When should a school intervene? Never? (school lunch issue)

As a teacher, it is incredibly frustrating when people have a "pick and choose" attitude towards the role of a teacher. If my job is just to teach and go home, I wouldn't volunteer to coach sports teams for no extra pay after school hours, organize field trips, offer extra- help sessions or help with fundraisers. As educators we care about the students, not just the subject matter.

In Canada, we extensively study child and adolescent development on the physical, mental, emotional and social level. Why would we study that if the welfare of these students is none of our business.

During school hours, we are the legal guardians/ caretakers of students enrolled in our class. If a student leaves the lunch hour without parental permission and gets hit by a car, the school's going to have some repercussions.

At this grade, I would teach all students about healthy lifestyle choices and bring apples and water bottles and let students know that if they are hungry or missed break fast, they can take one without asking. I may send a letter home asking parents to participate in a healthy eating unit that the class is covering by signing up for one day in the next month to supply a healthy snack life sliced fruit, berries or grapes or whole grain crackers and cheese for the whole class with the understanding that their child would be provided a healthy snack every day for the rest of the month from the other families.

This might encourage this child's parents to reflect on what makes a healthy snack/ meal and the note send home to all parents could include ideas for inexpensive healthy foods.

This may or may not work but will give you an indication of how involved the parents are in the student's health. They may be busy but if they opt out of prepping a big snack one day out of the month instead of everyday, it may be a sign of neglect.

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I work in a school, and that type of food is not permitted. It's against our lunch policy. I think what NinerBuff said would be a good approach. I also know that as a mother myself I couldn't sit idly by and watch a young child consume things like energy drinks every day. While that food option for an adult is one thing, it's not appropriate for a 7 year old.

JoRocka wrote: »

skinnyinnotime wrote: »

The school should have a policy on what foods are allowed to be eaten there.

If a child isn't fed a nutrional diet it is neglect.

OP stated that this student "usually comes to school eating from a gigantic bag of Doritos and drinking a brightly colored energy drink. That's her breakfast. Sometimes she has Cheetos instead."

Meaning that this what the student usually eats for breakfast. Sometimes its Doritos, sometimes its Cheetos. Not just one bag or one energy drink when a family emergency came up and the parent couldnt prep breakfast.

JoRocka wrote: »

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Except Dorito's aren't inherently bad- context is important.

Ah, didn't say they were, read again please. Comment not directed to you btw. Entitled to my opinion. Thanks anyway.

JoRocka wrote: »

jorinya wrote: »

draznyth wrote: »

The amount of nanny state replies in this thread is alarming. Apparently Doritos = throwing your kid down a flight of stairs.

Do you have any kids? If so, wouldn't you like them to be healthy? If not, wait till you do and then answer the questions.
I have four kids and try my best to teach them from a young age about healthy food and healthy lifestyle. Its never too early to start eating healthy and can prevent later health issues. I give them snacks too but in moderation.
Not having a go at you, just asking cos of what you commented.

Except Dorito's aren't inherently bad- context is important.

If a kid eats breakfast like this on a daily basis it´s not far fetched that the nutrition is not much better the rest of the day. My kids aren´t allowed to eat stuff like this for breakfast ever. They can have chips, cookies and stuff, but not as a substitute for a meal. And the combination with the energy drink doesn´t make the situation better. It´s a second grader, not a highschool kid.

Calling officials is too much here, but talking to the parents/asking them if they are aware of the situation might be a good idea.

staticsplit wrote: »

I personally hate people commenting on and policing my food. I had that happen all the time growing up (I was skinny and people assumed I didn't eat) and it made me really uncomfortable and eventually led to me having a messed up relationship with food (aka didn't eat enough) for awhile.

So much this.

jorinya wrote: »

draznyth wrote: »

The amount of nanny state replies in this thread is alarming. Apparently Doritos = throwing your kid down a flight of stairs.

Do you have any kids? If so, wouldn't you like them to be healthy? If not, wait till you do and then answer the questions.
I have four kids and try my best to teach them from a young age about healthy food and healthy lifestyle. Its never too early to start eating healthy and can prevent later health issues. I give them snacks too but in moderation.
Not having a go at you, just asking cos of what you commented.

I don't need to have children to have an opinion on this. If and when I have children, I would want them to be healthy, and would provide for that as much as possible.

However, none of the above has anything to do with someone stepping in and parenting other people's children for them. It's nunya. Take care of your own kids.

JoRocka wrote: »

jorinya wrote: »

draznyth wrote: »

The amount of nanny state replies in this thread is alarming. Apparently Doritos = throwing your kid down a flight of stairs.

Do you have any kids? If so, wouldn't you like them to be healthy? If not, wait till you do and then answer the questions.
I have four kids and try my best to teach them from a young age about healthy food and healthy lifestyle. Its never too early to start eating healthy and can prevent later health issues. I give them snacks too but in moderation.
Not having a go at you, just asking cos of what you commented.

Except Dorito's aren't inherently bad- context is important.

Context is indeed important, I agree there. However I don't think it's the teacher's responsibility to determine the context for each student in their class. Their priority is the wellbeing of their students as a body; hence rules that apply to everyone. If there are rules in place, of course.

It's interesting to see how many folks freak out about this topic. Given the rise of childhood obesity, it makes perfect sense to me that schools are trying to instill healthy habits in kids that spend a great deal of their day under the supervision of the school. Given that the definition of "healthy" differs widely, I think schools are generally doing the best they can with their resources.

If nothing else, at least there's a lot of discussion around this. Discussion is always good, even if people disagree.

rainbowbow wrote: »

I would probably intervene if the child were up to 7th-8th grade. At that point i would acknowledge their own choices. I would be willing to assist them with making the right food choices, but if they are fat, get diabetes, and get picked on it's their own perogative at that point.


Now if it's a child child (?) then i would absolutely intervene**. I would only do so by collective the offending item and replacing it with something else. For example, in the breakfast situation i would collect the redbull and cheetos and give them an apple and a milk. Or a banana and a yogurt. something to that effect.

I would then send them home with the offending item and a handwritten note that they had received a healthier option instead. I would probably say something along the lines of... "XChild has had low energy lately" or "XChild seems to be having problems integrating and playing with the other students" or "XChild is having problems in PE/Recess" and it "may be because they didn't have a nutritious and healthy breakfast. So i bought them something that may be more beneficial to their studies/health".

If the parents are ballsy enough to send the child to class with the items again i would write them a serious fat-hating/angry/shitlord letter.

**Note: I would only intervene if the product was genuinely terrible for their health or completely lacking in any nutritional value. It'd have to be a meal of oreos, doritos/cheetos, and packaged donuts only for me to really step in. I dont presume to know their diet outside of school and i recognize that even in my own diet these things can be eaten in moderation. I wouldn't flip about one "bad" side or one "bad" portion. I'm saying if the entire meal was devoid of nutrition.

Hhahha this is hilarious! You think you can control what a parent gives their kid!? Myob

If the child is eligible for the breakfast and lunch program at your school, make sure she's signed up for it and then get her into the lunch room and a healthy breakfast. Otherwise, I don't see where there's much you can do unless she's severly obese. Unfortunately there are parents out there who think that's an appropriate breakfast, eat it themselves, and so the kid does too. There are also parents out there who let their kids do what they want because it's easier than making them do what they are supposed to. It could be either of those situations or as another poster said, the kid is getting her own food and drink because there's no one else to do it. Again, it we are talking about a severly obese child, then yes you should intervene. Otherwise, use the programs you have at your school to help her get healthy food while she's there.

I work in administration for an independent school district. My advice is that you should not take any action on your own. You should share your concerns with a school social worker or at the very least go up the chain of command within administration. Document the concern along with your actions and any follow up. Many schools have free/reduced breakfast and lunch programs which provide very nutritionally balanced meals. The social worker could make sure the parents are educated on this process if they are simply unable to provide more nutritious meals for the child without feeling chastised or shamed. By no means should you ever intervene without going through the proper channels. That's a liability concern for you and your school district.

trivard676 wrote: »

I grew up eating Lunchables and a not-actually-milk milkshake for most of Kindergarten, and that was it. No apple or celery for a snack, no carrots or salad, nothing else. Would you call that healthy? Would you talk to my parents face to face about how you disapproved of their food choices for their child? Or would you silently thank them for feeding me at all? Is this a child that is being abused or neglected otherwise? Does the family not have enough money to spend on other, healthier foods? I know, that sounds ridiculous, but junk food is often times less expensive than healthier alternatives. Are there any other indicators of abuse or neglect?

If not, I'm afraid that you're going to have to educate on healthier alternatives during (if you have one) a food and nutrition course. If this is something that really bothers you, talk to the principal about implementing policies about no energy drinks at school. Energy drink aside (because kids shouldn't be drinking those), this could be an instance where mom and dad are doing the best they can and giving them a breakfast and little Janie decided that she wanted some Cheetos before school.

I would only intervene if there were indicators of abuse or neglect. We all want the best for future generations, but sometimes we have to pick our battles.

I had a foster child whose mom got free chips and doritos when they were out of date. It was the best she could do with no income and her lack of financial planning. At least they didn't starve. I would only do something if it appeared to be severe abuse/neglect.

Gotta jump back into the convo now that I'm back from school.

I teach children and young adults age 10 to 18 and I don't just see myself as being the person who talks to them about history and literature but also as another person who cares for them. I know "my" kids. When one of them looks upset, I'll ask what's wrong. They tell me about poor grades or heartache or trouble with their classmates. I want them to grow up into healthy, happy adults. I give advice on how to study and - if they ask - about how to deal with situations in their person lives. One part of their life is how they eat. At my school, we don't ban candy bars etc and since I know how horrible it is to be fat-shamed, I don't talk to kids who are overweight about why they really shouldn't be having so much chocolate. And that's even though I see them eating it almost every afternoon. But when we're all at lunch, I encourage them to help themselves to some more salad or vegetables instead of only having meat and carbs. I do the same to normal-weight kids because healthy food matters. It's important for kids to eat a balanced diet so they can concentrate.

But sometimes you DO have to step up as a teacher. It's not just my MORAL duty but where I live I have a LEGAL duty to inform my superior if I think one of my pupils has health issues such as substance abuse or eating disorders. One of my older girls fainted on me TWICE and had already tried to take her life once. I sat down with her and a colleague and talked with her, again and again until she admitted she was starving herself and that she'd been abused and that she was depressed. The support she got from us teachers and the headmaster helped her talk to her parents and they sent her to a hospital. She's back now and she's not yet healthy and happy but she's doing better.

How could I ignore if one of "my" children is harming themselves? Parents don't always see these things and some don't want to see them.

I only get involved in such extreme cases but I'm sad for some of my pupils who are on their way to obesity because their lunchboxes are filled with snickers and cola. They're so often not in the middle of the games, enjoying themselves because parents either didn't care or gave in to their nagging instead of giving them healtheir options. And I don't want to hurt them more than they're already hurting by telling them what they shouldn't eat.


And to the guy who said teachers should stop trying to be a doctor, therapist or social worker. We would love to! Trust me. But if we don't reach out, nobody will. We owe it to the kids to try to help them, even if it's not strictly our line of work.

BinkyBonk wrote: »

chrisskellinton wrote: »

It's not your business........I wish teachers would stop trying to be doctors, therapist and social workers.

They barely have control of their class.

Hardly any wonder if kids are allowed to consume energy drinks. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Then establish an official school policy. Inform the parents of the policy. Enforce the policy.

That's the right way to do it.

Onesie, twosie ad hoc "enforcement" is a recipe for disaster.