Teach Them, Don't Take It Away

Lest a certain Canadien that has been placed in my life to teach me not to be rude, not to gossip, and how to have manners, should think that all of us Americans eat those mudd balls from the last post everyday of our lives, I post this for thought....

There has been a new trend in food in American schools the last few years. I've read more than one article concerning this and had info sent home from my children's schools. School systems around the country are trying to go healthy...but try as they do, IT AIN"T HAPPENIN'. As I sit and study the monthly menu that my children's school sends home, I am reminded once again of one the reasons that I began their academic careers in kindergarten with a home-packed lunch everyday. My boys have had school lunches a total of about 20 times since they started school 4 years ago. For them it's a treat when they come downstairs in the morning and their lunches aren't packed. It's usually pizza day, but at least they normally serve raw veggies on that day too. The only other times they have had school lunches are when Smart Guy and I are out of town and they are in someone else's care or when we've had an especially busy evening or weekend and there just wasn't time to pack them. I admit, I've recently been getting tired of packing two lunches everynight ( or morning if I didn't manage to get it together the evening before). But when I read the menu, I have a renewed sense of responsibility towards my children. They don't need to have chicken nuggets, pizza, sloppy joe's (on white), corn dogs, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, or salsibury steak everyday at lunch. A simple p.b. & j. on whole wheat, fat free popcorn, an apple, and the occasional cookie once a week or so is perfectly good for lunch and much healthier, and yes they do eat it. They drink water most days for lunch. They have milk with breakfast and dinner. A favorite lunch is a bowl of dry cereal (they buy milk that day at school and add it to the cereal) such as Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest or Mighty Kids. I throw in a piece of fruit and a container of yogurt and they're happy and healthy little campers. Veggie dogs on whole wheat buns are also a well-eaten lunch favorite.

Some people probably think I'm crazy. Childhood is supposed to be a time to enjoy your food, I know. It's not like they never get anything good. During the holidays, we eat like everyone else. We make pie's, candy, mashed potatoes, and we eat white (gasp) rolls and bread. What this teaches my children though, is that there is such a thing as moderation. There's a time for junk food, and it's not in the everyday life, it's for special occasions to help celebrate. I know of someone who actually served yogurt at their child's birthday party, not frozen yogurt, just yogurt. My mom refers to these people as "food snobs". Ya know, those people who look down their nose at you when you give your child a cookie. (What's funny about that comment from my mother is that she made Brother and I eat Carob chip cookies made with whole wheat flour as children. I will never do that to my children, ugh!) Come on, give me a break! The evil part of me hopes her children get a taste of snicker bar ice cream at a friends house someday and drive their parents crazy from then on.

This brings up something else the schools are trying to do. When we lived in Alabama, they actually tried to tell the teachers and moms that there was to be no sugar at all in the classrooms. I'm all for getting rid of the candy that some teachers give out as rewards. I'm in total agreement about daily snacks only being healthy items. As pathetic as it is, Prophet's teacher actually had to ask parents to send in healthy snacks for the class on their snack day instead of cookies or little debbies. We send in the same basic snack on our snack day. One month it was four cheddar cubes each with 4 apple slices. The other month was cheddar cubes and Kashi's cinnamon harvest cereal. The kids ate it. BUT, a child should be allowed to bring in whatever they want to on their birthday. And mothers should be able to plan a fun party to celebrate those holidays that we all remember having parties for when we were in school. Serve water instead of juice, pop, or Caprisuns, but let them have their cookies or cupcakes and enjoy them. If you add up every holiday and the 15 or so birthdays that will be celebrated during the school year, that still only comes to about one bad snack every other week. The problem is this....most children are still eating so much crap at home, that the gov't now feels they have to solve the problem while they have children under their roofs.

I don't mean to sound high and mighty. We don't eat perfect in our house. We do eat all whole grain bread and pasta. We buy 1% milk and lowfat dairy products. We use p.b. with no hydrogenated fats in it. I buy pretzels, the occasional baked doritos, sunchips, and lowfat or nofat popcorn instead of chips most of the time. After school my children get a piece of fruit instead of a twinkie and you will never find poptarts or fruit loops on my pantry shelves. My children think apple cinnamon cheerios are a major treat. I love Kashi's cereals, their healthy and you don't have to sell your firstborn to buy them. While our family was here this weekend, I bought a bag of regular potato chips and a container of chip dip. It was devoured!! My children love junkfood...if the truth be told, so does their mother. I love Big Macs, chicken nuggets, french fries, pizza with ham on it, tacoes loaded with sr cream, and anything with cream cheese and sugar together, but I have a immediate family history of diabetes and heart disease. If I don't change the cycle, I will carry on family tradition and my children will then be responsible for changing it. Why not teach them now?

So, if you actually wanted my opionion on this subject, you've got it. Don't take the "good" stuff away completely, teach them moderation.