Teacher says Pop Tarts are not a healthy snack
Replies
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BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
OMG...I am seriously on the floor killing myself laughing!! thank you! LOL3 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »alarmed123 wrote: »Is this post a joke? Are we being trolled? Lol if not, pop tarts are the worst snack you could ever give your child, loaded with empty calories and a ton of sugar. My kids take apples to school. I'm not mother of the year but I'll be dammed if I send my children to an early grave because of disgusting food that over time will kill them and decrease years from their life. Ok I'm done lol
Let me just drop this here in case you missed it upthread:
The article posted is a sample of 1 from the Facebook page of someone described as "a qualified personal trainer and trained nutritionist". WTH is that?
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PopTarts killed my family and stole all my money. How can you say they aren't bad?
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BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
Prepare for disappointment in a packet.7 -
missmagnoliablossom wrote: »Send one of those organic, whole fruit Pop-tart knock offs and see what she says then. Lol.
THIS! ^^^^^ I had this exact same thought! I would love to know what she would say if you sent one of these: http://shop.naturespath.com/Cherry-Pomegran-Frosted-Toaster-Pastry/p/NPA-410157&c=NaturesPath@ToasterPastries with a copy of the nutrition label from it and whatever brand you sent that she said was unhealthy. I would laugh my head off if she said the naturespath are "healthier." Maybe in that they don't have as many preservatives, etc. but beyond that, they still have lots of sugar and the same amount of calories.
ETA: And I do let mine have the naturespath toaster pastries once in awhile. We have tried to teach them to eat a whole foods diet 90% of the time so they can enjoy a treat like this once in awhile without a ton of health consequences. We were concerned about withholding all "junk" food and labeling it because we've seen kids grow up then and rebel to a healthy diet because they never got to have "treats" like this. Because of the 90/10 thing, our kids desire to eat healthy most of the time and enjoy the once in awhile sweet treats as just that - a treat. And honestly, too much of those types of things make them feel gross so they have become self limiting as they've gotten older.1 -
Look, if we get to the nitty gritty of it, poptarts are not a good snack, and they are not healthy.
A single package of poptarts (which contains two poptarts) is about 400-420 calories. That is not a SNACK, that is a meal (I eat breakfasts and lunches with smaller calorie servings than that...). Granola bars are not much better either, but each individual bar is about 170-230 calories, and usually do not contain two servings in a single package.
While both have a few of the basic nutrients, such as calcium, iron, vitamin a, b, and/or c, there tends to be lots of sugar or fat and they do not keep you full.
A healthy snack to me is something that is going to be 200 calories or less, which is why vegetables are usually a great snack option. You can eat a lot of them, they have great amounts of vitamins and minerals, and are low in calories.
Please don't fool yourself. Poptarts are a medicore breakfast option, but are not good to "snack on".1 -
I also teach my children that there is no such thing as a food that is bad for you if you follow a healthy balanced diet. My son was told off by a teacher for putting my home made steak pie in the healthy zone when asked to place their recent food consumption in healthy/unhealthy bands! He was also told that potatoes are bad for you. Needless to say, I told them to ignore it.4
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ummijaaz560 wrote: »I went to my kids school this morning, to speak with his first grade teacher.
He came home yesterday saying he couldn"t bring his Pop tart for their morning snack, because they can only have "healthy snacks".
I was upset. I still am even after speaking with the teacher this morning.
I teach my child that there are no good or bad foods, unless you have a allergy or ethically cant eat it.
He has been sitting there afraid to pull out his "unhealthy snack" because its not "fruit, or granola bar, or yogurt"(healthy snacks").
I often send those as well.
I told her not to teach my child about foods being good or bad, because I dont subscribe to that.
Teacher: "So you're ok with him having a sugary Pop Tart in the morning"?
Me: Yes, I if send it its good enough for him to have. Just so you know there are granola bars with just as much or more sugar in them as Pop Tarts.
Teacher: blank stare.
Do teachers have the right to teach children sugary snacks are unhealthy?
Are Pop tarts the devil?
There are ABSOLUTELY "good" and "bad" foods! Pop Tarts are filled with chemicals!
However, I'm completely against the schools telling us as parents what we can and cannot pack our kids for lunch or snack. Unless it's a rule like "nothing with peanut butter" due to another child'd allergy, then I am totally on board with that. My youngest is super athletic and a bean pole, and even I have had this conversation with the school about her bringing not so healthy treats to school for snack or packed in her lunch. Basically, I just left it ar unless they're doing my grocery shopping, I'd be the one deciding what my daughter eats during the day, NOT them. I haven't heard a peep in 2 years.1 -
ummijaaz560 wrote: »I went to my kids school this morning, to speak with his first grade teacher.
He came home yesterday saying he couldn"t bring his Pop tart for their morning snack, because they can only have "healthy snacks".
I was upset. I still am even after speaking with the teacher this morning.
I teach my child that there are no good or bad foods, unless you have a allergy or ethically cant eat it.
He has been sitting there afraid to pull out his "unhealthy snack" because its not "fruit, or granola bar, or yogurt"(healthy snacks").
I often send those as well.
I told her not to teach my child about foods being good or bad, because I dont subscribe to that.
Teacher: "So you're ok with him having a sugary Pop Tart in the morning"?
Me: Yes, I if send it its good enough for him to have. Just so you know there are granola bars with just as much or more sugar in them as Pop Tarts.
Teacher: blank stare.
Do teachers have the right to teach children sugary snacks are unhealthy?
Are Pop tarts the devil?
Though I strongly disagree with kids having sugary or salty ANYTHING, The school "policy" is just that. A policy. It isnt a law. The school CANT kick your kid out for eating what you send him with. Most people will just let it slide and work around the schools rules even if they are ridiculous, or just pull their kids out. When they tried to tell me I couldnt send something they deemed unhealthy with my son in the 4th grade, I showed up with McDonalds and dared the school to stop me. Yes, McD's BAD.. but I tend to rebel when someone tells me I CANT parent MY KID. When they told me I couldnt dye my kids hair, both of my kids ended up with blue hair all year long. When they said I couldnt leave with my kids for lunch, I signed them out for the "day" and came back with them after lunch. The school was so afraid of me after a few months that the principal would see me coming, turn on his heals, and head straight back to his office. He tried to threaten me with a truancy officer because I was pulling my kids out of school too often to take them to the zoo or museum. He tried to use the excuse that their grades would suffer and a good parent worries for their childrens grades. I asked him, "OH NO! My son is making less than an A in all his classes?" "Uhh.. well no, not yet.." "And my daughter is struggling to turn in her assignments?" "Evidence shows that.. " "Then who the HECK are you to tell me how to raise my EFFIN kids when BOTH are in advanced classes making straight A's! Step the HECK off and stay OUT of our business!" After that, they never questioned me again. I eventually pulled both of my kids out to homeschool them. It seemed easier than domineering the school officials each year and reminding them who pays their wages.
Kindred spirit......
A rebel at heart here as well. When someone tells me I can't do something with/for my kid or myself - just watch me! This is especially true of doctors for me. 
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crzycatlady1 wrote: »cathydubepenner wrote: »My last post on this absurdity. Why with all the choices in the world, would you want to argue about the validity of feeding your child a food like product loaded with xenoestrogens, Yellow #5, Red 40 and TBHQ????? If you don't know what these are, then I suggest you google it. If these even a hint of a problem with a food why would you risk a loved one's health? Then there's the bigger picture of teaching our children bad choices from good. It's our responsibility to be the adult and learn to say no to some things and offer a choice from better options. The end, I'm done, ultimately it's your family's well being you're impacting.
My kids are in excellent health and two of them like to have poptarts occasionally. They understand how calories work (even my 8 year old son) and they know about macros and micros. My kids have a good understanding of nutrition and they all have a great relationship with food. They eat what they like in moderation and eat a varied diet. Exactly the same as I've learned to do.
My mom labeled foods 'good' and 'bad' and has had a distorted and unhealthy relationship with food since she was 11 years old. She's also been obese most of her life and has struggled with a bingeing ED. I refuse to label foods-it's a arbitrary process that can easily lead to all sorts of issues.
When my daughter was little, I made sure to introduce her to a wide variety of different foods as soon as they were age appropriate. As a result, she had a wonderfully diverse and 'mature' palate for a child.
I, too, never labelled foods as either good or bad. It was all just food to be eaten with enough diversity to ensure optimum nutrition across the spectrum. Desserts were never used as a bride - "Eat your peas and then you can have a cookie," because - human nature being what it is - that makes the cookie all the more desirable when it's used as a reward.
Her favourite food item in the whole world was ice cream. Chocolate to be specific. But she also really loved rather odd things, too, like raw mushrooms and raw brussels sprouts.
The one food she absolutely hated was broccoli. No reason for it (and none needed) she just flat out didn't like the taste or texture, either raw or cooked.
I recall her asking me at dinner one night (she was around 7 at the time) why she couldn't just eat chocolate ice cream, since she loved the taste of it so much. Good question!
One of her favourite things to do at that time was jigsaw puzzles. She'd spend hours putting them together and always felt very accomplished when that last piece was slipped into place, completing the entire picture. So I used that as an analogy to answer her question.
I told her that what she ate was like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. And that all the pieces that make up the whole picture are like the different foods she eats, and that her body needs all of them so that it can get everything it needs to be strong and healthy. Each different food gives her body a different piece of the puzzle to use.
And if she only ate chocolate ice cream, all the puzzle pieces would be exactly the same, and she'd never be giving her body the different pieces it needed to complete the picture.
She thought about that for a minute and then said, "So if I ate only broccoli, my body wouldn't be happy, either?"
Bingo, kiddo.
tl;dr: Kids are smarter than we give them credit for.
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Thank goodness my kids are all grown! Pop tarts were a luxury that they got to bring in their lunch once in awhile and were the envy of the kids at lunch time! I feel badly for OP's child that he was hungry and his stomach growling. ...and confused as to what he should do. Poor kid.
I would have rained all over that teacher, too!!3 -
Packerjohn wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »alarmed123 wrote: »Is this post a joke? Are we being trolled? Lol if not, pop tarts are the worst snack you could ever give your child, loaded with empty calories and a ton of sugar. My kids take apples to school. I'm not mother of the year but I'll be dammed if I send my children to an early grave because of disgusting food that over time will kill them and decrease years from their life. Ok I'm done lol
Let me just drop this here in case you missed it upthread:
The article posted is a sample of 1 from the Facebook page of someone described as "a qualified personal trainer and trained nutritionist". WTH is that?
It's the N=1 of someone who has been there and is sharing her personal experience. Take it or leave it as you will. It wasn't posted as scientific evidence, but merely for perspective. 3 -
If it's a snack for YOUR kid and only your kid, then the teacher shouldn't say anything. But if it's a day that you're supposed to provide snacks for the whole class, then yes, she can say something. Schools here do have guidelines on what sort of snacks you're supposed to bring to class (no peanuts, no excess sugar, etc).
Pop Tarts for little kids aren't healthy. You can try to rationalize it however you want, but come on. I'm of the mindset though, your kid, your rules.1 -
As someone who loved Pop-Tarts as a kid (before they went to the current Smuckers filling) they aren't bad. The problem is the calorie count. They tout a reasonable number, until you realize that's only for half the packet! I don't know anyone who only eats one Pop-Tart and saves the rest for later... Blowing 400-500 calories on a snack is a bit much. Though if the kids are sharing packets they aren't bad, unless they spread butter on them (my dad does that, I don't get it, but whatever).0
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BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
Whichever one jumps in your cart at the grocery store. 0 -
I'm pretty sure pop tarts were the only thing keeping me alive during a period (many years ago) when my diet consisted of whiskey, cocaine, unsafe sex and knuckle sandwiches.6
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If you read the PopTart package, though, a serving is one Poptart, not two. So having one Poptart as a snack fits your caloric description of what a snack should be.AmandaOmega wrote: »Look, if we get to the nitty gritty of it, poptarts are not a good snack, and they are not healthy.
A single package of poptarts (which contains two poptarts) is about 400-420 calories. That is not a SNACK, that is a meal (I eat breakfasts and lunches with smaller calorie servings than that...)
<snip>
A healthy snack to me is something that is going to be 200 calories or less, which is why vegetables are usually a great snack option.
Edited to add: From the OP's original and subsequent posts, her son's 'inappropriate' snack was always in the singular - PopTart - not Poptarts. So I'm assuming he was only given one to take as a snack.
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14 pages of going around in circles and no one has brought up the best way to eat a pop tart?
@magerum would be disappointed.17 -
As someone who loved Pop-Tarts as a kid (before they went to the current Smuckers filling) they aren't bad. The problem is the calorie count. They tout a reasonable number, until you realize that's only for half the packet! I don't know anyone who only eats one Pop-Tart and saves the rest for later... Blowing 400-500 calories on a snack is a bit much. Though if the kids are sharing packets they aren't bad, unless they spread butter on them (my dad does that, I don't get it, but whatever).
My kids do this all the time 5 -
WinoGelato wrote: »14 pages of going around in circles and no one has brought up the best way to eat a pop tart?
YUMMMM!
That should read, "Poptarts Ice Cream Sandwich, though. Which would instantly make it very, very bad.
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BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
Frosted Brown Sugar and Cinnamon.
Frosted Strawberry is a close 2nd.1 -
cathydubepenner wrote: »My last post on this absurdity. Why with all the choices in the world, would you want to argue about the validity of feeding your child a food like product loaded with xenoestrogens, Yellow #5, Red 40 and TBHQ????? If you don't know what these are, then I suggest you google it. If these even a hint of a problem with a food why would you risk a loved one's health? Then there's the bigger picture of teaching our children bad choices from good. It's our responsibility to be the adult and learn to say no to some things and offer a choice from better options. The end, I'm done, ultimately it's your family's well being you're impacting.
Do you want eating disorders?
Because that's how you get eating disorders.
/Archer
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I suppose if one was out on a long trail, or at Everest Base Camp, and burning 4000 + calories per day, Pop Tarts would be an OK part of a 'balanced diet'...
Thoughts?2 -
BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
Unfrosted blueberry, toasted with butter. It is awesome!!! The poptarts ice cream sandwich looks pretty tasty too.0 -
The level of unadulterated woo and holier than thou judgement of a parent based on snack choice in this thread makes me sad.
This is why the "mean people" on MFP keep speaking up. Because there are so many people who honestly believe an occasional "processed" snack will kill you. Because there are so many people who believe it's healthy to be scared of food. Because there are so many who believe they are better, more virtuous people because they eat "clean". To the point that they would consider teaching a child that an occasional sweet treat is fine in the context of a healthy diet is child abuse. SMH. Scary stuff.13 -
The level of unadulterated woo and holier than thou judgement of a parent based on snack choice in this thread makes me sad.
This is why the "mean people" on MFP keep speaking up. Because there are so many people who honestly believe an occasional "processed" snack will kill you. Because there are so many people who believe it's healthy to be scared of food. Because there are so many who believe they are better, more virtuous people because they eat "clean". To the point that they would consider teaching a child that an occasional sweet treat is fine in the context of a healthy diet is child abuse. SMH. Scary stuff.
You don't have to teach a child that anything is fine or not fine to teach them to follow directions. And that seems to be the biggest point IMO. The teacher said don't bring pop-tarts as a snack. So ... don't bring them. Period. End of story.
Teachers deal with enough crap without every parent with a dieting beef choosing school as a place to get up on a soapbox.6 -
stevencloser wrote: »puttputt24 wrote: »
It's not the kids.....................it's the LEGAL SYSTEM.Christine_72 wrote: »Aaah gone are the days when kids swapped lunches and snacks, there were no food rules and allergies/sicknesses/intolerance's were rarely heard of. Wtf has happened to our kids since i was in school??
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Not the legal system. It's the parenting. Adolescents are more obese than ever before. Parents are the ones supplying the food. I stand by supporting the teacher. FOLLOW THE RULES.
OP specifically said THERE WAS NO SUCH RULE.
I may be mistaken, but I thought the guidelines said that the kids were to bring a healthy snack. Of course it is difficult to define "healthy," but regardless of what I think is healthy/unhealthy I still know what most of society means when they say "Healthy Snack." It ain't poptarts.6 -
BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
Unfrosted blueberry, toasted with butter. It is awesome!!! The poptarts ice cream sandwich looks pretty tasty too.
Oh no. Only the ones with frosting for me!0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Confession time... I have never eaten a PopTart. After 14 pages telling me they are the food of the devil, I now want to eat an entire box of them. Which flavours are the best?
There are a lot of new flavors, but when I was a kid, my favorites were anything with frosting and crunchy stuff on it.
Correct. The flavor doesn't really matter.1
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