"healthy kids" news and stories

Taking school lunch reform what might be a bit too far, preschool teachers in New South Wales, Australia have begun to implement lunchbox inspections. The teachers have banned foods including chocolates, candies, cakes and fruit rollups, taking them away from the children and sending the items home uneaten if they are found. The ban on foods deemed to be unhealthy extends to birthday cakes as well, where a plain, homemade vanilla cupcake - no icing or ice cream - is the most appropriate treat.

One teacher said "It is just as much about educating parents as it is the children." Even though the teachers say that this is a good way to encourage healthy eating habits, it is sending a message to the parents to prepare the lunches, not the children who receive them.

It is noted by some experts that the teachers are not following an official direction to inspect lunches, but that they have taken it upon themselves. How long it will continue before parents protest - or conform - remains to be seen.

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Not all school lunch options are created equal. Schools have dietary and budgetary guidelines to go by, but giving students the freedom of choice in choosing what they eat is not something that the guidelines can always take into account. My junior high school, for example, sold churros for 50(cents) and you can bet that many students were eating those fried sticks of cinnamon and sugar goodness at least a few times a week. I highly doubt that whatever nutritional standards the “taco casserole” was made to even considered the possibility that the meal would be augmented with a churro and a bag of Doritos. Parents generally only thought about their kids’ school lunches when they were asked for money on the ride to school and had no control over what the kids purchased with that money. Fortunately for parents who worry about their child’s health and waistline more than they used to, this isn’t the case anymore.

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