Teacher says Pop Tarts are not a healthy snack
Replies
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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?
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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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crzycatlady1 wrote: »DancesWithDogz wrote: »OMG - Pop Tarts are NOT healthy foods - and kudos to the teacher for trying to educate their students, and parents. Granola bars are just as bad... what's wrong with carrots, apples, grapes, and celery sticks? Seriously people!
There's nothing wrong with Poptarts or granola bars within the context of a varied and balanced diet. My kids eat poptarts, granola bars AND things like carrots, apples and grapes (not celery sticks though because ick
). The teacher who told me my son couldn't bring in pretzels and fishy crackers anymore because they weren't 'healthy' was also very overweight. Not really interested in what her definition of 'healthy' was.
I thought I was the only one who called them fishy crackers!
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400 calories probably make up 1\3 of their daily needs depending on their age, and you want that to go to poptarts? What about poptarts aide in a 'balanced' diet?
2 poptarts have a total of 76g of carbs. That's gross.
Lots of people only eat one pop tart, I believe OP said she gave him one. A 200 calorie sweet treat fits quite nicely into an otherwise nutritious and balanced diet.
76 grams of carbs is "gross"?
I have literally never known anyone who only ate one Poptart. I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm just saying that if they do exist, I've never seen them in the wild. Also, if they're only eating one, congrats, they're now only eating 1/6 of their daily calories in what is basically pure sugar on cardboard. Give them a banana with some peanut butter if you really want to give them a snack that's that caloric.3 -
distinctlybeautiful wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »DancesWithDogz wrote: »OMG - Pop Tarts are NOT healthy foods - and kudos to the teacher for trying to educate their students, and parents. Granola bars are just as bad... what's wrong with carrots, apples, grapes, and celery sticks? Seriously people!
There's nothing wrong with Poptarts or granola bars within the context of a varied and balanced diet. My kids eat poptarts, granola bars AND things like carrots, apples and grapes (not celery sticks though because ick ). The teacher who told me my son couldn't bring in pretzels and fishy crackers anymore because they weren't 'healthy' was also very overweight. Not really interested in what her definition of 'healthy' was.
Your kid is probably healthy but how many kids in his/her class have parents that dont give them healthy balanced meals? How do you explain to one child that it's not ok for them to eat poptarts (because their parents dont have the knowledge to make healthy choices) while they see their classmate eating poptarts? The teacher is an adult. The policy is meant for children and was probably not made by their class teacher.
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You can have my Pop Tarts when you pry them from my cold,dead fingers.1
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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
There is nothing inherently wrong with sugar unless you are diabetic. If you think pop tarts will kill people and decrease their life expectancy then you are grossly misinformed.6 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
400 calories probably make up 1\3 of their daily needs depending on their age, and you want that to go to poptarts? What about poptarts aide in a 'balanced' diet?
2 poptarts have a total of 76g of carbs. That's gross.
Lots of people only eat one pop tart, I believe OP said she gave him one. A 200 calorie sweet treat fits quite nicely into an otherwise nutritious and balanced diet.
76 grams of carbs is "gross"?
Yes 76 grams of carbs from a trash source like Pop Tarts is gross, especially for a young child.
IMO borderline child abuse if done on a regular basis.
The last sentence is a ridiculous assertion barring cases of morbid obesity. Check out documented cases of some actual child abuse (beatings, sexual abuse, locked in closets for days, etc) and then hopefully come to the realization that your comment was grossly out of line.
I have a close friend who is a long time investigator for children and family services so I have heard many terrible stores.
Feeding a child a poor diet (especially when the family can afford better) but chooses not to puts the child on a road to lifelong health issues.
IMHO, providing a child with a poor diet is a form of abuse.
In my profession, I deal with a lot of child abuse cases at the court level. Physical and sexual child assault, abuse and neglect. Feeding a child an occasional PopTart doesn't even come close.10 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
400 calories probably make up 1\3 of their daily needs depending on their age, and you want that to go to poptarts? What about poptarts aide in a 'balanced' diet?
2 poptarts have a total of 76g of carbs. That's gross.
Lots of people only eat one pop tart, I believe OP said she gave him one. A 200 calorie sweet treat fits quite nicely into an otherwise nutritious and balanced diet.
76 grams of carbs is "gross"?
Yes 76 grams of carbs from a trash source like Pop Tarts is gross, especially for a young child.
IMO borderline child abuse if done on a regular basis.
The last sentence is a ridiculous assertion barring cases of morbid obesity. Check out documented cases of some actual child abuse (beatings, sexual abuse, locked in closets for days, etc) and then hopefully come to the realization that your comment was grossly out of line.
I have a close friend who is a long time investigator for children and family services so I have heard many terrible stores.
Feeding a child a poor diet (especially when the family can afford better) but chooses not to puts the child on a road to lifelong health issues.
IMHO, providing a child with a poor diet is a form of abuse.
In my profession, I deal with a lot of child abuse cases at the court level. Physical and sexual child assault, abuse and neglect. Feeding a child an occasional PopTart doesn't even come close.
The problem is that school does not just make policy for the parents who feed their children the occasional poptart but also for the parents who feed their children poptarts as an actual meal.
Everyone seems to forget that the purpose it to give good nutrition to children who include children that get poor nutrition at home. How do you tell one child that they cant have a poptart while another child can? Is it not simply easier for the children who get proper nutrition to eat their poptarts at homke and set a better example for the children who get poor nutrition at home? I mean if your child is eating healthy anyway what is the difference if they have the damn poptart at home instead of school?5 -
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:2 -
My son almost got his Zevia taken away at lunch because there is a no soda rule. He then explained to the teacher it's carbonated water with natural flavors.
I guess they have a no soda rule at my school which I actually think is great, there are so many parents that don't give a *kitten* about their kids or what they eat… It's really sad.
I'm sure that doesn't describe the OP,
But I would just look on the positive side and be happy that my school was encouraging healthy habits and they care about the health of my child. Save the junk snacks like pop tarts for special occasions at home, and send them healthy nutritious snacks to feed their brain when they go to school. That's JMHO though.4 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »This irritates me too. My son for 5 years every day took only 3 plain bread rolls for his lunch. No butter no filling no fruit. Nothing else. That's what he wanted and that's what he had. I made sure it was all balanced with a big healthy sustaining breakfast and after school tea / dinner etc . This teacher has no idea of what else your kid eats in a day. I bet some of those tucking into An apple and hummus dip are eating KFC for dinner!
What's wrong with KFC? Chicken is an excellent source of lean protein.
You have clearly forgotten about the toxic sodium bicarbonate....
Darn. I've been trying to stay out of this thread for days but you people had to suck me in with an opening a mile wide...
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snickerscharlie wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »
400 calories probably make up 1\3 of their daily needs depending on their age, and you want that to go to poptarts? What about poptarts aide in a 'balanced' diet?
2 poptarts have a total of 76g of carbs. That's gross.
Lots of people only eat one pop tart, I believe OP said she gave him one. A 200 calorie sweet treat fits quite nicely into an otherwise nutritious and balanced diet.
76 grams of carbs is "gross"?
Yes 76 grams of carbs from a trash source like Pop Tarts is gross, especially for a young child.
IMO borderline child abuse if done on a regular basis.
The last sentence is a ridiculous assertion barring cases of morbid obesity. Check out documented cases of some actual child abuse (beatings, sexual abuse, locked in closets for days, etc) and then hopefully come to the realization that your comment was grossly out of line.
I have a close friend who is a long time investigator for children and family services so I have heard many terrible stores.
Feeding a child a poor diet (especially when the family can afford better) but chooses not to puts the child on a road to lifelong health issues.
IMHO, providing a child with a poor diet is a form of abuse.
In my profession, I deal with a lot of child abuse cases at the court level. Physical and sexual child assault, abuse and neglect. Feeding a child an occasional PopTart doesn't even come close.
The problem is that school does not just make policy for the parents who feed their children the occasional poptart but also for the parents who feed their children poptarts as an actual meal.
Everyone seems to forget that the purpose it to give good nutrition to children who include children that get poor nutrition at home. How do you tell one child that they cant have a poptart while another child can? Is it not simply easier for the children who get proper nutrition to eat their poptarts at homke and set a better example for the children who get poor nutrition at home? I mean if your child is eating healthy anyway what is the difference if they have the damn poptart at home instead of school?
I agree with you in principle.
But the issue in *this* thread, with *this* OP is that, from my understanding of the situation:
1) There was no list sent home to parents at the beginning of the school year stating what was or wasn't an 'acceptable' snack. So leaving that up to an individual teacher's discretion and personal bias is arbitrary and unacceptable.
2) When little Johnny brought out the PopTart for his snack, it was confiscated by the teacher, thrown in the trash, and an alternative replacement wasn't provided. So all his peers were eating their snacks while he got nothing. Punitive and unacceptable.
3) Little Johnny was told that his PopTart snack was "unhealthy." Unacceptable.
If the teacher had an issue, (and she obviously did) she should have taken it up with the OP, and not with the child. He should have been allowed to eat his allegedly inappropriate snack without comment or confiscation. The teacher should then have taken it up directly with the OP in the form of a phone call, a note sent home with the child or an email.
The situation was handled extremely poorly.
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WinoGelato wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »This irritates me too. My son for 5 years every day took only 3 plain bread rolls for his lunch. No butter no filling no fruit. Nothing else. That's what he wanted and that's what he had. I made sure it was all balanced with a big healthy sustaining breakfast and after school tea / dinner etc . This teacher has no idea of what else your kid eats in a day. I bet some of those tucking into An apple and hummus dip are eating KFC for dinner!
What's wrong with KFC? Chicken is an excellent source of lean protein.
You have clearly forgotten about the toxic sodium bicarbonate....
Darn. I've been trying to stay out of this thread for days but you people had to suck me in with an opening a mile wide...
Mission accomplished.
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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.
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I'm not reading this dumpster fire. I have no dog in this fight. I homeschool my kids. One of them likes the fancy organic poptarts (because they come in a flavor she prefers), the other doesn't even like poptarts at all.
Me? I have celiac disease and in honor of this thread am seriously thinking of getting those Glutino frosted poptarts I saw at Wegmans last week. I really, really miss the frosted poptarts a lot and was thrilled that Glutino introduced frosted versions. I'll have them for my maintenance day treat.4 -
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?8
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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?
There are a lot of new flavors, but when I was a kid, my favorites were anything with frosting and crunchy stuff on it.0 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »cathydubepenner wrote: »What really shocks me is that we're discussing the healthiness of a Pop Tart on a MFP forum. I would assume that people who are concerned for their own health enough to be an active member would already know how unhealthy these are and if not, be more open minded and accepting to admit they could make better choices.
Agreed. Yes once in awhile for a treat they are okay... but surely not the best choice to feed a young child every day
And where exactly did the OP or any other poster here say to eat them every day?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?
S'mores for the win. BUT if you're going to heat them, go easy. The insides will turn to hot magma if you're not careful.
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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?
S'mores, hands down. I did once slay an entire box of those.1 -
In my opinion, something that derives all of it's calories from sugar and fat, and has no other real nutrients in it, is junk food, and looking at the nutritional value of poptarts, that's what they are, fat and sugar, which I personally wouldn't want my kid to eat. I would rather they eat an apple, or veggies, or something like that.
I also think that schools are trying to teach kids about nutrition because unfortunately, not everyone teaches their kids about making good choices for food. I can understand you being upset, but I can also understand the school as well.
I completely agree on pop tarts being junk food but I get sick and tired of people feeling like they have to step in and teach someone's kids "because their parents aren't." It's not their kid! I get that not everyone has great parents, but the bottom line is those parents are responsible for those kids and no one else. If we want to stretch this to the extreme then the teacher should be able to teach the kid about his/her religion because if the parent isn't, somebody has to. See where this is going? Where does it stop? And who is to decide what is right or wrong for that family? There are some moral imperatives in life, but beyond that, it is a parent's right to choose how and what they will teach their kids and how they will raise them. I don't want my kid eating pop tarts necessarily (ewww), but I more so don't want someone else teaching my kids what THEY think is right or wrong or healthy or unhealthy for them. If they want to teach nutrition in the scope of a biology class, then fine, the entire class is learning within a given subject. But to single out a kid? No way.
Which is exactly why we homeschool.......6
This discussion has been closed.
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