Bring a Healthy Snack.....

[daycare]

Ok, maybe it is me, but what is wrong with these parents......... Am I that much of a bunny rabbit that I just assume that everyone else knows what a healthy snack is? AM I wrong for thinking this stuff is JUNK?

kid 1- choch chip granola bar and a small bowl of processed fruit cup, peaches
kid 2 - fig cookie and veggie straw chips...OMG that is cookies and chips
kid 3 choc coverd raisins, juice box
kid 4- oatmeal crabberry cookies, choc apple dippers and caramel sauce
kid 5 - goldfish and fruit roll up by the foot,,,,,

Please please tell me that this is all CRAP and I have a right to vent about the snacks the parents brought their children today..

I know I set the bar high, but whY WHY does it all have to be processed JUNK...

ok vent over....lol

[jenboo]

Originally Posted by daycare

Ok, maybe it is me, but what is wrong with these parents......... Am I that much of a bunny rabbit that I just assume that everyone else knows what a healthy snack is? AM I wrong for thinking this stuff is JUNK?

kid 1- choch chip granola bar and a small bowl of processed fruit cup, peaches
kid 2 - fig cookie and veggie straw chips...OMG that is cookies and chips
kid 3 choc coverd raisins, juice box
kid 4- oatmeal crabberry cookies, choc apple dippers and caramel sauce
kid 5 - goldfish and fruit roll up by the foot,,,,,

Please please tell me that this is all CRAP and I have a right to vent about the snacks the parents brought their children today..

I know I set the bar high, but whY WHY does it all have to be processed JUNK...

ok vent over....lol

Wow! Definitely all junk food! Everything is processed!!

[cheerfuldom]

everything is processed but the average person is going to consider any fruit, even a fruit cup, to be healthy. same thing with a granola bar or even the plain goldfish crackers and some of the other selections. They probably figure "hey its not candy or a doughnut so it must be pretty good". The fruit by the foot is definitely candy though. If you are going to be picky then you need to be super specific or provide the snack yourself.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by cheerfuldom

everything is processed but the average person is going to consider any fruit, even a fruit cup, to be healthy. same thing with a granola bar or even the plain goldfish crackers and some of the other selections. They probably figure "hey its not candy or a doughnut so it must be pretty good". The fruit by the foot is definitely candy though. If you are going to be picky then you need to be super specific or provide the snack yourself.

I did create a list......................gave some very specific suggestions............but they were thrown out the window I guess....lol

[Lucy]

To most families, those would be "healthy" items. I think more families than not have those things in their cupboards on any given day. If OP hadn't said the word "healthy" in her request, they'd bring a mini pack of Oreos, a Pop Tart, a Little Debbie's cupcake, etc. They think they complied with her.

To be quite honest, I didn't find the items they brought to be all THAT bad. Yes, they're not straight up apples or bananas, but they're standard snacks that are at least a little better than what they could've brought. Ya know?

Don't flame me as if I'm saying "Kids SHOULD eat these things!!!!" I'm just playing Devil's Advocate from the parents' side.

[AmyKidsCo]

Originally Posted by Lucy

To most families, those would be "healthy" items. I think more families than not have those things in their cupboards on any given day. If OP hadn't said the word "healthy" in her request, they'd bring a mini pack of Oreos, a Pop Tart, a Little Debbie's cupcake, etc. They think they complied with her.

ITA - "healthy" means different things to different families. For my family it's whole wheat, no HCFS, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, less processed. For my son it's Trix instead of doughnuts. (I swear we raised him better! )

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Originally Posted by AmyKidsCo

ITA - "healthy" means different things to different families. For my family it's whole wheat, no HCFS, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, less processed. For my son it's Trix instead of doughnuts. (I swear we raised him better! )

This is my family 100% except add in gluten free.
Gluten free, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial coloring, no preservatives, no artificial sweeteners.

My kids come in having eaten candy, cheetos, chocolate chip granola bars, poptarts, and donuts because they wanted to. We feed them but ya can't skip your morning sugar rush. ten kids and they are all fed like this.

[midaycare]

Originally Posted by AmyKidsCo

ITA - "healthy" means different things to different families. For my family it's whole wheat, no HCFS, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, less processed. For my son it's Trix instead of doughnuts. (I swear we raised him better! )

This is why I don't allow parents to bring any food in. But I didn't think that list was too terrible. Healthy, no. Terrible, no.

[bklsmum]

I'd have killed for my DCK's to bring in that stuff when I used to have them bring their own snacks. I got bags of M&M's and gummy bears instead. LOL

[Meyou]

That's all junk food for me. I do serve veggie straws occasionally but it's considered a junky snack here.

[daycarediva]

All junk.

I agree with previous posters, most of my families would have considered that healthy.

This is also why I never again have asked parents to bring snack. I used to get fruit cups (with that sugar syrup) donuts, granola bars (more like candy bars...)

Now I just provide it all.

My kids teacher sent us a SHORT list of acceptable snacks for snack rotation. I always just sent a ton of organic bananas, was told they were a fav.

ANY fresh fruit
ANY fresh veggie
Yogurt
Cheese stick

No juice---- water only.

All junk! It absolutely amazes me how people eat and feed their children.I'm not sure when everything changed,I guess it's all about convenience because no one has the time or doesn't want to make it a priority.There is no way people can feel well with all that processed food in their body. I can't stand when people say"Well it's just a treat" because you know it's not and they eat like that all the time. Real food people! Ugh! Ok,rant over!lol
People don't believe me when they find out that I haven't ate fast food in over 20 years,they are like "What?Well what do you eat?" My response is always the same" Real food"

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by daycare

Ok, maybe it is me, but what is wrong with these parents......... Am I that much of a bunny rabbit that I just assume that everyone else knows what a healthy snack is? AM I wrong for thinking this stuff is JUNK?

kid 1- choch chip granola bar and a small bowl of processed fruit cup, peaches
kid 2 - fig cookie and veggie straw chips...OMG that is cookies and chips
kid 3 choc coverd raisins, juice box
kid 4- oatmeal crabberry cookies, choc apple dippers and caramel sauce
kid 5 - goldfish and fruit roll up by the foot,,,,,

Please please tell me that this is all CRAP and I have a right to vent about the snacks the parents brought their children today..

I know I set the bar high, but whY WHY does it all have to be processed JUNK...

ok vent over....lol

Do you normally have parents supply the snack?

Is this afternoon or morning snack or was this for a field trip or special occasion?

Either way, if the "stuff" the parents send for snack is high in sugar and not all that healthy, make sure it's served for afternoon snack and let the parents deal with the fallout from all the sugar/carbs on their watch.

[mamamanda]

I agree with the OP that this is not really "healthy" food. However, I believe the average parent these days probably believes that it is. I find I have to constantly choose my battles when it comes to food. My dh would consider all of those snacks healthy except for the fruit roll up. My ds refused to eat lunch last week so I told him that was his choice, but there would be no junk food/dessert until he ate his healthy food. (My in laws load him up w/ sugar if I don't hover like crazy & we were at their house.) A little bit later I heard my m-i-l offering him a chocolate pudding cup. I said definitely not & she tried to convince me it was healthy b/c it has calcium in it. Lol And she's a nurse. I think this is just a mindset in todays society. I use a lot of whole grains, make healthy food from scratch, use natural sweeteners instead of sugar in my baked goods, etc. But realistically, if I forced this type of eating on my dh, our marriage would probably fall apart. So I do my best to teach my children healthy choices, hide veggies in my husbands food, (hehe), & hope I do a good enough job in the daytime that the snacks he & his mom bring into our home won't set them back too much in the evenings. As for my dck's, their parents idea of healthy would make my husband look like a health food enthusiast. Lol I laugh, but I'm not kidding in the least. And then we wonder why our nation has so many health issues.

[cheerfuldom]

Originally Posted by daycare

I did create a list......................gave some very specific suggestions............but they were thrown out the window I guess....lol

a list of suggestions is not the same thing as what I was talking about....a specific list of exactly what to bring.

"One piece of fruit (no fruit cups or other processed fruit/fruit flavored item) and one water bottle with water or milk. Please do not bring anything else outside of what is listed."

[cheerfuldom]

oh and to top off this discussion, one DCK was bring in strawberry flavored pre-sliced and packaged apples.....why would one have to have fruit flavored fruit? how hard is it to slice an apple??? LOL

[Bookworm]

Originally Posted by cheerfuldom

oh and to top off this discussion, one DCK was bring in strawberry flavored pre-sliced and packaged apples.....why would one have to have fruit flavored fruit? how hard is it to slice an apple??? LOL

Ok, now that's just nasty.

[Indianadaycare]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

Do you normally have parents supply the snack?

Is this afternoon or morning snack or was this for a field trip or special occasion?

Either way, if the "stuff" the parents send for snack is high in sugar and not all that healthy, make sure it's served for afternoon snack and let the parents deal with the fallout from all the sugar/carbs on their watch.

[crazydaycarelady]

There is a daycare here that requires parents to bring the kids a lunch but then sends home nasty messages about what they bring (like Gogurt.) I think that if you require the parents to bring food for their kid then you should not complain about what they bring.

[daycare]

it was for a field trip...

I agree that next time I will write down exactly what I want them to bring and not make suggestions.

Everyone knows my menu, they know how we eat daily and what I expect, but like pp mentioned, I need to make sure that I tell them what I want, not suggest what I want them to bring.