Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.

Elementary School Gym teachers telling kids to restrict calories!

17810121317

Replies

  • KassLea22
    KassLea22 Posts: 112 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    KassLea22 wrote: »
    I'm skeptical that that's really what's being said, because it is being told to you by a Child who can sometimes misunderstand what an adult is saying. that's coming from someone who used to teach kindergarten. Have you talked to the teacher yourself?

    Several pages ago the OP stated that she has already been in a meeting with the teacher and the Principal. Teacher confirmed that this is what she said and the Principal agrees that it is inappropriate and has taken action

    Well I'm definitely not going to go back and read three pages of discussion, who has time for that?

    I think a main point of this this discussion seems to have turned into is it OK for health teachers to teach nutrition and into the topic of childhood obesity. Although now the conversation seems to have turned into a debate over Gatorade....

    for me I believe that teachers have a responsibility to teach good eating habits to their students as an overall rule.

  • witchywoman167
    witchywoman167 Posts: 13 Member
    In my humble opinion, the gym teacher should be teaching them what they taught us in the olden days (as my kids call the 80s and 90s). Don't eat a lot of junk and MOVE MOVE MOVE!
    It seems as if the gym teacher had some sort of eating disorder to be telling kids to burn off every meal.
    You have to be careful, because kids take what grownups say to heart. My son is 14 and in the 9th grade, 5'10, and around 140 lbs. Which makes him tall and no lanky. He used to come home every day with a bag full of chips and cookies from the cafeteria (yes, the SCHOOL cafeteria) I made an off handed remark about how if he wasn't careful, he'd be diabetic eating all that junk. He has since stopped bringing home junk, won't drink soda, etc. Don't get me wrong, these are changes for the better, but sometimes adults don't realize the impact of their words.
  • Verdenal
    Verdenal Posts: 625 Member
    cathipa wrote: »
    She should be speaking with the people who purchase and prepare the food - the parents

    The parents might get defensive. The school should have a well-researched presentation and have kids attend it and do projects and activities, like making a menu, going shopping, and cooking a healthy meal.

    Dietary education should be part of the curriculum and be taught early. Our kids need it.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    For those born past 1990 prepare to be triggered:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb_q9B3NpOY

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    KassLea22 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    KassLea22 wrote: »
    I'm skeptical that that's really what's being said, because it is being told to you by a Child who can sometimes misunderstand what an adult is saying. that's coming from someone who used to teach kindergarten. Have you talked to the teacher yourself?

    Several pages ago the OP stated that she has already been in a meeting with the teacher and the Principal. Teacher confirmed that this is what she said and the Principal agrees that it is inappropriate and has taken action

    Well I'm definitely not going to go back and read three pages of discussion, who has time for that?

    I think a main point of this this discussion seems to have turned into is it OK for health teachers to teach nutrition and into the topic of childhood obesity. Although now the conversation seems to have turned into a debate over Gatorade....

    for me I believe that teachers have a responsibility to teach good eating habits to their students as an overall rule.

    I agree. The problem is that THIS teacher is teaching disordered nutritional thinking to her students who are too young to know the difference.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Have to admit right up front, I've only read 1/2 of the comments - however, I urge the OP to talk directly to the teacher and then, if not satisfied, the principal. There are policies in place to help these types of issues. Now, then, please take this from an old woman that has worked 30+ years in Education, "If you will believe only 1/2 of what your child says when they come home about school/teacher; we will believe only 1/2 of what they say about home when they come to school". You all would never believe the things that are said in the "sharing" times in the classrooms. With that old adage out there, we all - meaning parents/students/staff of the school should ALWAYS keep the best interests of each and every student in mind. And ALWAYS be sure that all students are safe in body and mind. Also in those 30+ years the direction of exercise/activity/healthful living as taken a huge nosedive and like so many others have pointed out childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Eating all your calories for the day and "having" to have a handful of nuts for supper IS disordered thinking. For those calories, teacher could easily have had a couple of eggs and some veggies and felt a lot more full.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    How in the world did we get to the point where eating a light dinner is disordered nutritional thinking?! If you overindulge you compensate -- that's not an eating disorder. It's ok to miss a meal. It's normal and healthy, not harmful or dangerous.

    When we got to the point where a large number of people found that the goal in life is to ingest the largest possible quantity of food by volume each day that they can while meeting a calorie limit.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    There is an obesity epidemic in this country that impacts millions of children. I applaud the gym teacher for doing what she can to help at least some children educate themselves and make healthy decisions. Somebody needs to do it.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,346 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.

    I get what you're saying, but not being hungry is different than grabbing a handful of almonds for dinner because you don't want to go over your calories. The previous poster was saying that as a parent, you wouldn't give your kids some nuts just because they over ate earlier.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,346 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.

    That's not what I asked. I asked if you thought your kid had eaten enough (ie was "out of calories") would you tell them to have a handful of nuts rather than giving them dinner. The teachers wasn't advocating not eating if your not hungry, she was advocating not eating because you've run out of calories.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Hamsibian wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.

    I get what you're saying, but not being hungry is different than grabbing a handful of almonds for dinner because you don't want to go over your calories. The previous poster was saying that as a parent, you wouldn't give your kids some nuts just because they over ate earlier.

    I do stuff like that too. If they ate a lot earlier in the day, I make a lighter dinner. We've done veggies and dip before, or a hot dog and some carrot sticks.

    So I guess I agree that I would not say "you ate a lot and therefore must eat nuts," but I don't think that's what the teacher was saying either.

    I have said, we ate a lot so now we'll eat a small meal. I do consider nuts a fine meal still.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited April 2017
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.

    That's not what I asked. I asked if you thought your kid had eaten enough (ie was "out of calories") would you tell them to have a handful of nuts rather than giving them dinner. The teachers wasn't advocating not eating if your not hungry, she was advocating not eating because you've run out of calories.

    I don't agree with calorie counting in kids. They're growing, and not at a uniform rate, so that doesn't make sense. Some days they need a LOT of calories I do agree with eating less if you have already eaten a lot, which is what it sounded like the teacher was saying. She just put it in terms of calories/food energy. A fine thing to learn too.

    If we snacked all afternoon, and ate a lot, we eat a light dinner because we ate a lot earlier.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    Of course not. They get what everyone else is having not special meals. Do people count calories for their kids?!

    If you're teaching calorie counting (which I think is absurd but whatever) you have to give real world examples of what you do and how it works. If calorie counting is how you expect these kids to control their weight it needs to taught and modeled for them. Weight control doesn't happen by teaching a perfect textbook example of calorie counting. There are real, concrete things you do to achieve that ... like eating nuts for dinner because you overindulged earlier.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    My kids skip dinner when they are not hungry, or only eat a small portion.

    Tonight my oldest was not hungry at dinner so he had a slice of ham and a few cucumbers.

    Yesterday me second oldest was not hungry at dinner so he skipped it. At about 8or 9pm he did have a handful of nuts. We have a bowl of mixed nuts on the table. He probably had 1/2 a cup of nuts and then went to bed.

    I find this a much better solution than eating when not hungry. I'm cool with it. My kids are all slim and active. They eat when they are hungry and don't eat when they are not. Mostly. They are all have a weight percentile below that of their height. For example, son #3 is at the 100th percentile for height but about 75% for weight.

    At least once a week I skip dinner because I'm not hungry. Most days of the week I skip breakfast. It's not unhealthy, IMO.

    That's not what I asked. I asked if you thought your kid had eaten enough (ie was "out of calories") would you tell them to have a handful of nuts rather than giving them dinner. The teachers wasn't advocating not eating if your not hungry, she was advocating not eating because you've run out of calories.

    The teacher shared his personal experience, he didn't give them instructions to do exactly what he said.

    Are you suggesting the teacher should lie when sharing their personal experience? There was nothing wrong with what he ate, nuts are healthy and have fat/protein to keep hunger at bay.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,346 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,346 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.

    "if they are not hungry."
    " only wanted a handful of nuts"

    The question has nothing to do with their hunger levels, or what they want - I asked if you decided the kid had had enough calories for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner.

    The teacher wasn't teaching "Don't eat if you are not hungry" she was teaching that if you're out of calories, don't eat dinner.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    edited April 2017
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.

    "if they are not hungry."
    " only wanted a handful of nuts"

    The question has nothing to do with their hunger levels, or what they want - I asked if you decided the kid had had enough calories for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner.

    The teacher wasn't teaching "Don't eat if you are not hungry" she was teaching that if you're out of calories, don't eat dinner.

    Yes. I've cut my kids off of food when I know they've exceeded what they should be eating for a day. How is this odd?

    Oh wait, I get it! In the US, food equals love, rather than just nutrition.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,346 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.

    "if they are not hungry."
    " only wanted a handful of nuts"

    The question has nothing to do with their hunger levels, or what they want - I asked if you decided the kid had had enough calories for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner.

    The teacher wasn't teaching "Don't eat if you are not hungry" she was teaching that if you're out of calories, don't eat dinner.

    Yes. I've cut my kids off of food when I know they've exceeded what they should be eating for a day. How is this odd?

    Oh wait, I get it! In the US, food equals love, rather than just nutrition.

    What makes you think I'm in the US? And you've not fed your kids dinner, when they're hungry, because you figure they've had enough fr the day? for real?
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    dfwesq wrote: »
    Calimom10 wrote: »
    Update: meeting was today. The principal totally agreed and has put a temporary stop to any nutritional teaching in gym until they can implement a new plan. The gym teacher .. didn't deny telling the kids that she went to bed hungry after consuming her calories for the day.. she did get very defensive.. which the principal said was wrong of her to do. On a side note he even said after she left the room that he didn't even agree with the way she was teaching fitness. I'm not sure why she's still employed.

    Sorry, didn't see this until now. Glad you met with them. That was a good call.

    As for why she's still employed- unless the teacher molests a kid, on camera, unions make it insanely difficult to fire someone, even when they are a terrible teacher.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.

    "if they are not hungry."
    " only wanted a handful of nuts"

    The question has nothing to do with their hunger levels, or what they want - I asked if you decided the kid had had enough calories for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner.

    The teacher wasn't teaching "Don't eat if you are not hungry" she was teaching that if you're out of calories, don't eat dinner.

    Yes. I've cut my kids off of food when I know they've exceeded what they should be eating for a day. How is this odd?

    Oh wait, I get it! In the US, food equals love, rather than just nutrition.

    What makes you think I'm in the US? And you've not fed your kids dinner, when they're hungry, because you figure they've had enough fr the day? for real?

    Well, I guess the attitude of "food == love" has gotten past the US too.

    As for knowing if my kids had enough food for the day, well, since I send their lunch to school (Or the menu is openly available), know what they eat for breakfast, and keep tabs on what they eat, yes, I can figure if they've had enough for the day.

    This is called "being a parent". ie, "No, you've had tons of food today already, you don't need that."

    Thankfully, I don't run into this issue often, because, well, I've taught my kids how much they need to eat, and they don't gorge on food. If we're skipping dinner that day, it's likely because we were at a lunch party or something like that, and we're just not making dinner that evening.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    For all the people saying she was doing the right thing - question. If you felt that your kid had had enough to eat for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner? Seeing as how your cool with them being taught that's a reasonable thing to do?

    This might shock you, but my kids sometimes skip dinner if they are not hungry.

    Crazy, right?

    smh.

    Read the question.

    smh.

    Ok, if they had a big lunch, and only wanted a handful of nuts, why not?

    IIFYM.

    "if they are not hungry."
    " only wanted a handful of nuts"

    The question has nothing to do with their hunger levels, or what they want - I asked if you decided the kid had had enough calories for the day, would you give them a handful of nuts instead of dinner.

    The teacher wasn't teaching "Don't eat if you are not hungry" she was teaching that if you're out of calories, don't eat dinner.

    Yes. I've cut my kids off of food when I know they've exceeded what they should be eating for a day. How is this odd?

    Oh wait, I get it! In the US, food equals love, rather than just nutrition.

    What makes you think I'm in the US? And you've not fed your kids dinner, when they're hungry, because you figure they've had enough fr the day? for real?

    Well, I guess the attitude of "food == love" has gotten past the US too.

    As for knowing if my kids had enough food for the day, well, since I send their lunch to school (Or the menu is openly available), know what they eat for breakfast, and keep tabs on what they eat, yes, I can figure if they've had enough for the day.

    This is called "being a parent". ie, "No, you've had tons of food today already, you don't need that."

    Thankfully, I don't run into this issue often, because, well, I've taught my kids how much they need to eat, and they don't gorge on food. If we're skipping dinner that day, it's likely because we were at a lunch party or something like that, and we're just not making dinner that evening.

    Good for you. When our kids were little we limited the amount of food later in the day if they had a lot earlier.

    They are on their 20's now, in what anyone would consider good shape and no eating issues.
This discussion has been closed.