Cupcakes Banned in MA Schools

dejatyja

The happy meal the kids ate for dinner on Monday doesn't make them fat. Nor does that Dunkin' Donut they ate on the way to school on Wednesday. The meat lovers pizza with extra cheese and stuffed hotdog crust the ate on Friday night, not contributing to their weight gain. Oh and at the matinee Saturday afternoon, that extra large popcorn and super size coke didn't make them gain weight either. It's those damn bake sale cupcakes from the annual PTA fundraiser!

Hilarious....:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

vanessalillian82

Although I don't agree with school kids selling stuff like candy bars because the school gets very little of it and it's big business, I do agree that it's ludicrous to think that's going to stop the over-weight problem especially in children. Most over weight children have over weight family members. It's a life style that spans generations. I tell people there are two things I had to alter my thinking about: first, no ones going to take my food away from me and secondly, it's not the last meal I'm ever going to get. Unfortunately many children grow up in a household where they feel these two things are going to happen. When we change these situations, we will also change some of the reasons we depend on food for comfort and security.

That's a really interesting point. Even though I grew up in a house where I knew I would get three square meals a day, to this day I kind of panic if I don't know exactly when my next meal will be and will even eat a totally unnecessary snack to bridge the gap, or carry food with me, "just in case" I get hungry. Maybe I learnt that mentality from my mum, who grew up in post-war England on rations and who quite literally huddles over her plate to protect it, and has her refrigerator and cupboards stocked to ridiculous levels for one person living alone.

ChrisStoney

While I don't think this decision is going to prove very practical or effective, I do have sympathy for government personnel. When they do nothing, they are criticized for doing nothing. When they do anything else, they are criticized for interfering.

Public health is an incredibly complicated issue, further complicated by the fact that the government's interest in promoting public health competes against the interest of private companies, who profit from our overconsumption and profit again via the weight loss industry. Whenever there are attempts to bring in food regulation (for example, to reduce the sodium in processed foods) it is opposed by lobbyists who use the rallying cry of freedom of choice to defend their "right" to sell whatever food they want.

Another problem is that schools are chronically underfunded in the United States. School boards have not cut funding for gym class and after school sports because they're evil or hate children - they are responding to budget pressure, and they choose to cut gym to keep math. The solution is to properly fund schools, which requires taxing individuals and businesses. If people want to see more programs in schools, they have to be willing to pay for them.

This might be a silly law, but the underlying idea of public policy being used as a tool to encourage public health is not inherently bad.

Well silly is after all silly right? I live in Massachusetts and the school systems are out of control. As far as paying more money...'eat my shorts' is the probably the best answer. If my house value didn't drop 175,000 I would be out of Mass.

cPT_Helice

I don't like the idea that my tax dollars are going towards feeding kids in public school a bunch of garbage that will make them sick rather than some healthy foods. Then the sick children go on to have a much higher risk of developing illness which causes my health insurance to go up (or rather, in this case: stay up). Just like people refusing to wear their seatbelt causes my car insurance to go up.

I personally don't want my tax dollars to go directly towards making my health insurance costs go up, which is *exactly what is happening when publicly funded schools feed kids lots of unhealthy foods.* People should be able to do whatever the hell they want, sure (to an extent). But my tax dollars shouldn't be spent in really stupid ways. I literally couldn't care less if kids hate the food or not, I think the government has a duty to the tax payers to only serve healthy nutritious food in public schools.

And how are YOUR tax dollars paying for bake sales?

kyt1206

You wouldn't sell cigarettes in schools because that might hurt the kids lungs.

You wouldn't sell alcohol in schools because that might hurt the kids brains, liver, kidneys, etc.

You wouldn't sell cupcakes because it's *not* an *essential* part of a kid's diet AND over consumption or putting "social value" (by this I mean - if I bought one, why don't you have one too?- type peer pressure) on a food type that will result in nothing beneficial to the kid except a really mean sugar high if they eat it (and most of the time they are likely to do so),

A LOT of parents don't teach their children portion control because they themselves have problems with portion control. It is a FACT that obese parents tends to have obese kids. It is a FACT that kids mimic each other's behavior in social groups. It is a FACT that kids all struggle with self determination at one time or another, especially in social settings. It is a FACT that kids do not need cupcakes to have a healthy life. An occasional treat is okay, but that should be given by the parent and taught that it is a treat, not a right, or a daily required supplement.

You want your school to be a place of learning and nurture, not a place that raises hypocrites by saying this is a good meal plan in science and nutrition class then feeds your kids pizza, soda, and cupcakes at lunch.

cPT_Helice

what crap is that??? Completely absurd.

It's total crap from the state that feels the need to control everything we do and how we raise our kids. Do you know that our schools will give condoms to 12 year olds, without the parents knowledge, but these same kids can't be trusted with a cupcake. True story!

So wait... which do you object to more, your kid getting fat because of the government, or getting an STD because of the government? Just curious...

And why would either of these things happen BECAUSE of the gov't?

kyt1206

Honestly, as a teenager, it would've been more mortifying and embarrassing to talk to my parents about sex and protection. I'm glad my school taught it to me and I can learn it and just skip "that talk" with my parents. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that position as a teenager. But I'd never admit that to my parents, it might hurt their feelings that I don't want to talk about important life stuff with them, but I know for a fact that my mom was relieved to see that class offered.

Supermom008

I live in Chetwynd, British Columbia and our school board decided to do the same thing a few years ago, thinking that banning so called "junk food" from our hot lunch program would help with the childhoon obesity problem also. The problem with that reasoning is, it's not what the kids eat at school that are making them fat; it's what they eat when they get home. Our school board lifted the ban on the "junk food" just last year! As parents we have a lot of power and pull when it comes to the school board. Present a case to them and remind them it's not the occasional bake sale that is causing the obesity epidemic in North America, it's kids making wrong food choices and not enough exercise. I believe bake sales are the cornerstone to most school fundraisers! Hope this helps!

logoode_

Just yesterday I had a bake sale at my school to raise money for the organization "Charity: water" and made 100 dollars in 35 minutes... I can't imagine this being a bad thing!

What a horrible rule...

ETS: You should relly check out the org btw www.charitywater.org
It raises money to build water pumps in 3rd world countries that have no clean drinking water. Without clean drinking water people contract illness and disease that make them very sick and can sometimes die from it

gpstrucker

Ah yes, the Nanny State mentality marches on...

cPT_Helice

Kids are either going to have sex or they're not, and if they do choose to make that decision, it is much better that they know how to prevent things like STDs and pregnancy.

Could not agree more.

We are talking 12 year olds and it is not the gov't's decision.
I feel that all kids should be vaccinated and the gov't, in fact agrees with this. However, does the gov't have the right to just vaccinate everyone's children if the parents choose not to? No, they don't. Yet the AMA find it a risk not to.
You may agree or disagree with certain things and ways that people raise their kids but it does not give anyone the right to tell another parent what they have to do.

kyt1206

You made 100 bucks selling cupcakes. We make 65 *per hour* (one afternoon, 4 hours) getting teachers on the dunk tank (that's after the fun day fees). We all get a good laugh, money gets raised for charity, everyone gets some out doors time. We also set up rotten tomato throwing booths, etc (those proceeds varied so it's not included in the dunk tank total).

This did not involve any type of sugary foods. Your argument for a bake sale is that it sells. My point is, that isn't the only thing that you can sell. It's like big tobacco saying there's a demand for it. Yes, there is always demand for drugs, fun, and rock and roll, but is it always what you want to push on kids in school?

You want to promote health in your schools and the school boards want the same thing.

tabulator32

You wanna cure the obesity problem?

1. Plug the computer into a battery with an inverter...hooked up to a pedal bike with a generator.

2. Seal off all the regular wall outlets.

3. Sit back and watch what happens.

DoozerDMB

In our district (and I believe in the State - NJ) we cannot have bake sales during the school day or sell to the children. Parents can purchase it and give it to their child though. Candy sales are the same...we have to give the candy to the parents for them to sell and not to the student. We started doing hot pretzel and ice pop sales (low sugar).
However, we are still allowed to sell at night/weekend functions.
Parents may send in cupcakes for birthdays in the elementary schools and for holiday celebrations.

tabulator32

I remember when my high school (yes, they had high schools back then) banned us from bringing home-made birthday cakes to school for other students.

One of my buddies had a birthday so, just to be an *kitten*, I brought in a big sheet cake with the words "Happy Tuesday!" written on it.

cPT_Helice

While I don't think this decision is going to prove very practical or effective, I do have sympathy for government personnel. When they do nothing, they are criticized for doing nothing. When they do anything else, they are criticized for interfering.

Public health is an incredibly complicated issue, further complicated by the fact that the government's interest in promoting public health competes against the interest of private companies, who profit from our overconsumption and profit again via the weight loss industry. Whenever there are attempts to bring in food regulation (for example, to reduce the sodium in processed foods) it is opposed by lobbyists who use the rallying cry of freedom of choice to defend their "right" to sell whatever food they want.

Another problem is that schools are chronically underfunded in the United States. School boards have not cut funding for gym class and after school sports because they're evil or hate children - they are responding to budget pressure, and they choose to cut gym to keep math. The solution is to properly fund schools, which requires taxing individuals and businesses. If people want to see more programs in schools, they have to be willing to pay for them.

This might be a silly law, but the underlying idea of public policy being used as a tool to encourage public health is not inherently bad.

Well silly is after all silly right? I live in Massachusetts and the school systems are out of control. As far as paying more money...'eat my shorts' is the probably the best answer. If my house value didn't drop 175,000 I would be out of Mass.

Hells yeah!

cPT_Helice

You wouldn't sell cigarettes in schools because that might hurt the kids lungs.

You wouldn't sell alcohol in schools because that might hurt the kids brains, liver, kidneys, etc.

No..... you wouldn't sell these things to kids because it's against the law. Do you seriously NOT see the difference?

As for the sex ed classes you mention in your next post, I haven't heard anyone say they shouldn't have sex ed in this thread. My point was that 12 year olds should NOT be given condoms.

And bottom line is it is not up to the school to handle these things.

kyt1206

You wouldn't sell cigarettes in schools because that might hurt the kids lungs.

You wouldn't sell alcohol in schools because that might hurt the kids brains, liver, kidneys, etc.

No..... you wouldn't sell these things to kids because it's against the law. Do you seriously NOT see the difference?

As for the sex ed classes you mention in your next post, I haven't heard anyone say they shouldn't have sex ed in this thread. My point was that 12 year olds should NOT be given condoms.

And bottom line is it is not up to the school to handle these things.

BTW, bake sales in schools are now against the law too. But you don't have a problem with alcohol or cigarettes law, so what's so different about this?

As for condoms, let me tell you a TRUE story - I have 20 something friends that are AFRAID of going into a store and getting condoms in case their family/friends/anyone will find out they're having sex. So what do they do? They have sex without condoms then go get Plan B. Now tell me that's a BETTER solution than just giving the kids some condoms. And believe me, if 20 years old adults are having social problems getting condoms, and going to do it anyway without, do you think a teenager who wants to have sex will wait because you said so?

StarvingDiva

You wanna cure the obesity problem?

1. Plug the computer into a battery with an inverter...hooked up to a pedal bike with a generator.

2. Seal off all the regular wall outlets.

3. Sit back and watch what happens.

AMEN! Definitely lack of exercise is a HUGE problem of the youth today.

mfpcopine

You made 100 bucks selling cupcakes. We make 65 *per hour* (one afternoon, 4 hours) getting teachers on the dunk tank (that's after the fun day fees). We all get a good laugh, money gets raised for charity, everyone gets some out doors time. We also set up rotten tomato throwing booths, etc (those proceeds varied so it's not included in the dunk tank total).

This did not involve any type of sugary foods. Your argument for a bake sale is that it sells. My point is, that isn't the only thing that you can sell. It's like big tobacco saying there's a demand for it. Yes, there is always demand for drugs, fun, and rock and roll, but is it always what you want to push on kids in school?

You want to promote health in your schools and the school boards want the same thing.

Exactly. Who said the only way to raise money is through the sale of sugary foods? The lack of imagination, the willingness to unthinkingly defend traditions, even if they contribute to poor health, is mind-boggling.

And the reason the schools have to do it is because there's no support in the home or general environment.