Health eating in schools is getting ridiculous!

[wideeyes]

Hi, I feel a bit upset about this. My daughter has pack lunches at school, which includes sandwiches and two pieces of fruit however today my daughter told me that her teacher took her Braeburn Apple and replaced it as it was too red which apparently is not healthy and has too much sugar in it!

 

[Cyrano]

Hi, I feel a bit upset about this. My daughter has pack lunches at school, which includes sandwiches and two pieces of fruit however today my daughter told me that her teacher took her Braeburn Apple and replaced it as it was too red which apparently is not healthy and has too much sugar in it!

While I'm in full support of schools removing junk food and sweets from the tuck shops they have no rights to interfere with any child's packlunch. I'd be contacting the headteacher about your DD's teacher immediately

 

[carolfoy]

I'm with Reid on this one - that's appalling, surely any fruit is better than no fruit? my goodness, I put a spoon of nesquik in Callums banan smoothies to make it sweeter for him, I think its better to get some fruit down him come hell or high water.

 

[mandymouse]

While I'm in full support of schools removing junk food and sweets from the tuck shops they have no rights to interfere with any child's packlunch. I'd be contacting the headteacher about your DD's teacher immediately

Me too, this is ridiculous. I knew it wouldn't be long before schools went over the top

 

[jjk]

Hi, I feel a bit upset about this. My daughter has pack lunches at school, which includes sandwiches and two pieces of fruit however today my daughter told me that her teacher took her Braeburn Apple and replaced it as it was too red which apparently is not healthy and has too much sugar in it!

I agree with you things seem to be extremly over the top,yesterday my eldest two at secondary school came home with a new list of what they can and cant have in there packed luch



the only things they are allowed are

Meat,fish or a non dairy source of protien
a starch food
at least one portion of fruit
at least one portion of vegetable of salad
a milk or dairy food



They are not allowed
confectionary (No problems with this)
any savory snacks other than nuts or seeds with no added salt suger or fat.
manufactured meat products
drinks other than water,milk or pure fruit juice

my boys usually have a sandwich piece of fruit and a packet of potato heads
for lunch and a can of diet soft drink. they have a balanced family meal in the evening and play loads of sport so I think they have a balanced diet.the thing that really got me was that I cant send them with a packet of crisps but the school canteen can still sell chicken nuggets and sausage rolls as apparently these met the new standards

 

[snookhams]

This is an issue that I have had for sometime with youngest DS school ~ the head stands over those that are eating packed lunch and polices them!

DS is constantly being monitored by the school nurse as he is supposedly underweight (its really just that he is very tall) and to be quite honest if I as a parent think that it is OK for him to have something in his lunch he should be taking the issue up with me and not my 10 year old who does not prepare his own lunch. what annoys me more is the school dinners are not particularly healthy all deserts are cake based or cookies and they even sell sweets in the playground on a friday afternoon!!!!!

 

[AlanUK]

Quite ridiculous, as has already been said some fruit is better than no fruit - and the sugars contained in fruit are vastly different to the processed sugar that is in junk food anyway! On top of this fruit contains all sorts of other nutritional qualities that easily offset the harm that a small amount of 'extra' sugar could do.

Ultimately the problem of children eating 'junk food' can only be solved by parents who have a much more rounded and informed view of their entire diet over the course of a normal day/week.

I agree that schools should not be allowed to serve junk food, but I don't think that they should be able to remove the constituent parts of a childs packed lunch leaving them with no food If the school has a concern over what a child is bringing in in his/her packed lunch then they need to talk to the parents about it.

 

[natalielongstaff]

thats just stupid an apple is better than chocolate surely

 

[Lizzybear]

While I agree with the campaign to make school lunches healthier as for some children it may be the only healthy 'full meal' they have all day either because their parents don't care or because they can't afford to feed them properly.
However I think it's unfair that all parents are being treated like they don't know what is best for their own children when I don't believe this is the case. There has be a balance somewhere and right now it seems like a lot of schools haven't achieved it.. Hopefully it is just a teething problem of the campaign and will go away with time.
I think the teacher was very wrong to do what she did. I hope it is an isolated incident but if not i'd definitely complain.

 

[pokemon_master]

Surely it's more the parent's decision what to put in their lunch; never the school.

I agree; people are going too far just to not get blamed for overweight children..

 

[jen_uk]

I thinks that is appalling!! I would really complain about it.

 

[Queenie]

I have a lot of concerns over this new healthy eating in schools programme. Whilst I totally agree with what they're trying to do, the way they seem to be going about it at the moment seems like it will totally alienate a lot of parents and seeing as they're the ones with the final say over their children eat, that seems like a very bad move.

I used the word "seems" far too much in there, sorry!

 

[Jules224]

I would definately complain, they can't interfere with your childs pack lunch like that surely? It explains why i prefer red apples though.
My daughter always has a packed lunch and i think she eats healthily, she does have the odd snack size chocolate but i think everything in moderation and she does eat a lot of fruit, i'm lucky she likes it.
DD school has chip (they call them chipped potatoes, guess that doesn't sound as bad?) day on a friday and i am all for healthy eating but i don't think this hurts once a week.

 

[wideeyes]

I agree that children should be eating healthy food in school and as far as I was concerned my dd is taking a healthy lunch, Her sandwiches are made with grainy bread or sometimes whole meal pitta, and she also an apple, grapes and a small box of raisins or raw carrot and cucumber or yogurt and a drink of water.

The teachers actions felt like a personal attack on me, I have never heard that a red apple is not healthy. (though it was actually red and green)
My dd has eaten Braeburn since she has been old enough to eat apple.

I would also like to feel that I can give her a 2 finger kitkat once a week with out feeling guilty seeing as the school diner children have cake!

 

[Jules224]

Well your daughter definately has a very healthy packed lunch and you shouldn't feel at all guilty about giving her a kit kat once a week, i would go and talk to the head and tell him how this has made you feel, there is no need, this is defiantely taking the healthy eating too far.

 

[ariel75]

i find this really annoying why do we need to be told what to put in our!!!kids lunches.
Before the summer holidays even gmtv was telling us what to put in the kids sandwiches and boxes i'm sorry but i do not need to be told what is healthy i already know!!!make a stand and see the headteacher

 

[CustardTart]

I agree that children should be eating healthy food in school and as far as I was concerned my dd is taking a healthy lunch, Her sandwiches are made with grainy bread or sometimes whole meal pitta, and she also an apple, grapes and a small box of raisins or raw carrot and cucumber or yogurt and a drink of water.

The teachers actions felt like a personal attack on me, I have never heard that a red apple is not healthy. (though it was actually red and green)
My dd has eaten Braeburn since she has been old enough to eat apple.

I would also like to feel that I can give her a 2 finger kitkat once a week with out feeling guilty seeing as the school diner children have cake!

The teacher is splitting hairs which is crazy. Apples, whatever the colour, are a healthy option. Your daughter's packed lunch sounds wonderful and there is no way you should feel guilty about a weekly Kit-Kat. I don't usually get mad about this kind of thing but if I were in your shoes I'd HAVE to say something. This is nanny state gone mad - whatever happened to a little common sense?

 

[flortlebap]

My SIL regularly sends her daughter (5) to school with a sandwich, chocolate bar, cake, and packet of crisps. What the hell kind of 5 year old needs to eat that kind of crap?? I wish they'd implement that at HER school, then she might start behaving better and being less of a little s**t.

Rant over

Seriously though... they have no right to say that. It's ridiculous - an apple is an apple for God's sake!! And at least you were teaching your daughter the right things to eat, you weren't trying to sneak in sugary snacks (or heroin)

 

[AlanUK]

i find this really annoying why do we need to be told what to put in our!!!kids lunches.
Before the summer holidays even gmtv was telling us what to put in the kids sandwiches and boxes i'm sorry but i do not need to be told what is healthy i already know!!!make a stand and see the headteacher

I think the problem is that there are a minority of parents who just don't understand what healthy eating for their children means, or alternatively just don't care. As the authorities and the media don't have a sensible (or cheap) method of distinguishing one type of parent from the other, they just beat everybody with the same stick!

I have to admit I have been shocked by some of the stories shown on Jamies school dinners and in the media recently, but I find it hard to believe that these are anything but exceptional cases. The example recently of the parents popping down the chippy at lunchtime for the kids who were only being offered healthy food at school, but didn't like it was just amazing, but it is just one school out of hundreds.

 

[wils]

Well you learn something everyday - I thought all apples were equal!

The world has gone crazy. I'd be having words with the school about this one. If nothing else they should talk to you about such issues not your child