Candy and soda at school

SixOfWands

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 1:14 pm

chanatron1000 wrote:

Everything can be considered poison, depending on the dosage.

You're right. There's even a risk of water intoxication. People have died of it. https://www.medicalnewstoday.c.....9.php Our schools need to take care. Take away those ubiquitous water bottles that kids tote around with them. Teach them to drink only as needed. Let's end this scourge.

[sarcasm mode off]

amother

Crimson

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:53 pm

I fully empathize with OP. No advice. But it makes me really sad that my kids are rewarded with lollipops for answering questions in class.

I’m also in Monsey.

Lots of parents are really annoyed about this and lots of parents don’t care.
I just want to give my kids the best chance at leading healthy, well rounded and high achieving lives and don’t see how the constant candy helps them achieve that.

amother

Peach

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:27 pm

Totally agree. But there are other reward methods. There was a teacher in my son's school that gave out masking tape as a reward. He taught them how to wrap the tape around a pencil until they were ready to use it and then he taught them how to make things out of them. My son made a bowling alley. His friend made a motor cycle with movable wheels. He was one of the best teachers in the school and the kids worshiped him.

amother

Khaki

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:07 pm

amother [ Pink ] wrote:

Tell them your kid is allergic to candy or food coloring. They must comply when it’s an allergy, right?

Don't see that working too well. My preschooler has a sensitivity to sugars due to a GI condition. They sometimes accommodate, but she still gets way too much candy and sweets in school and even the chips they give have added sugars.

thegiver

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:13 pm

[quote="SixOfWands"]Wow.

Oh, I'm sorry. They're eating things that you don't want your kids to eat, and instead of controlling your own kids, you want to control what everyone else eats

Its not like the kid has much of a choice. He just follows his animal intuition. Esp at a young age. Children have little daas as the gemara states.

Did you know that controlled studies have failed to confirm any effect of sugar on hyperactivity and effects on inattention have been equivocal at worst. Yeah, kids can be expected to behave and learn well even if they eat sugar frosted flakes, because its all a myth.

It is interesting to note that a baby in the womb wakes up and becomes active after the mother drinks a cold sugary drink. Any studies done on why that is? Im sure you can extrapolate.

amother

Khaki

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:15 pm

amother [ Cerulean ] wrote:

From some of these posts, one would think that kids are fed a pound of candies and junk daily, gulped by the 1.5 liter Coke.

You'd be surprised, but they do! One of my kids (preschool age) came home last summer every day or at least 3 times a week) with crafts made of food. Lolypops stuck onto cupcakes with corn syrup (they called it food glue which is ironically a really accurate description for it), sour sticks and licorice stuck onto paper(!) with marshmallow cream, etc. They also got candy as rewards for random stuff and every major activity involved candy, too. And let's not forget shabbos party. 6 kids had to bring in nosh, and there was always at least 3 that brought, you guessed it- candy!

amother

Turquoise

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:27 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Wow. Children in your kids' schools are being fed "literal poison"? Please call the police and CPS immediately. Children DIE of poison. And there's a risk that your children could eat it too. What is it? Strychnine? Arsenic? It will be important for the doctors to know.

Oh, I'm sorry. They're eating things that you don't want your kids to eat, and instead of controlling your own kids, you want to control what everyone else eats.

Did you know that controlled studies have failed to confirm any effect of sugar on hyperactivity and effects on inattention have been equivocal at worst. Yeah, kids can be expected to behave and learn well even if they eat sugar frosted flakes, because its all a myth.

3 of my 4 never cared for candy. They'd have one piece, or give it all away. (The 4th takes after me.) I never sent it for any of my kids, and they all survived.

Sure, schools should try to model good nutrition by offering healthful treats. But stop with the histrionics.

I'm a parent who places no limit on candy/snacks. I guess its most likely because my mother never allowed us to have any nosh, so I'm compensating for it. The funny thing is that two (out of 5) kids won't come near it, one will take a candy once in a while, and the other two enjoy it in a (mostly) self-controlled manner. I think I'm the one eating the most candy per day!

Regardless of nurture, nature has a big part in this too.

amother

Crimson

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:28 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

I wish I could get my pediatrician, who specializes in behavioral issues in kids and ADHD (among many other things) to post his very educated opinion on this thread.
He sees a clear correlation between sugar, chemicals and hyperactivity in kids.

It is so backward to think otherwise. For some reason, the frum schools haven't really gotten the memo but most other educated, middle/upper class communities are so much more mindful. It's pretty ironic as guarding one's health is actually a Torah commandment.

southernbubby

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 9:06 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Did you see the just published study on the effects of soda on the lifespan? There is also an obesity epidemic that could effect health.
Some food coloring allowed in America is not allowed in other countries.
I am really surprised to see small children need root canals and dental extractions and wonder how much of that comes from diet.
I wonder what percentage of the diet of a child is filled with empty calories. There was a news story in the last week about a boy whose diet consisted for years, purely of junk, until he went blind.
The giver doesn't mean the kind of poison that requires immediate intervention. She is talking about highly processed snacks that, over time, rob the body of nutrition.
I am sure that The giver isn't against the occasional treat but doesn't want to have no say about an important part of her child's health.

southernbubby

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 9:11 pm

amother [ Crimson ] wrote:

Some frum people in one community that I know, ban all artificial food coloring because it really is bad for your health.
You can ask your doctor if he has published anything about this and post the link.

southernbubby

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 9:20 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Children are small and developing. Why not give them the best chance in life possible?
I went to the fruit market recently and brought home a bag of fruits and vegetables and the grandchildren gobbled it up and I felt really good about that. I took some other grandchildren apple picking. There are ways to make healthy food exciting so why aren't we doing it?

miami85

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 9:56 pm

I have never made specific limits to sugar and soda is mostly a shabbos treat. Even with my moderation policy, my kids have very natural inclinations to fruits and vegetables--I call them rabbits, fruits and vegetables are constantly being replaced in my fridge we can't keep it in stock.

Circadian rhythyms dictate the ebbs and flows in a child's day along with blood sugar dips post-meals. It is most common to see dips in behavior and alertness at around 10am and 2pm which often corresponds to behavioral outbursts and times for recess when they eat snacks, the 10am boost lasts until lunch and the 2pm probably until around dismissal which is why kids often have another crash around 3-4pm.

Schools are on limited budgets for prizes/incentives, and children are motivated by "immediate gratification". If you go to Family Dollar you will see that your dollar goes a lot further on nosh than toys. It is no secret that "natural alternatives" and "healthy options" are not as affordable as cheaper sweets, but it doesn't make them "poison." For teachers and therapists that have given prizes/tchachkelach, Often those toys break before the end of the day--where's the satisfaction in that? In the schools my children have been in, I have not seen an overabundance of sweets, but I don't know what you are calling "overabundance".

Even in sefarim, we make the connection of making Torah "sweet"--v'haarev na...etc. Children at 3 are taught to associate the alef beis with honey.

amother

Coral

Tue, Sep 10 2019, 12:49 am

miami85 wrote:

Ummm? How long does the nosh last?

rosenbal

Tue, Sep 10 2019, 1:00 am

amother [ Crimson ] wrote:

Totally agree. It must correlate with education level (as in, higher education) , not just being in the upper middle class financially. I've found that schools that are run by menahalim without any college education (and most of the parent body is also like that) have much more candy and soda being given out by rebbeim (and then they wonder "why don't the boys behave in the afternoon?!" Can't Believe It

) than schools with a more educated parent body and administration. I'm sure there are schools and communities that are more moderate in their sugar and soda consumption, but there are many that aren't!

It's very frustrating to be part of the yeshivish community hashkafically, but differing with it on other more "cultural" matters such as health, safety, disapproval of racist jokes/beliefs etc (And yes, I'm an FFB.)

southernbubby

Tue, Sep 10 2019, 8:05 am

To Miami 85,

Maybe students could be given non tangible rewards such as special privileges such as less homework or being first at something or being allowed to play with a special classroom toy.

Using food as a reward has it's downside. I wonder how many people struggle with eating disorders because food was tied to behavior.

There is also sticker charts to win bigger prizes so that prizes are not given for every little thing.

watergirl

Tue, Sep 10 2019, 8:22 am

My dentist (also my kid's dentist) is a parent at the school we send to. I asked him what we can do about the candy and sugary drinks the Rebbes give out and he said "nothing! It's good for business!". But then he looked at me and said that this is a time honored tradition that goes back to the year 1886 (when Coca Cola came out) and even longer back, Rebbes gave sweets to their students. Let them have their laffy taffy and encourage healthy choices at home. He also suggested for one of my kids who has really bad teeth to let the kid take the candy and coke but to bring it home and I can trade him something else for it. Money, Pokemon card, whatever. But he stressed that its the kids who are not allowed to eat a laffy taffy on Fridays that come in later with the worst teeth. They make up for it.

Having said that, there is are a few Rebbes in my son's school who buy the cheap legos from Ali and give out one lego at a time (instead of the candy). The kids have a massive incentive to earn these legos so they can build something cool. It's a huge hit.

southernbubby

Tue, Sep 10 2019, 8:30 am

watergirl wrote:

I think that what OP objects to isn't the occasional treat; it is the deluge of highly processed nosh. I would imagine that in 1886, quantities given out in cheder was more limited.