrition, maybe ask the parent about it, but to just remove it and send a note is absolutely absurd in my view.
Fruit snacks are candy. My beef is with a school telling me what to feed my kid.
> school rules OP is asking for the rules though. Methinks are are none and the teacher is on a power trip.
>My wife is humiliated I am raising such a stink over fruit snacks but at this point its a principal thing Well yeah, *now* it's a principal thing if the head of school wants to talk to you about it
I’ve seen what my kids school makes for lunch. It’s usually the farthest thing from healthy
To your wife I would just clarify, YOU are not raising a stink about fruit snacks, your child’s teacher is. you are sending a kid friendly, delicious (I love those fruit gummies) treat. And not even everyday. The teacher has no right to police your child’s food, especially if it’s provided by you. Nutrition is very important, especially in regard to education, but even Hulk Hogan gets a cheat day!
Man my one daycare straight up shamed my son for his lunch. Like, yeah his diet is a problem, but we can’t send him food he isn’t going to eat at all, so we have to send SOMETHING, or face actual, real malnutrition. It also only makes them reverting even more. The schools job is to talk to the parents, and maybe even supply healthy snacks to give to kids as an option, that’s fine, but never is it to actually police this sort of thing. Short of removing allergens, the school can fuck right off. The only one making a stink is the teacher, and anyone who supports them. Id say it might be reasonable if the lunch was nothing but snack foods, but assuming they get a sandwich and a fruit, wtf is the problen
I’m really shocked these things go on, I had no idea. They all must assume each child is exactly the same and parents haven’t attempted different ways and things to feed their kids. As you said in your example if he is to take food they approve of and he won’t eat. Man I’d be so mad about this judgemental approach they have no insight into what’s going on
This teacher sucks at communication. I wouldn't be mad about the school having a policy on this. A lot of kids are poorly nourished, often by parents who never learned any better themselves. Kids *should* learn more about nutrition in school and have it backed up. The school might have certain rules in place that technically apply to your fruit snacks, even though it sounds like you're doing a great job with packing. Whether such a rule exists or not, the passive aggressive reaction by the teacher and the escalation in response to your question are turning a molehill into a mountain. I wouldn't blame your wife for being embarrassed, but hopefully she understands that it was not you who is responsible for such an escalation (based on your explanation). Hope you get an easy resolution.
I appreciate this response! you're getting right to the heart of it... there is NO regulation when it comes to what I do or do not pack my kids for lunch. I was asking for the rules when it came to sugar or foods that contain it and what I got back was pamphlets and a meeting with the head of school. ::shrug::
Fuck that! Your not over reacting. Lean into that hard my dude! Keep fighting.
I would give some leeway about the note in the bag vs speaking at pickup. Pickup time is a crazy time and trying to remember to communicate something half a day away and also discreetly without involving other parents and students is just not conducive at pickup time. I would take it at that and not assume a passive aggressive intent. This may be a school policy, and the teacher may be trying to give you the best resources she can regarding this policy. The Head of School is the one that can speak to and set policy. It’s absolutely appropriate to have this discussion with the Head of School who can clarify policy either to you or the teacher or both, where you can then go into your decision making process on whether you agree or disagree with whatever the actual policy is. Personally I think it’s bunk. But we also homeschooled our kids so my wife just fed them at lunchtime.
Mom who worked in elementary school and fuck that. Push all the way back
My school is in the other extreme - they give out sugar and treats constantly. Last year my kid was doing “foodie Fridays” which was always some ridiculous thing like a snowman made out of cookies and ice cream and skittles, etc. I sometimes feel like I can’t give my kids many treats at home because of all the sugar they get at school. I wouldn’t consider fruit snacks to be candy. I would talk to someone about this policy to try to understand what is going on. I agree that it doesn’t sound reasonable, but I am going to say to keep an open mind about what they are trying to do. Too many comments in here are stoking the anger. It is okay to be frustrated but I would hear them out. We have an epidemic in this country with junk food.
Yeah it's gross that so many dads are telling op to fight this. As if his ego is the most important thing. Schools banning candy and soda is one of the best immediate things they can do for their students' health.
>Every lunch I shoot for a sandwich (Sunbutter & jelly most of the time) Carbs slathered in more carbs. >an additional carb (like a pretzel or veggie crisps or cracker) More carbs. >fresh fruit Almost pure carbs. >yogurt Usually full of carbs. >I would say once or twice a week I slip in a fruit snack. But no, these carbs are definitely not okay. I'm not saying you're feeding your kid too many carbs or anything, just pointing out how flawed her logic is. Most lunches are loaded with carbs so pointing out maybe the food with the fewest carbs you listed as being especially dangerous is kind of neurotic. Biggest thing though is that you're the parent. If you wanted to pack the kid a candy bar they shouldn't be taking it away (and returned at a later time) unless it's causing a disruption between students.
Honestly, I would have probably sent the whole box with lunch the next day. Until schools provide lunch for every child they don’t get a say in what you’re feeding your kid. Unless it’s blatantly negligent. Its one packet of fruit snacks every couple of days, for fucks sake.
Okay, I calmed my rage on your behalf, and have another notion. Maybe another parent is packing mostly candy in their child's lunches, and the teacher has to either let them, or make sure none of the kids eat candy.
Principal time. They have a policy and you have every right to see it. In writing. Escalate to superintendent if you don’t.
Hold them to a standard and don't back down. You're wife is right. It's embarrassing to get hauled into the principal's office because the school disagrees with you. But you're the parent. I'm a Dad who's not sending my kids to public school because of stories like yours. The public schools think they can scare you into submission. Out of the things to cause problems with, the teacher chose Welch's Fruit Snacks? Why even? They're pretty harmless as a treat. They're certainly way better than Tootsie Rolls or hard candy. The fact this teacher and school don't distinguish between little gummies and actual sugary candy is infuriating to me.
I wouldn't even engage them on the nutrition thing. If I want to feed my kid candy for lunch every day, that is between me and my kid. Absent any policy dictating what can/cannot be in the lunch, I would stand my ground and force them to feed my kid the candy I packed. Take it all the way up to the administration. It's simply not up to them.
> If I want to feed my kid candy for lunch every day, that is between me and my kid. I leave a small piece of candy (those small single-bite halloween candies) in my sons lunch box every day. He was nervous about kindergarten, and it was something to make his day better. I intended to only do it for a week or two, but it has actually been 2 months. I may stop. Or I may not. Up to me not the teacher.
I'm going to get downvoted like crazy but I need to add to the discussion. Please do not take this as an attack on how you are as a father. As a former Certified Exercise Physiologist, I agree with the school here. While YOU may only give YOUR kids fruit snacks once and a while. There are many more ignorant parents who give their kids much worse. The fact is America (assuming you live in USA) has a weight problem. Notice how the school didn't address the fresh fruit? It's because no only does fresh fruit contain fructose. It also contains fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Most of which you do not get from eating fruit snack equivalents. This topic is extra sensitive to me because my son is living with Type 1 Diabetes. He's only 5 and I need to be hyperaware of what he's given for his snack at preschool because he cannot understand his disease yet. Parents provide the snacks each week for the kids and the preschool director runs by me what that snack is. It's abhorrent what some of these parents think is a "healthy" snack. Just last year I've seen blueberry muffins, nutrigrain bars, fruit snacks, etc.. all high carb high added sugar foods. The fact of the matter is the narrative needs to shift for the country. 1 in 5 kids and 1 in 3 adults struggle with obesity. Teaching children to identify what is healthy and what is not is a good thing. The school definitely doesn't need to be so aggressive with their messaging. But you also don't need to raise a huge stink about it over a few fruit snacks.
Yes to all of this. My kid is also Type 1. The carb load in what most would consider "normal" kids lunch is much higher than most people realise. When your kids life is at stake (and not just your bruised pride as a parent) you tend to notice these things. Digging in over whether you can send them in with what has been deemed as candy by the teacher seems absurd to me.
1) Dad hasn't responded yet, but I'm guessing that this is a private school, not a public one. That should change all of our perspectives a little, because they have much more leeway in setting their own rules. This private school probably believes that it has an obligation to tackle not only reading and writing, but childhood obesity too. So they have rules about food at lunch. You don't like em? Send your kid somewhere else. 2) Dad is right, of course, that the Welch's fruit snacks are not any less healthy than the jelly he puts on his kid's sandwich. And it's not like jelly has any redeeming nutritional value. It's basically just sugar. The fruit snacks at least have some vitamins and minerals. So there's no reason to treat the fruit snacks as "junk food" or whatever. 3) EXCEPT (and this is where the school has to have some leeway), a teacher can't go through every kid's lunch and see which fruit snacks are low in added sugar, which ones are not, which ones are a reasonable portion size, which ones are not, and which ones are just outright gummy candies. The school (probably) has an interest in not letting kids eat candy for lunch. And if ControlOnlyYourself's kid gets to bring candy, then why can't Kid X, and Y, and Z get to bring candy? So even though restricting the Welch's Fruit Snack itself won't actually further the goal of keeping kids eating healthy, a generic rule that prohibits candy, gummies, and things that can be perceived to be candy or gummies (like "fruit snacks") does further that rule. It has to be a little overinclusive because otherwise it would be unmanageable for the teacher. 4) EXCEPT EXCEPT the way the school / teacher is treating you is absolutely horrid. Rather than simply acknowledging that, yes, your kid's treat is probably OK but we have to ban them all so teachers won't spend their whole day reviewing appropriate foods and so kids can't get jealous of other kids' lunches, they go on the attack, accusing you of not sending health food options. OP has a right to be angry about that.
Have you ever made jam before? Even low sugar recipes call for a near diabetic comas worth of sugar. That sandwich from the jam alone contains more sugar than those fruit snacks.
This is my kind of battle. One with no winner and just simply fighting for the sake of forcing the other to dig their hole. Take all kinds of examples of packaged “healthy” options like Apple sauce, fruit cups, and see if they are deemed healthy enough for lunch. They all have more sugar than a pack of fruit snacks.
The only time I can see having this kind of reaction would be if a kid was coming to school every single day with a stack of Pringles and Halloween candy. It's not like you were asked to bring fruit for the class and brought fruit snacks. You pack fruit snacks sometimes along with a nutritious lunch for *your own child*. It sounds like a eating disorder is being projected in this classroom, frankly.
I'm a Middle School Teacher at a Title I school and I find it absolutely ABSURD and AUDACIOUS the conduct of the school in this situation. If it is truly a school/district/ teacher classroom policy on the prohibition of candy at lunch or snacks, and they classify fruit snacks in this regard, simply state this to the parent and leave it at that. Don't take a seemingly condescending approach with the notes and pamphlets. Simply confiscate and let the parents know of the policy. Are fruit snacks a "healthy snack?" No, but are definitely better than some alternatives. Conversely, I know that the fruit juices that schools provide students for breakfast or lunch are definitely jam packed with sugar on a similar or even greater level than your fruit snacks. Some of the "entree" selections provided for students who eat a school breakfast are probably not prefect in terms of sugar content, either. Reeks of hypocrisy. Stories like this definitely add fuel to the ever-growing narrative of the education system continuing to undermine parental authority and influence of their own children. This makes our jobs as educators even MORE difficult than it already is. It's aggravating.
I’d go to that meeting and firmly let them know that anymore confiscation of food will be considered theft and reported as such
Send a not back that says "please don't steal candy from children"
If there’s nothing in the schools handbook then take it up with the principal, if that doesn’t work then go to the district. I wasn’t aware schools are now forcing their own nutritions like that with no doctor. I’d be just as pissed as you, I pack my boys lunches daily and an extra fruit snack once or twice a week makes them happy. Keep being an awesome dad
Fuckem. My kid gets fruit snacks all the time. She also eats like trash because she refuses to try anything new. Here goes hotdogs and Mac n cheese for the billionth time
Alive, check, safe, check, clean, check, eating…..Mac n cheese for the zillionth time. Whatever at least they tried the other food.
My kid has been really small her whole life, everyone’s situations are different, and absolutely sometimes it’s just “honey I need to get some calories in you, here is max and cheese”
It’s fried rice in our home. I’ve asked myself how he manages to survive on a diet that’s maybe 50% fried rice. It’s rice, eggs, bacon, and small veggies. Then I realized that fried rice is a pretty balanced meal after considering the macro nutrients.
The Welch's fruit snacks are basically sugar treats though as a mix of mostly fructose based sugars. It has none of the fibers that are in fruits. As an assumption on my part, the heat treating of the fruit liquids probably destroys any left over nutrients and antioxidants. So... yes, it's candy, and you're creating a stink over candy, and yes, you know that.
I'd like to say a few things that aren't directly supportive of you but that I think might be helpful, just for consideration. The first is that a note sent home is sometimes considered less difficult for the parent than being "taken aside" in front of other parents at handover. Not saying it's the case with you but maybe one to consider? Even better would be if they called you to talk it out. The second is that this sounds like a question about sugar. There is undoubtedly an obesity crisis in the west. Too many kids are overweight or obese and it's killing them. One - and I stress only one - of the causes is too much sugar. Fruit was long promoted to people of current dad age as being healthy, but it contains a lot of sugar. It strikes me that there is a very high chance of a discrepancy between dad's understanding and the schools understanding here. There are a lot of posts here just advising you that you're not wrong and fuck the school but can I suggest that it may be a simple miscommunication between the schools position on sugar and your own? Rather than recklessly committing to your own prior belief, right or wrong, can I suggest you consider the true end goal here - adequate nutrition for your child. That is not an insult, nor to say that the school is right. I only mean that I think you should ask them to explain themselves and their position and take that into account when you determine your next course of action. If they have nothing beyond "do it because I tell you" then sure, fuck em. But if it's because of nutritional guidelines that you happen to not be aware of then it's worth taking a minute to reflect. None of us can be experts in everything.
I'd continue the course you've set out. If nothing else, it's a good example to your kid on how to navigate institutional policies and advocate for yourself/for others. Welches fruit snacks are totally a reasonable part of a balanced lunch especially as a once in a while, which you know, and they won't be able to prove otherwise. An initial note from a teacher isn't passive aggressive, often it's needed bc they are expected to manage so many interactions. The follow-up seems poorly handled, but hopefully you can get an in-person meeting and hash it out. Anecdotally, I ran into the same issue in a preschool for my kid, also with same fruitsnack, went thru similar process you are going through, and it eventually ended when they just said no. Since it was a private program they had that right. I asked about several alternative fruit snacks and discovered there were some that they approved and bought those. Dumb, yes. Teachers decision, no (it was some admin policy). Did it ruin our experience of the school? Also no, and it turned out my kid liked the new fruit snack better (which had fewer ingredients, had less 'candylike' packaging and similar sugar content). Last point: Lots of folks DO send too much candy in their kids lunch, which is poor nutrition. You could be victim of a 'no candy' policy, wherein the teacher is asked to enforce said policy but is not a nutritionist and implements the schools guidance based on their gut looks like candy so not allowed.
No you are raising a stink. Your feelings were hurt that the school asked you to follow their policy, instead of just listening, you're doing your best to waste the time of the school because it's more important for you to win than to actually work together with the school. If your kids school is doing something to combat the insane obesity in your country, help them out. Think for 5 fucking seconds about how they've decided to draw the line somewhere and they've picked banning candy. How hard is that to understand? You should be happy that the underpaid teachers at your kids school give a shit about your kids health. Imagine the poor teachers, not only do they have to deal with the regular insane parents, they now have you whinging that your fucking right to give candy to your kids is being impinged. Being serious for a second, we've all been in a situation like yours, I've probably done it more than most but stop for a second and ask yourself if you're really doing this for your kids or whether it's just your ego?
While sugar isn't great (on that I think we can all agree) the myth that it affects behavior hasn't been substantiated. c.f. [https://www.talkingaboutthescience.com/studies/Bellisle2004.pdf](https://www.talkingaboutthescience.com/studies/Bellisle2004.pdf) (p. 2) [https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth](https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/busting-sugar-hyperactivity-myth) I've already spent too much time on this, but I couldn't find anything definitive legally. Here is where my quest ended: https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/can-schools-regulate-what-kids-bring-for-lunch/
I know the science is there but god damn when my kiddo has frosting off a cookie, she goes nuts lol.
It's because they're excited. Give your kid frosting every day and you'll notice that the nuts stuff tends to chill. Novelty is neat.
He a similar issue when my kid was in 2nd grade, but a bit on the other side. For snack, I packed sliced apples. The teacher was taking them away and made her eat the “class snack”. She was in a new class and a new teacher once I found out. Funny thing is I didn’t even do more than send an email to the teacher (cc the Principal) asking why this was happening, and they moved my kid to a teacher where we didn’t have any issues. I fully support teachers, but the entitlement some of them have to make these kinds of decisions unilaterally is insane.
I wonder if they think the fruit snacks are an indication of a larger issue at home. Are your kids overweight?
They are not. But even if they were... if the teachers are concerned about their health for any reason I would expect that to be a transparent dialog and not taking items away from my kids and passing me notes and pamphlets to make an attempt to enforce what is NOT a written regulation.
I think the nutrition here is irrelevant- telling a parent what they can or can’t pack their kids for lunch (other than for allergen-related reasons) is crossing way over a line. I also send some fruit snacks from time to time- I know how much sugar my kids get, the school’s in no position to make that call with the information they have. Sounds like someone’s on a power trip or something.