How strict are you in "controlling" the snacks your students bring to school? Our official school policy prohibits sugary snacks, and I've communicated that numerous times to parents. The majority of my kids bring healthy snacks, but a few don't (cookies, cake, doughnuts, etc). I can't see telling a kid they can't eat their snack because it's not healthy enough. I know that some parents' incomes aren't really high enough to purchase a lot of healthy foods either. What's your school's policy on this and how do you handle it in your room? I teach fourth grade, by the way.
Healthy snacks are about the same cost as cookies, cake, etc. Last year when we had a classroom "snack time" we made a list of good and not-so-good snacks. We talked about WHY we are having a snack (brain food) and what we should do if a person brings in a not-so-healthy snack. They (the students) said give each child 1 strike and that's it. Many never took advantage of the 1 strike and those who did, enjoyed their cookie but never brought them back again. They were in 2nd and this was a really low income school. I don't think it's "controlling", I think it's teaching them about healthy food/snack choices.
I teach fourth, and this is what I did this year. I told the kids at the start of the year that they need a "healthy snack." We put all our snacks in a box during the morning "unpacking routine." Then I just briefly glance through it to look for cookies or chips or such. If there is one, I hold it up and say, "Who thought this was healthy?" There's much giggling and the offender trades it from his lunch box for something healthy.
We did that for about 1.5 weeks, and I haven't seen any unhealthy foods since. FWIW, I allow granola bars, go-gurt type things, and cheese crackers as "healthy" but when the students ask I explain how there are healthier choices and how to look at ingredients.
I don't buy the "not enough money for healthy choices." I'm not the most healthy eater, but it isn't any cheaper to buy chips than to buy raisins or carrots.
Maybe it depends on where you live, but I've found it does cost more to eat healthy food. Partly because here the winters are long so most of our produce has to be imported from other states. Also because healthy food has a shorter shelf life so if you don't eat it right away, you have to toss it, wasting money. Processed foods last forever.
That being said, I know there are healthier options than what a lot of parents send. However, the reason so many children are overweight and the reason schools are going to wellness programs is that our country has gone through GENERATIONS of poor nutrition. Many parents may not even be aware of the healthier choices available. Things like pretzels, popcorn, non-fat pudding or jell-o, crackers, etc. are all healthier options, but some parents don't realize that. They think if it's snack food, it's junk food, and that makes them feel like their choices are too limited.
My kindergartners were required to have a fruit or vegetable snack. If they didn't have it, I would offer raisins (very few takers) but I would not let them eat their cookie or chips. I didn't really think they were going to waste away from breakfast to our 11:15 lunch and it made the point that they had to have a fruit or vegetable. It didn't have to be fresh, it could be dried or juiced.
I had very few problems with this policy even though I was literally the only teacher in the school who required healthy snacks. I did have one mom who wrote a note saying that Fig Newtons were a fruit and her son was to be allowed to eat them for snack....I didn't debate her, I just let it go
Also because healthy food has a shorter shelf life so if you don't eat it right away, you have to toss it, wasting money. Processed foods last forever.
So you don't buy as much at one time? I buy 2-3 apples at a time or one bunch of bananas, for example. Also, there's frozen fruit/veg, dried fruit/veg, fruit/veg juice, popcorn, crackers, cheese, etc.
In my school the students are given a "menu" at the beginning and they have to eat that kind of snacks. Each day is different. For me, in first grade it's quite easy.
monday:
Monday dairy products
Tuesday fruit
Wednesday sandwich
Thursday fruit
Friday You choose!
New to us this year, is a list of approved snacks that we have to stick to. All items have been checked by the school nurse. We are demonstrating more caution now more then ever due to red dye allergies, and peanut allergies.
Birthday's are the hardest to celebrate, because the parents, out of habit, continue to send in items that aren't on the list. We have a cabinet of approved goodies that the students can pick from if they bring in a Banned item as a treat.
Also, we aren't allowed to bring in items that aren't packaged...nor fruits and veggies from our gardens, which is a bummer. Many families in my school are farmers and grow their own produce. And to buy packaged fruit and veggies is so much more expensive.
Another example of how we pay out of our pockets...
We adopted a wellness policy in our school system last year. That was when I started to call the snack break in my fifth grade class a "nutrition break." We talked about healthy and not-so-healthy nutrition snacks at the beginning of the year.
I do not police whether their snacks are healthy, however. The children will point out to me when they feel they have a nutritious snack, i.e. carrots, fruit, etc.
"In my school the students are given a "menu" at the beginning and they have to eat that kind of snacks. Each day is different. For me, in first grade it's quite easy.
monday:
Monday dairy products
Tuesday fruit
Wednesday sandwich
Thursday fruit
Friday You choose!"
Hmm...as a parent, I'd have a problem with that one. For one, my son is allergic to dairy, and doesn't like any of the soy substitute products (except the actual soy milk). He also isn't a big fruit eater, but LOVES vegetables. When my kid is happy eating sliced cucumbers for a snack every day, I'd have problems being told what to bring on the various days!
I have no problem enforcing the "healthy snacks" rule, but I'd have a problem being told what day certain things had to be brought in on.
Good news! Cucumber is a fruit!
To really figure out if a tomato is a fruit or vegetable, you need to know what makes a fruit a fruit, and a vegetable a vegetable. The big question to ask is, DOES IT HAVE SEEDS?
If the answer is yes, then technically, you have a FRUIT. This, of course, makes your tomato a fruit. It also makes cucumbers, squash, green beans and walnuts all fruits as well. VEGETABLES such as, radishes, celery, carrots, and lettuce do NOT have seeds (that are part of what we eat) and so they are grouped as vegetables. Now don't go looking for tomatoes next to the oranges in your grocery stores. Certain fruits like tomatoes and green beans will probably always be mostly referred to as "vegetables" in today's society. www.sciencebob.com
I actually just learned this on a kids show called "Hip Hop Harry" and thought that I would share b/c I found it so interesting. BTW, dolmansaxlil, I TOTALLY get your point!
We live in a country where we are ALL protected by the Constitution. It is, plain and simple, unconstitutional to dictate what snack or lunch items a parent can send in with their children.
Teaching is not about forcing information, but about guiding, modeling, and having faith that children can and will learn when treated respectfully.
While "healthy" food might be available at reasonable prices, MANY families are not able to make trips to the markets where prices are reasonable.
Children do NOT make choices for their parents nor should they be embarrassed by teachers who single out their unhealthy snacks as being wrong or bad choices. Is a piece of fruit or a ring ding worth giving a child these bad feelings over? Should we not respect the children also?
while we encourage healthy eating, these kids are not going to the store and buying food for snack. They should not be embarrased or forbidden to eat what they brought. Our school policy is to encourage healthy choices, but we know we cannot take food away. we do not have that right.
Some of you are saying what I was thinking...I would feel terrible telling a student they couldn't eat the snack they brought. It's not really their fault - their parents are the ones who buy the food. What I try to do is gently encourage those who do bring unhealthy stuff to make better choices, and praise the ones who have healthy foods. I would never take food away or tell a child they couldn't eat their snack, though. Isn't it amazing the types of situations we have to deal with as teachers?
My sons 2nd grade had an approved snack list. B/c they have the last lunch time 1pm. They can have snack early in the day.
He is only allowed to bring in any snack off the approved list which consists of about 25 healthy items, they do not need to be sealed b/c it is only for them. Now if they were to bring in something for the entire class which is only allowed for 1 of the 2 allowed parties during the school year, it has to be sealed from the grocery store. No sweets cupcakes, candy, NOTHING allowed for B-days either.
Just keep in mind that low fat may not mean healthy. Often those foods have more sugar than their counterparts. As a mother of two very skinny and active boys I have been encouraged by their Dr. to increase their fat intake. They don't eat much sugar or "junk food" at all so their other options have to be full calorie and fat. They drink 6% milk and full fat yogurt. They have a lot of butter on their whole grain bread, etc. They are to drink juce instead of water just to meet their needs. My 5 year old has a daily caloric need of 2800 calories. Next to impossible.
We are allowed to tell the parents what clothes the children may wear to school (dress code) and what items they can have in their backpack (nothing that could harm another), how is asking them to bring a healthy snack any different? And I never tell my students they cannot eat whatever they brought to school, I just limit it to lunchtime after they have eaten whatever the parent has sent as a "main course". I have to live with these children all day and some of them are "off the wall" after consuming a high sugar treat. I think it is within my rights to make my classroom as productive an atmosphere as possible and having children who are not concentrating because of their parents food choices makes that very difficult.
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nor should they be embarrassed by teachers who single out their unhealthy snacks as being wrong or bad choices. Is a piece of fruit or a ring ding worth giving a child these bad feelings over?
I have never found that telling a child their snack is not healthy is embarrassing for them. You just do it in a cheerful, silly way and tell them they can have it after they have had something healthy. After a few weeks of healthy snacks only, I have found that my students get very excited about healthy foods and are very eager to show me how they are eating properly. And, remember, it does not have to be fresh, so the argument that they can't get to the store regularly really doesn't work.
"We are allowed to tell the parents what clothes the children may wear to school (dress code) and what items they can have in their backpack (nothing that could harm another), how is asking them to bring a healthy snack any different?"
My statement was that we are not allowed to dictate what is sent in by parents. We can suggest, which is different than dictating.
If you read any of the research on consumption of sugar, you will find lots to dispute your concern about creating a disruptive atmosphere.
It is fortunate for you that you have not made a child feel embarrassed. I do know of several children who have had different experiences, however. I do not believe that a snack is worth taking that chance over.
A few years back, before the "America's kids are too fat" campaign, I tried to tell my 3rd graders they could only choose pizza 2 times a week and the other 3 they needed to choose from the other 2 choices. I was not strict with this or inforced it. All I did was talk about having variety in your menu. I also incorporated healthy eating in my nutrition/science lessons. Well, I was scolded for doing this. I was told that I could not tell kids what to eat. I wasn't. I was just trying to teach them how to make choices. But I understood how a parent would not want me to butt in where they may be doing a fine job themselves. Unfortunately many parents today don't have the know how or upbringing to teach about nutrition.
So, now that we don't even carry pizza as a choice, but the food isn't necessarily any healthier, it's become the governments job to tell our kids how to eat. I DO ask that my 6th grade students not eat their chips, especially the red hot cheetos, at snack time. They can still eat them, just save them for lunch. I DO talk to my students about eating healthy, exercising, and what moderation and portion control is. I tell my students they are "practically perfect in every way" and not to worry about what they eat but to be informed and to make healthy choices.
The proof will be in the pudding. Mmmm, chocolate pudding. That sounds good.
09-26-2007, 08:46 AM
I don't think it's "controlling", I think it's teaching them about healthy food/snack choices. 
BTW, dolmansaxlil, I TOTALLY get your point!
1pm. They can have snack early in the day. 
for doing this. I was told that I could not tell kids what to eat. I wasn't. I was just trying to teach them how to make choices. But I understood how a parent would not want me to butt in where they may be doing a fine job themselves. Unfortunately many parents today don't have the know how or upbringing to teach about nutrition.
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