Friday, November 7, 2008

Who remembers being able to bring in cupcakes or brownies to be able to celebrate your birthday in school? (OK, I didn’t because I had a summer birthday, and in “the olden days” teachers weren’t concerned about “fair and equitable” celebrations in honor of each child.)

But still, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, and Valentines parties and birthday cupcakes were the stuff that made going to school the other 160-170 days a year bearable.

My kids’ school district just came out with a Wellness Policy, and while there is other good stuff in there, it was lost in this simple sentence,
“Practices addressed shall include parties and celebrations, individual student snacks, fund-raisers, vending, sale of food on campus during school hours (hot dog stands, special event vendors, etc.), field trips, and any food brought into school outside of the school lunch program ... [chief among them is:] Soda and candy shall not be allowed in school.”
Part of the problem is, that along with this, they finally took the vending machines out of the 4th-8th grade school. Why are there vending machines in a 4th-8th grade school anyway? So, they over-corrected for years of overlooking, and now our kids can’t have parties in school. Well, I guess they can have parties, they just can’t have “party food.”

Now, my life revolves around food. I cook for a living. I love to cook. I love to eat. When I’m not cooking or eating, I’m usually thinking about what I’m going to cook or eat. But, here are some important points to note:
  1. My kids who are in school are in 5th, 8th, and 10th grade. Hardly planning to bring in cupcakes for their birthdays. And by the time my almost-3-year-old is in school, there will be a whole new set of rules, I’m sure, so I don’t lose sleep over her school experience yet.
  2. I’m not a nutritionist, but I try to eat healthy and help my family and clients eat healthy.
  3. I believe in moderation. And, I believe in healthy foods first, then your treat.
So, I think the schools are missing a vast teaching opportunity here. If they’re so concerned that kids are trending toward obesity (and if you believe the American Academy of Pediatrics, they are: 1 in 3 kids is overweight or obese), and that kids aren’t getting proper nutrition education and guidance at home, do they really think prohibition is the way to go? That concerns me. I think it would make more sense, if it’s lacking at home, to teach the children proper nutrition at school. (What makes a healthy snack? What makes a special-occasion snack? How often can I have a special-occasion snack? How much is too much? Aren’t these questions we all struggle with from time-to-time anyway?)

And teaching moderation has benefits well beyond the nutritional world. It will set them up for success at managing their lifestyle choices for years to come. I think our new Wellness Policy misses the boat.

4 comments:

  1. Hey Kate,

    Our schools have controlled food at parties for years. But I wanted to let you know about a great wellness program North Andover put on at the elementary level this past year, run cooperately by both the gym teachers and nurses. It's called 5-2-1-0.

    5 is 5 fruits and vegetables each day. 2 is no more than 2 hours of screen time a day (TV, computer, video games), 1 is one hour of physical exercise a day, and 0 is no sugary drinks.

    Each month focuses on one of the numbers, the kids are asked to achieve that task 14 days of the month and if they do (dates initialed by parents)the kid gets a charm. The class that earns the most charms at the end of the year got a hip-hop dance class donated by a local studio. It really set the right tone of healthy lifestyles - worth emulating IMHO.

    Best,
    Kim

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  2. Kim, That does sound great, and much more in line with a sound nutrition education program, what I’d like my kids to leave school with. I’m going to look into that a little more and try to talk to our superintendent about taking advantage of an opportunity to teach the kids about healthy lifestyle choices.

    I’ve also been approached by moms of some middle school girls who are athletes to come up with a class about nutritious snack choices. They’re not eating enough protein while they’re playing sports.

    I encountered this this Fall when my Evan (13) was trying to make weight for football every week. His inclination was to eat whatever he wanted Sunday PM through Wednesday or Thursday, then starve himself Friday through Sunday AM. Sometimes he wouldn’t have a game until 3 PM. I was able to work with him to get him to eat more protein and vegetables and fruits, fewer carbs, almost no desserts. He really turned his eating habits around. It was good for the whole family. I’d also insist that he had something with protein on the morning of gameday to sustain him longer, an egg or a piece of toast or a banana or apple with peanut butter. It worked. He made weight every game and was able to give it his all.

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  3. Happy Anniverisary to you and Fred!

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  4. That's insane and cruel and just plain wrong. We all scarfed down on icing as kids and we're still alive.

    How about vegan cupcakes?

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