In MDO they would give them TANG to drink ( 28grams of sugar) in the morning, then in the afternoon they would get a sandwich cookie (fake Oreos... icing between two chocolate or vanilla wafers)... I never got a look at the sugar content... but I assume it was fairly high. So for those two years I would tell them to give him just water and then I brought peanut butter crackers for the afternoon. I tried talking to the director about the issue. She nodded in agreement, saying that healthy eating was an important issue and that they were very interested in learning more... blah blah blah.... but nothing ever came to fruition.
So I had high hopes for this year... a new school, great curriculum, awesome teachers. At our orientation though my heart sank. Apparently instead of the school providing the snack, or YOU providing the snack for your OWN child.... parents take turns bringing in snacks for the WHOLE class for the WHOLE week.
I don't really have a panic alarm in my head, its more of a quiet red flag that pops up.
After reading the list of approved snacks: Fruit Roll Ups Pop Tarts Vanilla Wafers.... etc etc my red flag went up, and I went to talk to the teacher.
Like all the others she agreed that sugar was bad, and that they try very hard to minimize the kids exposure to it. She discouraged me from bringing my own snacks since that might make Braden feel 'different' or 'left out'. She promised me though that she would always ask my permission if something seemed questionable. And in the past 4 weeks (since school has been in session) she has. In the morning when I drop Braden off, she has always given me a heads up or asked permission about certain items, which I TOTALLY appreciate.
But today driving home another little red flag started to show itself.... I got to thinking "it really seems like I talk to the teacher a lot about this." So I came home to write a sugar log. I am going to do this for the whole year.... I will do one each month. That way I can see how bad the trend really is.
The month of September (so far):
- A birthday party - cupcakes
- Hot day on the playground - Popsicles
- Cooking class- chocolate chip cookies
- Pep Rally Day - M and M's
- Panther Buddy visit - lollipops
- Snack (yesterday)- Welch's "fake" fruit snacks
- Picture day - flat red lollipop
I don't expect people to understand/accept/ accommodate vegetarianism.... or Organic eating... but I thought we were all on board with the sugar thing.... Sometimes I really feel like I am losing my mind... are my beliefs so far from the mainstream that I am not in touch with today's lifestyle? Am I THAT militant?
UPDATE: I wrote this post WHILE Braden was at school. I can now add TWO more items to the list.
- Fruit Loops necklace (using them to learn about their senses.... smell taste touch)
- Vanilla wafers (snack - thank goodness I brought my own today)
So that means we are up to NINE!
Second UPDATE: I just remembered that on orientation day the teacher had a bag of goodies for each kid at their seat: crayons, key chain etc.... but also included A BLOW POP (regular size)... that's TEN !
3 comments:
I think those of us who feel this way are not in a minority. The minority is people who "do" something about it. It is easier to give/send sugar stuff that to be healthy and cheaper too. No one can believe that Maggie has not had candy and only has had cake twice. The only reason she has had cookies (twice) is someone gave them to her. The only real sweet she gets is vanilla wafers and that is rare. I thnink we are thought of us weird though. I am proud of you for standing up-I have the same problem here. They don't get it either.
Miss you lots!
Martha
I would imagine the parents who turned down candy cigarettes looked militant once, too. It's tough being at the edge of the curve. But, just as smoking was once the leading cause of premature death here, now obesity is. I think the whole country will eventually come around to see giving an under-five candy as absurd as giving him or her a candy cigarette or a Joe Camel game. We're saving our children's lives.
When Aubrey was just 5 months old we were at a family dinner and I got up to get somethings from the kitchen. As I was walking back into the room I caught my dad on the verge of placing a finger full of cake icing into my baby's mouth. I just about went nuts and of course my whole family thought there was something wrong with me. We have had similar disagreements around the issue of exposing kids to violence in media, but that's a whole other post. Hang in there and hang with friends.
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