Teacher says Pop Tarts are not a healthy snack
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So a child should never have a sweet treat that has a low nutrition profile?
How about this. Teach your kid about the difference between nutrient dense food and nutrient sparse ones. Then teach your kid that moderating the nutrient poor ones is very important and that the vast majority of the diet should consist of the nutrient dense food.
There. Educated kid. Win.
I didn't say that. I was only stating the facts because people on here are saying pop-tarts aren't unhealthy. "You should be able to feed your kid whatever you want" and notice how at the end I didn't tell her she HAD to avoid anything unhealthy, I was only informing these people of the possibilities assuming a diet is full of those foods. Glad you responded though because people might have gotten that confused0 -
I also think pop tarts are the devil. (I mean, not really, but they are not something I would look at as a healthy snack...) As a Health Education teacher, I too have a healthy snack policy. It makes sense considering we actually study the MyPlate, food groups, and targets and limits. Limits are sugar, sodium, fat. Targets are nutrient rich foods, vitamins, minerals, nutrients. Selecting healthier versions of each type of food group and learning how to read a food label is part of what my students learn. In addition to this, the USDA has now created Smart Snack Standards. Not only do they have a calculator that you can type in information about your snack, it gives guidelines. It is also a federal law that no foods are sold in school that do not meet the smart snack standards. Now this does not mean you have to have a healthy snack policy, however, due to the continuing growth of obesity, childhood diabetes, and a ton of other diet related illnesses, many health organizations are really trying to make changes that can possibly, finally, begin to curb the enormous health crises that we are facing. One of the things that I've read over and over again, is that we are all in this together. Family. Schools. Community. All of us. No school or teacher wants to upset a parent. It is probaby why many schools have not begun to become proactive with this issue. In fact, many schools still pass out candy as a reward, celebrate EVERYTHING with junk food, and though they all are also federally mandated to have Wellness policies, they do not follow them. : (. Some groups are even pushing that more extreme measures be taken, like taxing sugary beverages like soda and many other "extreme" measures. Unless we see a change in policy, a change in our belief system, or I don't know, some type of change, things will continue as they are. I can see both points of view, but have to give a bravo to the school for trying to make a difference.
Thank you for the nice summary from a professional viewpoint. You have a difficult job, but applaud your efforts.0 -
Can't we all get along?
How about this:
Regular Pop Tarts Good !
Frosted Pop Tarts Bad !
Teacher Good !
Parent Bad !
( Parent Bad... but not as bad as the Frosted Pop Tart; they are Satan.)3 -
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?
Well done! 13 pages!
What that what you were hoping for?
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Regular Pop Tarts Good !
They're very slightly better than frosted. Still nothing close to good for health.1 -
Of course, the only information we have is what the OP chose to tell us. We don't know what really happened.
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So someone who lets their child eat a Pop Tart as an occasional treat is a lazy and ignorant child abuser and Pop Tarts are dangerous petroleum pucks of cancer. And you should go aling with whatever your child's teacher says and not get upset or your child will become an obese spoiled brat.
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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?
Well done! 13 pages!
What that what you were hoping for?
To be fair - it's not her fault that there are 13 pages of replies!
She asked: do teachers have the right to teach children about nutrition ? Well yes - as long as they're qualified to do so.
She also asked: are pop tarts the devil? Well no.
To those saying she's a bad/lazy parent: she says she also sends her child in with fruit,granola bars and yoghurt- so the pop tart is an occasional snack by the looks of it.
My understanding is that she was upset because the teacher wouldn't allow her child to eat his snack. It wasn't about the actual pop tart.1 -
So someone who lets their child eat a Pop Tart as an occasional treat is a lazy and ignorant child abuser and Pop Tarts are dangerous petroleum pucks of cancer. And you should go aling with whatever your child's teacher says and not get upset or your child will become an obese spoiled brat.
TL:DR right here, folks!1 -
The issue isn't giving your kid a Pop Tart once in awhile. The OP is sending a packet of them with her kid to school, for a snack, on the regular and claiming there is no such thing as an unhealthy food. We're not talking about the woo of there being such a thing a "bad calories", but the assertion that there is no such thing as unhealthy food is on a level of ignorance that would make Honey BooBoo's mom proud.5
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JennGardner1 wrote: »The issue isn't giving your kid a Pop Tart once in awhile. The OP is sending a packet of them with her kid to school, for a snack, on the regular and claiming there is no such thing as an unhealthy food. We're not talking about the woo of there being such a thing a "bad calories", but the assertion that there is no such thing as unhealthy food is on a level of ignorance that would make Honey BooBoo's mom proud.
Where does she state that she regularly sends her child to school with a whole packet?
This thread is like a game of Chinese Whispers.12 -
comptonelizabeth wrote: »
Where does she state that she regularly sends her child to school with a whole packet?
This thread is like a game of Chinese Whispers.
Typically for a teacher to contact the parent it is a recurring issue. Even if it's only once in awhile, only a moron would claim healthy food is some sort of a myth. I get there is woo stuff and BroScience, but you can disbelieve that acai' berries are magical and still see that Pop Tarts are garbage food.
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JennGardner1 wrote: »The issue isn't giving your kid a Pop Tart once in awhile. The OP is sending a packet of them with her kid to school, for a snack, on the regular and claiming there is no such thing as an unhealthy food. We're not talking about the woo of there being such a thing a "bad calories", but the assertion that there is no such thing as unhealthy food is on a level of ignorance that would make Honey BooBoo's mom proud.
Nope.
OP said she usually sends him with fruit. She sent him in with one Pop Tart, twice, several weeks apart.
If you are eating a varied and nutritious diet, having an occasional Pop Tart is not unhealthy.14 -
Oh good grief. You do know that a lot of fruits and vegetables we eat result in formaldehyde formation right? What matters here is DOSAGE.cathydubepenner wrote: »@kimny72 ....gladly, he's a link to one of many articles on the subject.......http://livingtraditionally.com/top-5-popular-childrens-snacks-made-with-cancer-causing-petroleum-products/
Fear mongering does no good unless there's actual proven studies showing that petroleum products are the actual cause of cancer.
BTW did you know that aspirin, denture adhesive, heart valves, petroleum jelly and a list of other useful products have petroleum in them? What are you going to do, disgard all of them from your home?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Look up any natural food and see it's chemical composition. You'd be surprised.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.
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
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Incorrect. Spoiled argumentative brats are a result of parents not disciplining them. Again I work in a school (6-8 graders) and by in large, most are respectful kids. The ones that aren't usually are the ones where we have issues just talking to the parents and a blatant disregard on their part to discipline their own child.DancesWithDogz wrote: »Something I haven't seen mentioned is how to help this kid get through the school year without getting in to a pop tart war.
I suggest you agree with your child for this school term at least, the pop tart will be an at-home treat just so there is no more fussing.
When my children were about the same age they came home from school and insisted that a certain word had to be misspelled the way their teacher had shown them. No amount of arguing could get me to convince them otherwise,"But teacher said..." I got my first glimmer of a future where I was not guaranteed that I would be the primary influence in their young lives.
You'll survive. Your child will thrive.
I agree - and I wish parents would stop undermining the educators. No matter what it is. They are breeding, spoiled, argumentative brats, that have no respect for authority. "I can eat what I want, cuz my mom said so...so, back off, teach"!! Can't you see it?
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
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Oh, the outrage...1
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Why is the school dictating nutritional policy a bad thing?
Speaking as an outsider (not from the US) everyone is always going on about obesity levels in children in the US and going "ooh someone should do something about it." Well here someone is trying to do something by teaching children and parents about good food choices. Not every parent is as clued up about nutrition as the people here or the OP. You need to make things simple for the ignorant. Fruit = good and junkfood = bad. I know the IIFYM mentality says you cane at anything you want to as long as it fits your macro's but unfortunately dietitians (I've been to 3) tend to differ. Their still stuck on having to eat all your food groups and haven't caught up to the "you can eat junk all day every day as long as your calories ..." thing yet. All that wasted education. What do they know anyway.
Clearly, taken the statistics in the US, the majority of parents are not up to the task so who else is going to do it?
If you dont like the school's policy, put your child in another school. Or, accept that they are trying to help less knowledgeable parents raise healthier children and they cant make policy that caters for each individual child. If you really insist on your child having pop-tarts then give it to him as a snack when he gets home from school. Why MUST he have it at school?
Alternatively sue them and force them to change the policy because it is your damn right to have your child eat poptards, screw the fact that it might be beneficial 100s of other kids at the school. Seems to be the American way.9 -
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 lol6
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Also.... granola bars have a ton of sugar and so does yogurt unless if it's Greek low cal, low sugar yogurt. #facepalm.4
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