So first, I hear from my teacher friends all about Missouri's new School Wellness policy. I am all for kids wellness. More P.E.! More recess! Get rid of the pop machines! Fine, whatever! But then I heard the rest of the policy...no more "sugary snacks" can be given to students as a snack, party treat, or rewards.
Now let me just tell you. I taught young children for almost eight years, and by 2:30, I was ready for a damn cookie. And bring on the chocolate milk, by gosh.
And while I did not spend my ENTIRE day doling out sugar filled crap, I swear I could make kindergarten children do amazing tricks with the promise of three Skittles. I am actually quite unsure of my teaching and disciplining abilities without the aid of Skittles as a bribe.
Field trips? Bubblegum (sugar free, of course) makes for an amazingly quiet bus ride home.
And school parties - HELLO! What is a school Halloween (oops, I mean Fall), Christmas (whoops, there I go again - I mean Holiday), or Valentine's (I think that one is still P.C.) party without some cupcakes, chips, and candy? Come on. Parties only happen three times a year.
Isn't it odd that BEFORE these bans on All Things The Government Decides Is Bad For You (because I KNOW that this "Wellness Policy" SOMEHOW ties into "No Child Left Behind"), that we all grew up eating candy and cupcakes at school now and then, and there were very few problems with overweight children? And NOW, with all the bans, there are an ABUNDANCE of overweight children? How EVER did we survive our childhoods? Wait - I KNOW! I think our parents made us GO PLAY OUTSIDE.
But thank YOU, Missouri PTA, for taking it upon yourself to suck all the sweetness out of going to school. Because I'm sure those cupcakes three times a year are totally the culprit of our children's lazy, unhealthy habits.
Hmm. I got a little off topic there.
So today, I got the icing on the cake, in a manner of speaking. I had to go to the doctor (sinus infection, cough, the usual...I feel like hell), and when it was time to go, my children instinctively asked for a sucker (like they do at the bank, the pharmacy, and the hair salon). They were told, "We don't have suckers anymore. But here's a nice sticker!"
What?!? Screw the damn sticker! Where's the Saf-T-Pops? The nurse informed me that the Office Manager had decided that "giving kids candy was promoting poor dental health habits."
Gosh. I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell her about the pancakes and syrup for breakfast, the cookies for snack, and the heaping bowls of sugar I gave G and L to snack on in the car. A Dum-Dum might have sent us all over the SUGARY EDGE OF DEATH AND DENTAL DECAY.
No more freaking suckers at the doctor's office. That is PRECISELY what is wrong with the world today.
Now let me just tell you. I taught young children for almost eight years, and by 2:30, I was ready for a damn cookie. And bring on the chocolate milk, by gosh.
And while I did not spend my ENTIRE day doling out sugar filled crap, I swear I could make kindergarten children do amazing tricks with the promise of three Skittles. I am actually quite unsure of my teaching and disciplining abilities without the aid of Skittles as a bribe.
Field trips? Bubblegum (sugar free, of course) makes for an amazingly quiet bus ride home.
And school parties - HELLO! What is a school Halloween (oops, I mean Fall), Christmas (whoops, there I go again - I mean Holiday), or Valentine's (I think that one is still P.C.) party without some cupcakes, chips, and candy? Come on. Parties only happen three times a year.
Isn't it odd that BEFORE these bans on All Things The Government Decides Is Bad For You (because I KNOW that this "Wellness Policy" SOMEHOW ties into "No Child Left Behind"), that we all grew up eating candy and cupcakes at school now and then, and there were very few problems with overweight children? And NOW, with all the bans, there are an ABUNDANCE of overweight children? How EVER did we survive our childhoods? Wait - I KNOW! I think our parents made us GO PLAY OUTSIDE.
But thank YOU, Missouri PTA, for taking it upon yourself to suck all the sweetness out of going to school. Because I'm sure those cupcakes three times a year are totally the culprit of our children's lazy, unhealthy habits.
Hmm. I got a little off topic there.
So today, I got the icing on the cake, in a manner of speaking. I had to go to the doctor (sinus infection, cough, the usual...I feel like hell), and when it was time to go, my children instinctively asked for a sucker (like they do at the bank, the pharmacy, and the hair salon). They were told, "We don't have suckers anymore. But here's a nice sticker!"
What?!? Screw the damn sticker! Where's the Saf-T-Pops? The nurse informed me that the Office Manager had decided that "giving kids candy was promoting poor dental health habits."
Gosh. I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell her about the pancakes and syrup for breakfast, the cookies for snack, and the heaping bowls of sugar I gave G and L to snack on in the car. A Dum-Dum might have sent us all over the SUGARY EDGE OF DEATH AND DENTAL DECAY.
No more freaking suckers at the doctor's office. That is PRECISELY what is wrong with the world today.
9 Comments:
I totally agree with you! I don't think our little school is participating in this new deal. They send home a month worth of fun activities that kids can do and their parents. Ex: Jump as high as you can 10 times. J and H and good ole hubby A think it is hilarious for momma to jump up and wet pants, land heavily on ground, gasp for breath, etc. You get the picture? Why not give the kids good meals instead of salty, carb, filled crap? Example stuffed crust pizza, macaroni and tomatoes? Yeah right! lettuce salad, no dressing, and a cookie. How freaking healthy is that? Like the starburst treats are what's making our children overweight. Moderation and control is what we need to be teaching our children. I need to follow it too! Ok, this is totally a sore point for me. Having a child that is a little overweight, I tend to get extremely emotional. I will stop now.
Erica
You are so right on. Back in ancient times there was a thing called "THE PRESIDENTS COUNCIL ON PHYSICAL FITNESS". I think it was during the JFK years. We had P.E. every single day. We also had "room mothers" who got together and did the Halloween and Christmas and all those other holiday parties. It was great fun and we really looked forward to making and hanging up our handmade decorations.
They should be worrying about school safety and leave kids and their sugar the hell alone.
and thats all i have to say about that.
When I have children, I'm going to make sure there's a Willy Wonka school out there where they can be showered with holiday treats! This is so sad! We have a pumpkin overflowing with sugary goodness at the higher education institution where I work. Feel free to visit us anytime and fill your pockets with boxes of JuJu Fruits, tootsie rolls, Super Bubble and Hershey kisses!
I see this already at my kids daycare, only healthy snacks are suggested for any type of special event....
And get this - I took my three year old to the dentist, for a *gasp* cavity (damn those fruit snacks!) and our dentist suggested only "water" to drink!! Excuse me? No milk? No juice? Only water? For a three year old? Yeah right....
It is a real sign! They're all over town! I had never seen them before visiting here! It's frickin' crazy!!!
Let me tell you, this teacher is NOT happy about the wellness decision. Whatever happened to letting the parents take care of the kids? How can you motivate kindergarteners? Now parents are going to have to oversugar their kids at home to keep things balanced. What is next?...taking away my snacks at Walmart and the grocery store? Like they said, "No Child With A Big Behind."
As a sidenote....regular sugar is bad for you, but it's okay to serve fake sugar and all the other chemical sweetness to our kids? AHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Bleh. What a great way to take all the fun out of school - and yes, I do mean ALL the fun. We should TP the Government... or something.
For the record, though, we always got new toothbrushes when we were done at the dentist, and lollipops from the doctor. If that's wrong, I don't want to be right, darnit!
buzzylin - No child with a big behind! hahahahahaha! That is too funny...crack me up.
mrs s- i don't want to be right either!
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