I thought I had it bad dealing with dc parents. Went to back to school night tonight and as the teacher went over the children's daily schedules a mom interrupted to complain that her child comes home starving every day and it's because she is not allowed to eat anything during the day. She went on to say that her child has a sweet tooth and doesn't like anything else and since only healthy snacks and meals are allowed her daughter is left starving. The teacher said to send in a healthy snack and let her be the bad guy. She said many times it only takes a week and the child conforms. The mom said ok....so is a pop tart a healthy snack? The teacher looked like she wanted to walk out the door. This conversation went on and on. Clueless and unaware what a healthy snack consisted of even after going over a detailed list of options.

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today's parenting at its finest!

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The child isn't starving-she's holding out for that pop tart that Mom will give her as soon as she gets to the car or home! I just can't believe that people can be so clueless!

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Well--pop tarts do have fruit filling so that is healthy, right? I swear some parents honestly think that way!

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Yes
Corn chips = vegetable
Fruit rollup = fruit

According to one of my former clients

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I would have had a hard time not speaking up - especially if this conversation was taking time away from meeting the teacher and learning about her other (more important) classroom policy

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I heard a woman at the beach one time telling her friend that poptarts are a perfect breakfast food because they contain so much fruit. Her friend was just eating it up and couldn't believe this amazing secret that everyone was keeping from her.

Ummmm....red colored jam stuff is not fruit.....

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Some of the other "healthy snacks" this woman sent included crumb cake, Scooby snacks, nilla wafers and gold fish. I bet the mom will be getting a call from the school nurse to discuss proper nutrition. The teachers do a great job at encouraging healthy eating habits so I can only imagine what happens when this one child walks in with crumb cake as all the other kids are snacking on carrot sticks and apples. I just find it very selfish. She can not be that uneducated or misinformed to think these snacks are ok.

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Pop-tart is a brand name for a toaster pastry.

Toaster pastries ARE credible on the food program.

Our public schools have them on the breakfast menu at least once per week.


If I were the teacher, I would compile a list of healthy snack options.

Sometimes people literally need things spelled out for them.

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Last year's teacher had a list of snacks allowed and she wrote that only these snacks were to be sent and all others would be sent home. That worked great! This year's teacher supplied a list of suggested snacks and asked that any variation be chosen wisely. It is interesting to see how the two different approaches panned out. I know I struggle enforcing my policies sometimes and this is a great example of how clear policies are a great way to avoid issues. You are right BC, parents need it to be all spelled out for them.

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In my area they are creditable, but they are considered a "sweet" and we can only serve any creditable sweet item 2 times a week. So, better than some snacks, but not the best choice...

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pop tarts are creditable here, too. I've never served them, though. My DS with ASD got HOOKED on them at his former school. They served them as an option daily for breakfast. He HAD to buy lunch at school as part of his program (making change/counting money and keeping his own cafeteria tab were part of his math curriculum).

I hated that SOOOOOOOO much. I did find some organic ones (still not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, just organic) and he can have them at his Nana's 1-2x per month.

My 1st grader's teacher only allows junk it seems. I have sent a few things that she has taken from ds. Applesauce cups (organic, unsweetened), plums (the pit was a choking hazard, apparently), hard boiled egg (smell bothers her) apples-they weren't peeled, he could choke. OH MY. Finally emailed her over it- she prefers crackers/snacky type food. Ds has been getting greek yogurt tubes and cheese sticks, which haven't been an issue. GEEZE.

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Didn't Bill Cosby do a bit about chocolate cake being a healthy breakfast because it had milk, flour, and eggs?

Some parents are clueless.

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Chocolate is health food.

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Oh, yes, well, chocolate is always good. For us. Of course

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