School Dictating Snack Choices- Kind of a Rant

I would send a note back and let the teacher know that as the parent it is my decision for her to have the fruit roll up. I would also contact the principal and superintendent and let them know that as well. I am tired of the government overstepping their place and dictate to me what I should and should not do. I would also request a copy of the policy stating what can and cannot be sent for snack time.

If you had to deal with a classroom full of kids that had just had sugary snacks like froot by the foot, you would understand. Don't like the policy? You can always homeschool.

My son's Montessori allowed only healthy snacks. Candy like fruit roll ups was not allowed. Educating children about healthy eating is really important (just look around at the number of obese toddlers and children today) and it's pretty much impossible to do that while the child is actually eating candy. Why don't you work on expanding her fruit and vegetable choices. Strawberries, pineapple, melon, mango, papaya, starfruit, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi - she must eat some of them.

Why did you send your daughter to school with candy instead of an actual snack? Why couldn't you send her in with a sealable sandwich bag or small plastic container of a fruit or veggie or healthy cracker she likes? Or even a yogurt with an icy freezer pack to keep it cold in a thermal lunch sack until snack time? You have ENDLESS possibilities to send her with. But what you sent her with is not a snack.

Sorry, but sending a child with candy were I the teacher I'd have sent a note home too and disallowed her to eat it. They're packed full of sugar and food dyes and the teachers don't need a class full of children who have just eaten junk filled with that stuff.

Fruit roll ups and fruit by the foot are not fruit snacks. They're candy with some fruit additives. Perhaps you can find a small insulated snack bag for cool snacks. Also, if she likes go-gurt, you can freeze them and they will be defrosted by lunch.

The snacks that you mentioned are the nutritional equivalent of sending in skittle or starbursts or gummy bears. They're candy.

Good for the school and the teacher for maintaining some standards.

I can understand because the school feels like "fruit snacks" are more like candy than an actual snack. And they are trying to teach healthy eating...on our no-no list are "fruit snacks", chips, cookies and candy.

I found at Costco some great fruit strips...they look like a bigger thicker "fruit by the foot" but only have fruit in them...no added sugars or filler or anything. The school can't complain because I am sending real fruit with no added sugar or anything...it is just dried into a rectangle. I also found applesauce pouches there you can just squeeze into your mouth. (But I guess that might be like sending a banana and for as stomach issue go).

I was wondering why they are so strict on snacks until I went up to volunteer the first time...and there are a lot of kids that are over-weight and do not need any added sugar in their diets.

I just figure junk food isn't good for our kids anyways...oh, I send my son air popped popcorn...that lasts pretty well...

I've never heard of this in a public school but I would count this as a plus for a private school. I agree it is over the top to ban snacks but I appreciate a culture that encourages healthier food. I don't think I could get worked up about denying my child a fruit snack - something with no nutritional value. There are plenty of options for healthy, room temperature food that don't squish. Granola, nuts, dried fruit, carrots etc. It's not hard to get the right container for anything else - screw top for applesauce, fruit etc. Even if you don't get a freezer pack, most things will stay good at room temperature for 3 hours. Complain to the school if you feel inclined and breathe! #firstworldproblems

What you choose to feed your child is just that.....your choice.

I would send a polite little note into the teacher saying "M has said you told her not to bring fruit by the foot for snack anymore. She may have misunderstood what you said but I thought it best to clarify with you. M is a very picky eater and our current options are limited given the state of her missing teeth :) While of course I know fruit roll ups are not a healthy alternative for an apple, at this point she is unable to eat an apple. Her school snack is a very small portion of her daily diet which is very balanced. I choose to send her with an item that I know she will eat. Please feel free to contact me in regards to anything relating to my child. She is in your care during the day and I know we will make a great team this year! "

You are politely reminding her that you are the parent of your child and are perfectly capable of making said choices for your daughter. But you are also letting her know you respect her position and have an open door policy for further discussion.

Peace and Blessings,
T. B

Yes, school does typically request healthy snacks. They shouldn't have to throw their snack out, but they can send it home. I'm sorry but fruit by the foot is basically candy. Sure, many kids eat those as an occasional treat, but it's hard when you try to follow the "healthy" rule and your kid eats yogurt or applesauce and other kids are eating doritos and candy bars. I don't really think it's so difficult to find a healthy snack, even for a picky eater. In the elementary where I work, "healthy" snacks can include popcorn, pretzels, goldfish crackers, graham crackers.

I was told that it's because of the school breakfast/lunch program with the state. How much of that is true...well I'm not on the board of education so I can't say...and really I don't mind the list. Actually I like it so that when my daughter asks for something not on the list...I say it's not approved (i.e. fruit roll ups, candy which are things we don't allow at home on a consistent basis).

And I'm not saying you're wrong in giving her them...it's not for our family.

ETA: I looked up our approved snack list in the form it says "per the Federal Government Regulations...student wellness"...I take that as "if we don't abide by this we get less money!"...guess we either pay more taxes or the schools don't get funding.

Try fruit leather- dried fruit. Looks like a fruit roll-up but is only fruit, no sugar. A fruit roll-up probably wouldn't be enough to hold a kid over til lunch anyway. That's like sending a sucker. I know kids can be picky, but that doesn't mean a sugary treat should be their only option. Mom should make the decision, not the kid...or the school. Although I do think schools can give "suggestions" and should be able to ban candy/treats.

Just another example of gov't getting involved in our lives once again. Haven't you heard all of what Michelle Obama is pushing? All well and good but unrealistic. I feel your pain and will be dealing with this issue myself I'm sure once school here gets started.

No, not the norm, but also not unheard of.

Have you tried grapes?
How about buying one of those insulated lunch bags with ice packs (like the Pack-It) that is advertised on tv. We got one for my son and it really works well, and keeps the food cold for at least 8 hrs.

Yes! It is all a part of Mrs. OBAMA'S heathly foods plan for our whole country. It is not the law yet, I think! But they are inforcing her "Guidelines" for "Heathly SNACKS", because she knows what everyone should be feeding their children.

Sorry! A little rant of my own! Government trying to mirco-manage us in our daily lives...

Sending a snack in second grade? That's a new one on me. When my daughter was in elementary school (or when I was in elementary school, for that matter), there was no snack. There was breakfast (if you ate breakfast at school - not all kids did) and lunch, and you had a snack when you got home from school.

Did you even TALK to the teacher, or are you making assumptions based on what your daughter said?
Seriously.
Refrigeration has NEVER been available, for generations.
Your daughter's teacher probably said you "shouldn't" bring bring fruit by the foot because it's basically candy, not a real snack.
Your daughter must enjoy other snacks besides sugar, right? Cheese stick and crackers, half a sandwich, bagel and cream cheese, a slice of leftover pizza, a piece of fruit, etc.
My kids were picky eaters too, and they loved sweets, but they ate healthier things as well. Isn't this what we are ALL trying to encourage our kids to do, especially educators?
Teachers are screwed. If they don't speak up they aren't doing enough, if they do, they are busybody know-it-alls :(

Well, in second grade, I would be looking for a NOTE from the teacher saying this snack was not acceptable. Not my child's word.

If I GOT a note saying so, I would then send a note back asking for a VERY detailed list of what IS acceptable. Upon receiving that list, I would then have my child pick something from it. Meanwhile, I would continue to send in what I know they like.

But no, none of my kids' teachers micromanaged my kids' snacks in this way.

:(

We are in D303 as well, and morning snack has always been fruit or veg only. My daughter is picky and I've never found this to be a problem. Apples (slice them in the morning b/f school), grapes, bananas, raisins, peaches, plums, oranges, clementines, nectarines, carrots, celery, pepper slices, etc. I just peeled two small clementines for today's snack. There are tons of choices, even for picky eaters. There is no restriction on lunches so save the fruit roll up for then.

I honestly don't think this is the school being intrusive. We all know that it's better for kids to eat healthy so they develop good habits early in life. They learn about the food pyramid in health class so why not practice what you preach? Frankly, I find the number of overweight kids astounding (and I am overweight myself). When I was in school in the 60s/70s there were at most one or two kids in our grade who were heavy, now it's the norm in a lot of places.

Fruit by the foot is not a SNACK, it is candy. Personally I would not offer my child candy for a snack.
Crackers can be packed in a tupper box so they don't crumble, you can pack cheese or yogurt with and ice pack and you may consider cutting the apple in slices while she is getting her adult teeth in.
I don't think that this is an issue of the school infringing on your rights as a parent, but creating an environment that models healthy behavior by asking that all children bring in healthy snacks.
Good luck.

Just one more argument for smaller government!

if the crackers get squished get a tupperware type cheapo container to put them in.

Instead of fighting everything and getting all pissy try working with the school, you can certainly ask for special permission to give your child that. asking nicely never hurts.

my dd takes apple slices in a lil lemon juice in a little container with an ice pack,

would your kid eat applesauce in a little disposable cup.

I highly doubt any teacher would make your kid throw away an unopened snack, and i also doubt that they would refuse to open a package for her AND even if they did, i'm sure she could quietly tap a student next to her and motion for them to open it for her. but really even a first grader should be able to handle a little bit of independence.

no really-- pack some safety scissors and she can open it herself. that should not be beyond a 6 yo.

Part of the school curriculum is healthy eating. That is actually one of the First Lady's platform. My son is a picky eater too but I find ways to send in healthy snacks. You can put the crackers or pretzels in a plastic container and they will not be crushed. My son eats a banana a day and I give him probiotics to counteract the constipation that bananas cause. I send him in with salami too which does not need refrigeration for a couple hours. You can cut the apples or other fruit into small pieces. I think you are offended because they are calling you a "bad mother" by telling you fruit snacks are not healthy. You can give your daughter whatever food you want at home but at school, the teachers are responsible for the kids. I know a child whose parents got CPS called on them because all the kid brought to school everyday for lunch was buttered bread. So yes, it is for real.

Sorry you;re having trouble with snacks. I think the schools do it mostly because they are teaching them healthy eating and want to follow through in the classroom - otherwise teachers come across as hypocritical. That's just my understanding. But, would it help if you put the crackers in a plastic container instead of a bag so it doesn't get crushed? Does your daughter like dry cereal - maybe that could be an option? Granola bars or goldfish/graham crackers? Sorry - just trying to give you a way around without breaking the "snack rule" :D

Good luck.

Sometimes I think that a parent needs to go tell the teacher who the parent is and that if they don't like what this parent is doing they have the option of calling children's services, otherwise it's none of their business.

I am sorry to teachers out there but it is not your job or even you responsibility to tell a parent what they can or cannot feed their child.

I would be annoyed. But then again, that's why I don't participate in the public school project. I would passive aggressively call the teacher asking him/her for a highly detailed accepted snack list and/or sugar daily quota for the kids. And if it cannot be provided, I'll send my kids whatever snacks they wanted. What are they going to do? Expel your child for fruit by the foot?

It better not be the norm!! My kids love those stupid fruit by the foots.
You are right. I am the mom. If I chose to send that with my kid as his snack...deal with it. What next? I also get to chose what I send him for lunch, and if I send him with a treat (like after Halloween) are they going to tell him he can't eat it? Better not.
Just an idea....have you tried to freeze Go-Gurts? Pop the tube in the freezer and then put it in her bag frozen. It should be soft and cold by snack time.
L.

Thank goodness my kids went to school a long time ago. Back in the dark
ages, we actually sent cookies along with their lunch. Poor kid would probably be expelled today!!!! Just another example of the government in
our lives. I understand the "healthy" thing going on, but sometimes when you are short on time it is easier to grab a fruit roll up. I would continue to
send what my child would eat. Years ago when kids brought a real dessert
to school, kids were not bouncing off the walls. So I do not really understand that point. I think in reality, sugar effects very few children.
Good luck.

Wow, that's over the top, IMO. And sending ingredient lists? What the? No, our school doesn't do that. But for a greater variety, get one of those insulated soft lunch bags and the small frozen ice bars to keep it cool. I am able to fit four ice bars in our daughter's lunch bag, along w/ her food. We've made sure that her lunch bag can actually fit in her backpack.

String cheese will be fine unrefrigerated for just a few hours. Our daughter took it for lunch K - 12th.. No cold packs.. etc..

Apple sauce
Crackers in a plastic container
Quesadillas
Carrot or zucchini muffins
pretzels filled with peanut butter
fruit leather
Granola type bars
Strawberry newtons

This happened to us last year with my 9 yo son. I sent him with his favorite chips and he came home and said he couldn't take them because they weren't healthy. lol, he's the skinny one in the family. I just kept sending them and I think he just said, "my mom said I could have them". So maybe just email the teacher and say you will continue to send it in because its one of the few things she will eat and you don't have many options. I don't think they can "make" you do anything. However, it would probably be a good idea to not get on the teachers bad side either. Good luck!

Don't know if anyone mentioned this, didn't read all replies, but try the applesause pouches. They squeeze and have a screw top, so no mess.

I think it is becoming the norm.

I remember my adult niece having the same rant against her child's school for sending the same thing - Fruit Roll-Up. And I had a problem last year when my GD took a bag of chips to eat with her lunch. The lunch room monitor actually took the chips from her and told her she couldn't bring them anymore. Now, we're talking plain Lays Potato Chips not something loaded with sugar!

I too think they have no right to tell us what we can send for lunch/snack, but I decided that that was a battle I didn't want to take on.

Now I send stuff like Vanilla wafers with peanut butter, granola bars, fresh cut-up fruit. I also send Danimals but I freeze those overnight and then wrap them in aluminum foil and they are just right when snack time comes.

At our school we are onl allowed fresh fruit or vegetables for a snack. It's insane! I would pack something relatively healthy...but it has to be fresh. No applesauce or fruit leather either! Makes me mad....and my super picky eater with sensory issues very hungry!

I understand the school getting snippy if that were ALL you sent her for lunch. But I agree, I don't think it's unreasonable to send a fruit rollup for a snack.

I have the opposite problem - my SD's school provides breakfast at school, which is nice but a lot of the time it's muffins or pastries or banana bread or sugar cereal w/o milk. I'd much prefer her to have an egg or fruit or yogurt or something, but she won't eat at home now b/c she wants to wait for bfast at school. Also, when they have fruit or yogurt that she doesn't like, she just doesn't eat any breakfast and that freaks me out too b/c breakfast is an important meal!

Anyway, in short I'm trying to sympathize with you in that it irks me to let the schools decide what to feed my kids. However, on the other hand, I guess I'm glad that schools are trying to care that kids get good nutrition (and I guess a muffin for bfast is better than going hungry for bfast....)

yep, completely absolutely normal
They CAN control what is served in the classroom, give her those items in her lunch and give her a fruit, veggie or grain. Or give her an all fruit fruit snack/roll up (there are at least 2 brands that are) and bring in the box from it, write a note that says "it is 100% fruit, here is the label" and have her give that to the teacher. Then you are meeting the rules.
OR send crackers and smooshable things in a tupperware type of container. You do have a choice, they are just limited.

Also remember there are allergies more now then ever before.

I AGREE. WITHY YOU.

the school said send in a snack.. so I bought a costco size box of cookie packs.. then they said it couldnt be cookies and no wet snacks either too messy.

My friends child is in montessori school and they send home snacks that are nto healthy enough.. and the child doesnt get to eat it.. that is crazy.

I try to send fruit.. grapes.. strawberries.. banana... cut up apples.. but sometimes.. I send in cookies.. pretzels, crackers.. whatever we have..

It is my kid .. let me feed them as I see fit.. I do not need th food police.

I

My district rules are fruit, veggies, hard cheese, no dips - that's it. We can't bring the fruit snack cups unless preopened & put in container as they make a mess when kids open & can cause problems with food allergies. They used to allow crackers which became a slippery slope. Honestly, snack is @10/10:30 and lunch is @12/12:20 so really it becomes a hinderance to their lunch. Prior to having rules, I literally saw some kids having a lunch complete with juice box for snack when volunteering especially if 1/2 day kindergarten. With food allergies on the rise, they really need to be careful about what is allowed inside the classroom. IL state law now has really stringent rules that schools must abide by.

I pack my kids lunch with a fruit &/or veggie and they just go into their lunch @ snack time unless they are buying lunch where I send snack separate. While I like to use reusable containers, my youngest wanted to wash it out, accidentally spilled on desk/floor & bumped heads with his teacher last year so I only use throwaway baggies with him ;-).

For lunches I will sometimes put in frozen yogurt tubes.

My suggestion would be to "sneak" the fruit rollups in as part of a homemade trail mix. Chop it up into smaller pieces and add it to a mix with things like pretzels, goldfish crackers, dried fruit, pistachios, or cereal.

I send my son's snacks in plastic containers and he is allowed to keep the unused part sealed in his backpack. I like to know if he didn't eat any of his snack, either because he didn't get a snack time that day or he wasn't hungry. If I add a couple of jelly beans, m&m's, or chopped up gummy worms, I can tell he didn't eat any of the snack if the sweet treat pieces are still there(because he would have picked them out first).

Sometimes those individually wrapped packages are impossible to open. Take a scissors and put a small snip in the crimped wrapping. Then when its time to open, it will be easier to rip. This will work for the frozen Gogurts too. Now I'm hungry for a snack. :(

I understand the ingredients list. There may have been an issue with allergies. I don't understand why they wouldn't help her open a snack.

I don't understand why they would not like fruit by the foot. Have you considered the 'applesauce on the go' snacks. there are about 5 flavors available. My kids didn't like them at first, but now they do. Go figure.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias...

At least it sounds like most of the responses are allowed to bring healthy "snacks" to school for snack time. Our teacher specifically stated that the snack is to only be a fruit or vegetable. And, nothing that requires a spoon. So, apple sauce would be out, as well as, cut up watermelon or other bite size pieces of fruit. Forget something like yogurt or a cheese stick, let alone whole grain crackers. So, this is super challenging....and I don't even have, what I would consider to be, a picky eater!!

I'm with you, she's your kid and you get to choose what to feed her! I'm tired of the government allowing our kids to eat foods with pesticides or genetically modified ingredients, or telling us we need to DRUG our children if they are energetic. But your daughter brings Fruit by the Foot and suddenly you're a bad mom? Really!

I do wonder, since your daughter is in second grade, if the teacher just "strongly suggested" that your daughter not bring Fruit by the Foot and being a child she took it as she just can't anymore. Like the teacher might have said "You shouldn't bring this kind of snack anymore, it's not healthy." Saying "shouldn't" is not the same as "can't" so I would wait until you get a note from the school.

That being said, Fruit by the Foot is NOT healthy, and your daughter could get a blood sugar spike from the sugar which may affect her attention span. Followed by a drop in blood sugar, which also might affect her concentration.

A great idea is to wet a folded paper towel and then put it in plastic bag and place it in the freezer the night before. Instant cold pack! You can put it in the bag or box with the snack. By snack time the paper towel will have defrosted and your child now has a wet cloth to wipe her hands when she's done eating.

The other bonus is your daughter doesn't have to worry about bringing home her cold pack. Kids accidentally throw them away for forget them all the time :(

Good luck!

"Snack time" is a new thing for me. We never had a 'snack time' when I was a kid. I can't believe they made you show a list of ingredients of your child's snack! I read that & thought to myself, OMGosh, HOW insanely ridiculous! I also agree it's a bit ridiculous & a bit overboard on making the kids throw away a perfectly good snack. I'd take it up w/the school board & see if that helps. I think the teacher's behavior was a bit too much in this case. If I were the teacher, I'd just tell your child "Well it's okay for today but b/c the school board has rules, you must bring something we consider more healthy from now on". It WAS a waste of money if her snack wasn't open & she had to throw it away. I'd again, definitely consider talking to the school board. But also, as a gentle reminder & please don't get offended by me saying this but the school teachers, principal, school officials in general are the kids' parents of sorts while they're in school. You're not there to watch over them while they're in school so it IS up to the school officials to decide what's best for your child while they're in school & if they think your child's snack isn't "healthy enough", which they probably view fruit rollups more like candy as opposed to something fresh like cheese or apples, then they have that right to tell you b/c they want your kid to be healthy & have healthy snacks but making her throw it away w/o it being opened was a bit too much. You can always sprinkle fruit fresh on apples to keep them from turning brown & cut them up also to make the pieces easier to eat. You can also get an easy to open container to put some fruit in it like canned fruit in it's own juice or applesauce w/a plastic spoon wrapped in a baggie or napkin/paper towel (to contain the 'sticky'), that's a healthy easy to do snack. If spoons are not allowed, she can still turn it up & 'drink' the applesauce as it's puree. Hope this helps, good luck!

Our schools policy is that the kids need to bring a healthy snack for their morning snack, but lunch and afternoon snack can be whatever they want. One day last year I had sent my kids homemade banana bread for their morning snack. My son who was in grade one came home and told me he is not allowed to eat banana bread at school because it is not healthy. I figured that homemade banana bread was a pretty healthy snack. I mean it's got bananas in it, and that is the only way that kid will eat bananas. Go figure. I'm not totally against this rule as it is part of our schools nutrition education program, and I do understand the need for such a program, but it does make snacks much more difficult, especially if you have a picky eater. We did go through a year of really strict allergy policies, but thankfully that particular student transferred, so we are back to just the no peanut policy.

I know your issue is with the school micromanaging the students' food items. Is there any way you can let that go for the six or so hours your child is in school? I LOVE baking my own healthy treats for the family, but even if they are nut-free snacks I am not allowed to send anything homemade to school. I kind of hate this because my recipes are healthier than even the ones from Whole Foods - "evaporated cane juice," my butt! -- however, those public school teachers have enough problems without me bucking the system. I'm willing to let it slide for the school day.

On a personal note, one food thing on which I am firm is not giving my daughter gummy treats of ANY kind (fruit roll-ups, vitamins, bears, et cetera). My MIL who used to be a public health hygienist says that any child she saw who ate gummy fruit snacks was automatically put in a high-risk dental category. Seriously, it's like putting sugary Napalm on my kid's teeth. Brush all you want, but the damage is still done.

Good luck!

We cannot bring anything unhealthy, or peanut butter. For the first day of school I packed a Fiber One brownie b/c I knew he'd eat it for snack, and the fiber would fill him a bit. But then I got scared they'd take it, and I'd feel stupid. :) So I gave apples with yogurt dip instead. He comes home starving, of course. He didn't really eat his lunch (which I have to pack, no other option), either. Says there is so little time. So my rant is that my child comes home starving and isn't eating much at school at all. I am all for healthy food and trying to balance that with my child's need to actually eat. Grrr...

Sorry the snack issue is causing problems for you.

I feel your pain. I hate the whole snack thing too. What did they used to do back in our day? Honestly, I don't think there were any "snacks" back then. We had breakfast and lunch and that was it.

Anyway, I just wanted to say good luck with the yogurt tubes. I bought a Costco-sized package of those things last year before school started only to have them shot down by the teacher after the first day. Apparently the kids were squirting them too much. I was not too happy to be stuck with a huge box of them after that! :/