No wonder our kids grow up to make bad food choices...
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Here is a link to 20 school lunches from around the world. The USA is horrible!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-school-lunches-look-like-in-20-countries-arou
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
Kids need consistent examples - no kid wants to be the "weird" kid with the chicken breast and apple in his lunch. I pack my kids lunches (I have 4 kids so it's part I want control and part $) and tend to give them one "junk" thing to pull out. The rest is good for you stuff. But some things they won't even take out of their bags and eat as school. "Just too geeky" they say. If the school helps out that would be great - gives us geeky parents some support.0 -
[/quote]So what's the solution?
Policing? Saving others from making bad choices?
If you're going to complain about something shouldn't you be able to provide solutions?
Just *****ing isn't helping anyone.The solutions start with us becoming more aware and involved in our LOCAL policies and politics. Get involved with the school boards, volunteer at the schools, look for grant programs that can provide alternatives that will NOT conflict with those contracts (some segment of the Fed. - military I think - has a fresh fruit program that provides fruit to the ENTIRE school; not the cafeteria - I'd have to look for it to get details), get a food pantry started for the school for kids who aren't getting enough of a balanced diet, encourage school to bring back "home ec" (different districts call it by different names now, but we all know what it means!), encourage community gardens - although the cafeteria can't use the produce, other classrooms can. Volunteer in your local elementary school, particularly if you're coming from a different cultural background adn offer culture-related lessons for a couple of days which includes sampling of culture-specific foods (this one can be hard because of all the food sensitivities now, but I'm sure each district provides different opportunities for something along these lines). There's LOTS of ways to help children and families learn without putting so much pressure on the administrators or parents, individually. Just attacking people is not an answer to anything and we have to collectively think outside the box. Traditional protests will not work on the complex school environment anymore.
How's that for a start?
Thank you! :flowerforyou:encourage community gardens - although the cafeteria can't use the produce, other classrooms can.
Done. Many times. And it goes on.
I'm tapped out with the volunteering though, it's going to have to be enough to help someone, somewhere. Thanks again for thinking, and solutions.
Oh, I don't have children, so no, I'm not involved in the schools. Hopefully the parents are.
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I did not read all of the posts but I want to make a point, whether or not it has been made previously,
For some children, the school lunch is the ONLY nutritious food they have all day. Granted it is not as nutritious as is ideal. That said, I am not defending the slop that is served. Just stating a point.
I wish it were Utopia in which I lived sometimes when I see the things that I see in this world.0 -
Here is a link to 20 school lunches from around the world. The USA is horrible!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-school-lunches-look-like-in-20-countries-arou
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
you know some parents can't afford to make lunch for their kids for school? you know some parents HAVE to get approved to get reduce cost lunches for their kids so they can be sure they can eat? some people aren't lucky enough to be able to afford to make their kids lunch.0 -
I had to meet the counselors at my 7 year old daughters school as she had quit eating at school, we all assumed it was because of my divorce and that kinda stuff, but when i asked her later she said that the school food just tastes like @ss. ( not neccesarily in those words but....) So now we check the menu in the morning and if it is one of those days that are icky we send a lunch.0
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So what's the solution?
Policing? Saving others from making bad choices?
If you're going to complain about something shouldn't you be able to provide solutions?
Just *****ing isn't helping anyone.
Very true. Reading through these comments I see a lot of excuses.
Everyone is busy now days. Making a committment and planning is everything.
Yes, there are single parents and 2 working adults in the household. Plan and pack food for everyone at night.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. No excuses.0 -
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
It doesn't mean that the school shouldn't be held responsible for not providing healthy choices. Is it the kid's fault that their parents don't make their lunch? No. So why should the kid's body have to suffer for it?
That being said, I'm really not surprised... the rest of the world has so much better, healthier food than America in general. Fruits and veggies are cheaper. It's ridiculous and no wonder why we have such an obesity problem here.
The quality of school lunches basically comes down to cost. Most families who buy lunch cannot afford or are not willing to pay more for school lunch. The schools do the best they can on the budget they are given. Freshly prepped food requires more time and manpower to prepare therefore higher costs. I don't think it's necessarily the food itself that costs more.
Food around the word is not cheaper than the US. In the US we actually spend a smaller % of our income on food than most other countries. I lived in Europe the last 3 years and saw this first hand. We've grown to expect that good/healthy food should be cheap. Food Matters is a great documentary that addresses common beliefs about food in the US.0 -
Personally I don't think choices are the problem. The problem is inactive lifestyles. I eat mcdonalds about 6 times a week(or more), I have 6% bodyfat and my bloodwork is always way above average. Grant it, I don't get fries but I don't eat the salad either. I usually get a mcdouble plain with cheese and a large diet coke, I eat half the bun or no bun too. I am also 44, when I was 10,20, and 30 I ATE THE FRIES>lol. When I was a kid we ate chef boy r dee for lunch almost everyday during the summer. My mom fried dinner about twice a week and french fries were served all the time. There were 6 of us and non of us were overweight, we played sports and played outside everyday until dark. It is not what they are eating, it is what they are doing or not doing!0
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So what's the solution?
Policing? Saving others from making bad choices?
If you're going to complain about something shouldn't you be able to provide solutions?
Just *****ing isn't helping anyone.The solutions start with us becoming more aware and involved in our LOCAL policies and politics. Get involved with the school boards, volunteer at the schools, look for grant programs that can provide alternatives that will NOT conflict with those contracts (some segment of the Fed. - military I think - has a fresh fruit program that provides fruit to the ENTIRE school; not the cafeteria - I'd have to look for it to get details), get a food pantry started for the school for kids who aren't getting enough of a balanced diet, encourage school to bring back "home ec" (different districts call it by different names now, but we all know what it means!), encourage community gardens - although the cafeteria can't use the produce, other classrooms can. Volunteer in your local elementary school, particularly if you're coming from a different cultural background adn offer culture-related lessons for a couple of days which includes sampling of culture-specific foods (this one can be hard because of all the food sensitivities now, but I'm sure each district provides different opportunities for something along these lines). There's LOTS of ways to help children and families learn without putting so much pressure on the administrators or parents, individually. Just attacking people is not an answer to anything and we have to collectively think outside the box. Traditional protests will not work on the complex school environment anymore.
How's that for a start?
Thank you! :flowerforyou:encourage community gardens - although the cafeteria can't use the produce, other classrooms can.
Done. Many times. And it goes on.
I'm tapped out with the volunteering though, it's going to have to be enough to help someone, somewhere. Thanks again for thinking, and solutions.
[/quote]
Thank YOU Silverkitty for being so willing to accept my initial critique and to request more information. I really appreciate the style of your approach. Sincerely. And I'm SO glad to hear that you're "tapped for volunteering"... it means you're out there doing what you can and that's fabulous. We really need EVERYONE doing their best to spend *some* time in schools. I work in one and "volunteer" for our garden committee. I wish I could do more than I do, but I'm also tapped out. I work 2 jobs, have 2 kids (kids 24/7!) and virtually no "me" time. Most of the time, when I'm off, so are one or both of my own. It's exausting! I'm teaching them early and most Saturdays, they go to a local no-kill animal shelter and volunteer. I may not have time to do much of my own volunteering, but I certainly have time to take them to do it! When it's both of them, I just drop them off and let them do their thing and I can run errands or come home and manage some household duties for an hour or so before I get them again. I miss doing more. I miss being in my son's classroom a couple of times a week. I miss ALL the kids in his room. I miss seeing the staff. You get attached. I wish more people realized how gratifying it is and put as much as they could into it. Maybe then, district policies wouldn't be so out of control. People would have been safeguarding and watching more closely what was going on. Now, we have to start from a negative ground point. We're turning out kids that are illiterate who are having babies and they don't know how to teach nor take care of those kids and it's going to continue to the next generation; those "parents" don't have the knowledge to help much in the classrooms. those are the children who are going to subject to ADD/ADHD diagnosis and either over or under medicated.... which also affects diet, btw - and diet affects ADD/ADHD.
There's so much to do in our schools but we each have to pick our battles because we can't fight them all and have any hope of winning. I hope some folks reading this thread are inspired to volunteer in their local schools, too.0 -
It is a combination of a lot of things that bring children to make bad food choices, it is not only the schools fault as these are public institutions that are run by tax dollars, or the parents that work full time and may not have all the time in the world, or any other one thing. The world is full of cop outs for why things like obesity happen and there is no one answer. I prefer to not pass the buck but it is still a multi faceted issue nonetheless.
Agreed0 -
I've actually gone to school and eaten the hot lunch with my son a few times. While it may not have been earth shatteringly good food, it was still very much edible with lots of healthy options.
I still remember when I was in school and we got one choice for hot lunch and that was it. My son gets a choice between two main dishes and then gets to pick and choose his side dishes. While I may wish that he'd add a few more healthy sides to his choices, he really doesn't do completely horribly bad either. I guess this means I'm getting through at least a little bit. For him the biggest problem is that there simply isn't enough time for lunch. He's a wiggler and a talker, which means that it takes him longer to finish his food. Often this means that he doesn't finish everything he's selected.
I also remember doing a lot of swapping of food during lunch as a kid. My favorite was when they would have the pizza (the sheet kind that is cut into big rectangles) and green beans. I _loved_ the green beans and could usually get an extra serving from at least one or two other kids that didn't like them. Heck, I didn't even have to swap! That's how much the other kids didn't like them. I'm sure kids haven't changed that much, and that the swapping is still pretty common. So just because you send them with a healthy lunch doesn't mean that it's going to be eaten by your child, or at all.
Anyway. Just some rambling food for thought.0 -
Just a quick note to all of the commenters saying "Parents should be accountable." Please note that your child may not be eating that healthful lunch. Kids trade food, throw it out, do all sorts of things.
Do the best you can, but your little angels (mine included), once they can think for themselves, in fact DO!
The only thing you can do is provide balanced meals at home, avoid making any foods "forbidden," and hope that by the time they're adults, they'll at least know what they SHOULD be doing.
As much as we like to think we can control what kids do when they're away from us, we cannot. We can teach and hope for the best.0 -
Here is a link to 20 school lunches from around the world. The USA is horrible!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-school-lunches-look-like-in-20-countries-arou
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
Some parents (not all) actually need those school meals to make sure their child is fed because unfortunately they cannot do it themselves. I would say that it's no ones fault but that it should be something 50/50 if the parent cant (because they dont have the means for it) to make the lunch the school could do a better job at the food options, I'm not saying give them 5 star meals that I know the French eat, but some veggies, some lean meat in a fun looking way so that children will still eat it but will be eating healthier.0 -
Just a quick note to all of the commenters saying "Parents should be accountable." Please note that your child may not be eating that healthful lunch. Kids trade food, throw it out, do all sorts of things.
Do the best you can, but your little angels (mine included), once they can think for themselves, in fact DO!
The only thing you can do is provide balanced meals at home, avoid making any foods "forbidden," and hope that by the time they're adults, they'll at least know what they SHOULD be doing.
As much as we like to think we can control what kids do when they're away from us, we cannot. We can teach and hope for the best.
So true. I spent a year or two on Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets and orange soda. Sometimes grape. 0
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