# Snacks in Kindergarten



## AlwaysByMySide (May 4, 2007)

Forgive me for the length of this post...I'm at a loss, and am looking for some advice.

DD5 started Kindergarten this year. The teacher sent home a note yesterday with a schedule for each child to bring in snacks for the whole class for snack time. (Once every four weeks.) One of the kids in the class has a peanut allergy, so she attached a sheet with "approved" snacks on it, including brand names.

I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, until I looked at the approved list. Marshmallows, Skittles, Oreos, Doritos/Lays Potato Chips/Pringles/Sun Chips/Ruffles, three different types of gum, Blow Pops, Fruit Loops....I couldn't believe it. The only thing on the list that I would even consider to be a "healthy snack" was graham crackers.

We are vegetarian, leaning toward the vegan side, but not completely. I also seriously limit processed foods (with the exception of some 'veganized' things like chik'n nuggets and vegan 'lunchmeat') and foods with artificial coloring. I talked it over with my boyfriend, and we decided that I'd just write a note to the teacher explaining how we eat, and asking that the snacks be in line with that. I wasn't so much going for VEGAN as I was for REMOTELY HEALTHY. (I wasn't going for rabbit food here - we even looked up all of the ingredients in all of the crap foods listed and I made her a list of the ones that could be considered vegan. I also offered to buy an air popper for popcorn for the classroom, since one of the things mentioned was microwave popcorn, and said that I obviously didn't expect that parents be required to buy the vegan version of Cheez-Its or anything like that.)

But really, not one fruit or vegetable on the ENTIRE list. I was floored. I teach my kids that foods like that are very occasional treats, and they are apparently going to eat snacks like this every day. I mean, how hard is it to buy a bag of apples?

I sent the note with her to school, and the teacher called me during lunch time. She said that I should send DD with her own snack every day, since all of the snacks that are sent in go into a big box, and the kids get to choose what they want from the box.

Again, how hard would it be to get a big bowl and fill it with fruit? I have no issues sending in raisins, or celery sticks filled with sunbutter or carrot sticks with some kind of dip, or whatever.

In theory, I understand where she's coming from. But the child with the peanut allergy isn't being told to bring in his own snacks. (Yes, I get that he can't be around peanuts at all, and I don't have ANY problem working around an allergy. But I don't consider Twizzlers and Oreos working around an allergy.) How am I supposed to explain to my 5 year old that she can't eat the Skittles and M&Ms that all of her friends get to eat, and they get to choose from the magic box of junk food every day?

I'm thinking about going to the principal (isn't the whole new "fad" to get this junk out of schools anyway?), but don't want to be a troublemaker the first week of school. Although I'm sure the teacher already has me pegged as "that mom", and I don't really care about that, honestly. If I say/do nothing, I feel like I'm teaching my 5 year old that chips and candy are every day snacks, not to mention the fact that I am the one that has to put up with the behavior that comes after she eats things loaded with sugar and artificial coloring.

Thoughts/advice?


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## Alyantavid (Sep 10, 2004)

Lots of schools have rules about home made treats. Along with spoilage of course.

I'm with you, the amount of crap they hand out at school is ridiculous. I'd send her own snack and talk to the principal. But you may meet some resistance.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

In the process of protecting the kids with "allergies", nutrition is left behind. I've been dealing with this for the 6th year now at dd's school. Dd can't have the approved "junk" that the allergy kids can have because she has horrible food intolerances causing eczema, sleep problems, headaches. I simply provide her food individually. She has never had a problem with eating differently than her peers. By the age of 5 she understood why. Just tell your dd that this is not the way you eat, for health reasons, and she'll have a special snack everyday, homemade with love.


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## 95191 (Nov 8, 2007)

Quote:

In the process of protecting the kids with "allergies", nutrition is left behind. I've been dealing with this for the 6th year now at dd's school. Dd can't have the approved "junk" that the allergy kids can have because she has horrible food intolerances causing eczema, sleep problems, headaches. I simply provide her food individually. She has never had a problem with eating differently than her peers. By the age of 5 she understood why. Just tell your dd that this is not the way you eat, for health reasons, and she'll have a special snack everyday, homemade with love.
YEA to all that-----send your own snack and voice a complaint about the "approved" list to who ever will hear you

lots of schools are taking out "JUNK" I would let your PTO know as well


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## carfreemama (Jun 13, 2007)

We went through this last year, though not nearly so extreme. One thing I did do was insist dd came home for lunch and she will again this year. It's one way I can limit what she's exposed to and I'm not ready for her to be "in the frey" yet. She wants to come home, thankfully.

At dd's school they have what's called "smart snack." They do have things like apples sometimes, but it's often yogurt tubes and "fruit" popsicles and such. Dd had never had a yogurt tube before then. What is considered "healthy" by school standards is my "very occasional, push-the-limits" treat food. But I did sign her up for it and just talked to her about how to make the best choices, because she wanted to be part of the snack program. I did find that after a few months, she was choosing fruit over yogurt tubes, mostly. Her teacher actually commented on her healthy choices.

However, in your case it really doesn't sound like there ARE healthy choices. Wow. I personally would get active on this and keep on and on about it. I became "that parent" pretty early on and in my experience, it's better to just get it over with.







Did you ask if you COULD bring fruit in on your day? I'd be inclined to sign up, even if you are sending your dd her own snacks. I found dd really liked it when I brought food to class parties and such, even when what I brought was different than what the other parents brought. It at least makes the point and lets the kids see that there are other possibilities.

In your shoes, I think I would send your dd's food in. That would just be more than I could handle, junk wise and I think I've tried to be maybe even too lenient. I think velochic's message of "special, homemade with love" is awesome. But I would not give up on trying to get the candy out of your dd's school.


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## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

That's awful. I was in classrooms for 4 years in college and taught for a year and I have never seen candy on a snack list. There's usually chips/fruit snacks/graham crackers/fruit listed on there. Most of the schools I've been in schools where snacks had to be at least semi healthy and candy was a huge no.

I would definitely take it up with PTA/PTO/whatever it is by you. I've seen great things happen with that, including schools starting a wellness committee, school run vegetable garden and guidelines for healthy every day snacks.


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## blueridgewoman (Nov 19, 2001)

Holy WOW.







That's just incredible.

Yeah, I would definitely discuss it with whomever would listen, and if the teacher isn't receptive, I might wait a bit and then talk to some other folks about it. I'd do it in a very non-blaming, positive way though, obviously.

I feel bad that your daughter will feel like the odd one out. I'm packing my daughter's lunch for most of the school year this year as well (she just started preschool) because, while the school does provide a free lunch, it's sort of crap. Not the level of crap that you're experiencing, but just low quality, high carb/artificial junk food. But I hate that she is pretty much one of the only kids who packs her lunch and I know that she feels probably a little left out when the other kids open their glorious, matching styrofoam containers of chicken nuggets and she has carrots and hummus, cucumbers, olives, leftover chicken, etc. All of those are her favorites, but it's a novelty thing.


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## AlwaysByMySide (May 4, 2007)

When I picked DD up from school today, I asked her how she'd feel about bringing in her own special snack for snack time. The response? "Does that mean tomorrow I can have STRAWBERRIES?!?!"









I wish there had been a camera in my car, so I could bring it into the school and say, "See? If you only offer them healthy stuff, they start to crave the healthy stuff!"

One of DS's daycare teachers has a Kindergartener in the same school, but a different teacher. I'm going to ask how their class is doing things. I want to be able to write an intelligent letter to the principal about it, and give her a shot at fixing it. If it's isolated to this teacher, that's one thing. If it's school wide, that's a whole other issue.

I don't think our PTO has a whole lot of pull with the school at all. In fact, I don't even know how to JOIN the PTO, if that gives you any indication. Heck, I still don't know what the dress code is at this school, because there's no information on it anywhere.

carfreemama - Because all the snacks go into a box, I doubt the fruit would get eaten. Or perhaps not even offered, because it would probably go bad if it sat in a box for days on end. I mean, even as much as my kid likes fruit, if the alternative is gummy snacks, I can predict that she wouldn't be choosing an apple.


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## Ammaarah (May 21, 2005)

Are you sure this wasn't the list of stuff NOT to send?


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ammaarah* 
Are you sure this wasn't the list of stuff NOT to send?










That's what I was thinking! I mean, what K teacher would want a bunch of kids hopped up on sugar and red dye...and gum? I thought it was banned in most elementary schools.

Also, if they did allow candy and junk-y snacks, why wouldn't they also include carrot sticks, celery, strawberries, apples, etc. on the approved list? It just seems odd to me, is all.

I'd definitely be saying something to the teacher - like, "really, lady? You think re-fueling already hyper kids with crap is conducive to sitting still and learning?"









About the homemade goods thing - As much as I'd love to stay up late baking a bunch of muffins for DS's kindy class, I understand why some parents aren't comfy with their kids eating food prepared in questionable kitchens. Not to mention the food allergy thing, and an absence of labels makes it harder to be sure which ingredients were used.


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## peaceful_mama (May 27, 2005)

Hmmm.

Since when is GUM even a SNACK? I thought a snack was a FOOD that made you not hungry and gave you energy to learn.....

Honestly, on the fresh fruit and veg thing, I think teachers are looking at the cost (I know some fresh stuff is inexpensive, but when you are talking about buying for 30....) They don't want people to feel like they have to go to a major expense to feed the class.

My son's class has the take-turns snackbox thing but as far as I know, the item that is sent on that day is the snack for that day, they either eat it or don't.

Our suggestions included graham crackers, other snack crackers, things like that. We were asked specifically NOT to bring things like frosted snack cakes, Oreos would probably be a no, other high sugar type things, you get the idea.

I can understand a ban on homemade treats given the peanut allergy, you just don't know about even accidental contact, or people who would think it's OK to use other nuts out of a bag of mixed nuts or something.

Another school I worked at before I had kids, the kids brought their own snacks and they just asked that it be healthy. Most kids at least did not bring high sugar stuff. Maybe that would be a possibility at your school, to switch to that policy? It would protect the peanut-allergic child from eating something with peanuts, and others could provide snacks as healthy as they like.


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## Munchkinmaker (Jun 8, 2005)

One of my boys was made to feel guilty about a chocolate pudding I sent in his lunch last year to a point where he wouldn't eat it. The schools here are really big on good nutrition. They're constantly sending home lists from the health unit on what to pack in the kids lunch, papers on the benefits of whole grains, lean and unprocessed meats & the importance of fruits and veggies being a primary source of food. Even little recipies on how kids can turn chickpeas into humus







We also have a balanced lunch day which means the kids eat 2 lunches instead of one. Our school (in my opinion) has been very concerned with good nutrition... So this list you brought up is really very surprising to me given the fact that a pudding cup at the end of a really healthy lunch is "bad" in our school









Maybe have a talk in passing with the teacher about your concerns. I would personally stay away from preaching about the details of your ideal family diet and just say you have concerns about the list containing too much "junk" and not enough foods that you (and most people) would consider appropriate for children.


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## superfastreader (Aug 6, 2007)

Are you sure that M&M's were on the list? Because they are NOT safe for a child with a peanut allergy.

I'm not sure why kids with allergies don't need protecting. Even a minor exposure can kill an allergic child. That doesn't mean that junk food is the answer. There are plenty of healthy nut-free options (as the OP is clearly aware







).

But this is yet another reason to homeschool my peanut allergic kids--parents who don't respect that my child's right to live trumps their right to send their kid to school with any old food they like. "Made with love" doesn't make it safe.


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## elmh23 (Jul 1, 2004)

I also wonder if that is the DO NOT SEND list. First, M&M's are not safe for peanut allergies and second, I've never heard of a school that didn't have an outright ban on gum.


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## Grace and Granola (Oct 15, 2005)

I feel your pain, and we are only in preschool. I was pretty annoyed last year when every day for snack at 9am the kids get cheezits, vanilla wafers, fruit loops, etc. None of the candy you mentioned, but still those are things that are occasional treats at our house. I totally agree that buying a bag of apples or a couple bunches of bananas would be reasonable. I wonder if you could offer to bring those every once in a while? At the very least, I would try to write up a list of reasonably healthy choices that the teacher could add to her list. And really, the letter probably ought to go to the principal, because I doubt every teacher makes up their own food list. You would have to check the boxes for the peanut allergy problem, but how about just plain 'ol cheerios instead of fruit loops?!?! Or even pretzels instead of GUM? Maybe type something up with a little blurb about how much easier HER job would be if the kids weren't hyped up on sugar and food dyes. I have no idea if those things I named fit into the vegan lifestyle, so if you you have more creative ideas then go for it! But if all else fails, I would really try to get your dd psyched about bringing her most favorite fantastic special treats...like STRAWBERRIES!


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## Sarahfeena (Oct 13, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elmh23* 
I also wonder if that is the DO NOT SEND list. First, M&M's are not safe for peanut allergies and second, I've never heard of a school that didn't have an outright ban on gum.

I was wondering the same thing. Seems like it would be a mighty unusual teacher who would want kids getting blowpop stickiness all over her classroom!


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## AlwaysByMySide (May 4, 2007)

I'm going to scan in the list to prove it to you all. I guess the mom of the child with the allergy sent the teacher the list - which includes the specific brand names (the gum, for the record, is Bubble Yum, Double Bubble, and Juicy Fruit. Lollipops include dum dums and Charms Blow Pops.)

I wrote all over the list, but you'll still be able to read it.


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## academama (Sep 26, 2008)

I don't like to be "that mom" either, and I don't think I'd make a stink about marginal snacks. But you'd better believe I'd be talking to the teacher and the principal and whoever else if someone was planning to give my daughter that kind of snack EVERY DAY.

Once in a while at a birthday party or whatever, fine. But aside from the fact that those snacks aren't healthful in a long-term sense, my daughter reacts BADLY to that kind of sugar (and, I think, red dye, maybe--though my husband thinks it's just that foods with red dye also tend to have all that sugar, and he may be right). It would have a definite effect on her learning if she got those foods every day.


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## _ktg_ (Jul 11, 2008)

Holy Smokes! We got done with DS's new school orientation last night, and this was the first time I had heard about "snack week" and acceptable "snack lists".

Now I'm getting nervous about what I'll see as "suggested snacks" because everything Always listed is on our rarely/never in the house list and limited offerings with the kiddos.

I second everyone's approach about seeing if it can be altered to have a more healthy approach, and if not, principal & the PTA/PTO as there has to be other parents who are probably shocked by this!!


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## Brittee (Jan 28, 2010)

Subbing. I want to see this list.


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## robynholly (Aug 24, 2008)

Talk to anyone who will listen about this. This is crazy! Why can't each child just bring in their own snack each day? I am sure you are not alone in being concerned about this. I am sure there are other parents who want their child to eat better at snack time.


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## TCMoulton (Oct 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AlwaysByMySide* 
I'm going to scan in the list to prove it to you all. *I guess the mom of the child with the allergy sent the teacher the list* - which includes the specific brand names (the gum, for the record, is Bubble Yum, Double Bubble, and Juicy Fruit. Lollipops include dum dums and Charms Blow Pops.)

I wrote all over the list, but you'll still be able to read it.

If the list wasn't in fact written by the teacher then it certainly isn't school policy. I would speak with the teacher calmly to find out how she feels about the note (heck, if it was written by a parent are you sure the teacher even read it? If the other parent had been in the classroom helping or visiting there is always the possibility that she distributed it on her own) before I would get all worked up and start complaining to school officials.


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## meandk0610 (Nov 8, 2005)

the mom of the peanut-allergic child is feeding her little one this crap every day?! yeesh! i feel sorry for the little for what that will do to his future.


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## lach (Apr 17, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TCMoulton* 
If the list wasn't in fact written by the teacher then it certainly isn't school policy. I would speak with the teacher calmly to find out how she feels about the note (heck, if it was written by a parent are you sure the teacher even read it? If the other parent had been in the classroom helping or visiting there is always the possibility that she distributed it on her own) before I would get all worked up and start complaining to school officials.

I agree. It sounds like the teacher either didn't understand or didn't explain properly what the list was. I can't even begin to imagine that blow pops are allowed as a classroom snack in any school... "no gum" is like the very first rule of school! "No backward baseball caps" being rule number 2. At least, that's how it was when I was a kid.









I wonder if the mother meant it as a list of suggested snacks if parents make goodie bags for all of the kids, for instance at Halloween.

I would definitely call the teacher to clarify before raising a big stink. It sounds as though someone has misunderstood something somewhere along the line.


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## LauraLoo (Oct 9, 2006)

As the mother of a child with a peanut/tree nut allergy, it is challenging to find pre-packaged snacks that are safe and still affordable for everyone to buy. And when a parent is placed in this situation, having a safe snack over nutrition is more important if they are going to allow their child to participate in group snacks.

*However* I would have been ecstatic if the schools we've been involved with would have supported fresh fruit and veggies as snacks. I was told that refrigeration/storage was a problem for snacks like this.

I can't see that the school can keep you from providing your own snacks on a daily basis as long as it doesn't interfere with the allergy ban provisions of other students. We finally went this route with our ds, and I know of other children with allergies and intollerances in ds' classes did this as well. I didn't feel it was fair to suggest healthy snacks that were safe for him but more expensive than what most parents could or would want to provide, and I definitely had a problem with the junky snacks that ds would consume daily if I didn't send him with healthier alternatives. If I had had unlimited resources, I would have provided the classroom snacks altogether, but that wasn't an option either.

And yes, I would guess that the gum, candy, and sucker suggestions are for holiday types of treats -- not as a regular snack option. I think the teacher likely goofed on how she worded the note and maybe asking for clarification would be helpful.


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## LauraLoo (Oct 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *meandk0610* 
the mom of the peanut-allergic child is feeding her little one this crap every day?! yeesh! i feel sorry for the little for what that will do to his future.









This isn't necessarily the case. It's likely that the mom is trying to find snacks that are easily accessible and affordable for others to bring. The next time you are in a store buying granola bars & other healthier options, try taking a look at the labels and see how many of them have "processed in plants or on mfg. lines with other tree nuts/peantus." And even the ones that don't disclose this info on the labels often can't guarantee the safety of their products due to cross contamination issues. I've had to make many calls to mfg. companies to extract this type of information. It's a real bummer for us parents with kids who have nut & other types of food allergies.


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## _ktg_ (Jul 11, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LauraLoo* 
This isn't necessarily the case. It's likely that the mom is trying to find snacks that are easily accessible and affordable for others to bring. The next time you are in a store buying granola bars & other healthier options, try taking a look at the labels and see how many of them have "processed in plants or on mfg. lines with other tree nuts/peantus." And even the ones that don't disclose this info on the labels often can't guarantee the safety of their products due to cross contamination issues. I've had to make many calls to mfg. companies to extract this type of information. It's a real bummer for us parents with kids who have nut & other types of food allergies.

This is such a good point about the other side of this, and how possibly the other parent is trying to do good in providing options. I remember the cross-contamination issues coming up a lot when I briefly worked at a chocolate factory. Stuff gets re-worked/re-processed and may have had peanuts or other nuts involved.

Too bad every room can't have a mini fridge to store veggies & fruit.


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## Hatteras Gal (Jun 1, 2004)

Has the scan of the list been posted yet? I can't wait to see it! 2 years ago, the teacher asked the parents if we wanted to have one kid bring in snacks for the whole class or do individual snacks and I said even if everyone votes for one kid/whole class, I am sending my own snack for my dd. Thankfully, the teacher went with everyone bringing their own.

Last year, they made it a school-wide rule there would be no food sharing so everyone had to bring their own snack. They did allow birthday celebration food, though.

This year, our school got a grant to provide a fresh fruit or vegetable snack every day. I saw a tentative list and it's plums, peaches, strawberries, watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, cauli, broccoli, celery. I'm so excited!


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## 2cutiekitties (Dec 3, 2006)

Oh man, I cannot wait to see this scan!!

At DS's preschool, he was the last child of 11 to bring in the snack (we brought in Annies Cheddar Organic Snack Mix Buddies) and most everyone brought in Goldfish crackers. You know they make like 14 different kinds right







One kid brought in raisins and one kid brought in teddy grahams. They specifically want prepackaged stuff so they can view the ingredients and they are concerned about costs as well. Fortunately we only have a peanut allergy which isnt as limiting as some of the other ones.


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

I would start by offering to compile a list of acceptable snack time snacks that included some healthy options. Keep in mind though that at least in our kindy snacks had to 1) be store bought 2) fit in the snack box 3)affordable. The portions were small. a bathroom dixi cup. 2 or 3 ounces I think. Most fruits and veggies would not have fit in the box. So we would bring a box of crackers (usually cheeze its...i know but I figure they were getting like 8 crackers) a box of cereal, or a box of annies bunnies. Something under $5.

Fortunately the school received a grant from the grocery store I work at and the store now provides fresh fruits and veggies daily for snack. Its awesome.


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## CookiePie (Jan 9, 2009)

I'm so glad that Dd's school has the individuals bring in their own snacks. The note did specify healthy snacks with a list of examples. My Dd does notice that her snack (and lunch for that matter) is much different form her peers. She understands why we eat what we do and doesn't complain. She was the only kid last year who brought her lunch all the time. Those who did so occasionally brought lunch-ables & she knew that those were not a healthy choice. Today was her first day & the snack that she picked was carrot sticks with hummus & a clementine! The school lunches are atrocious & it makes me sad that so many kids eat them daily!


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## Mama2Xander (Jul 3, 2004)

That is crazy!!









My boys' classrooms (a total of 3 years of preschool now, plus kindergarten last year) have always had a strict policy of ONLY fresh fruits and veggies for snacks - because of allergy issues. There have been different ways of presenting the fruits/veggies (eg. each child brings his/her own, or each child brings one item and it is all cut up and placed on trays for them to share, and so on), but they have always been super adamant that you absolutely cannot bring anything else for snack. Even for birthday celebrations we were sent a list of ideas that consisted only of fruits and veggies.

Maybe have a talk with the school administration??


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## Mamja (May 23, 2007)

any update OP?


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## The4OfUs (May 23, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Honey693* 
That's awful. I was in classrooms for 4 years in college and taught for a year and I have never seen candy on a snack list. There's usually chips/fruit snacks/graham crackers/fruit listed on there. Most of the schools I've been in schools where snacks had to be at least semi healthy and candy was a huge no.

I would definitely take it up with PTA/PTO/whatever it is by you. I've seen great things happen with that, including schools starting a wellness committee, school run vegetable garden and guidelines for healthy every day snacks.

This, exactly. We had Kindy last year, and 1st this year and both years we were asked for crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks, and in bold *NO CANDY, CHIPS, OR SWEETS*. Seeing the no chips thing I thought was awesome, and pretty hardcore! His 1st grade teacher doesn't even want the kids having juice at snacktime!







She said water only at snack time, please. I kinda dig her.

I would totally try to get this list revamped to accommodate allergies, but not pump the kids full of crap every day. Totally worth making a stink over IMO and becoming "that mom".


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## jadekat (Jun 25, 2007)

DD is in 1st grade this year and I've noticed the crap that people bring for snacks. The one snack that alot of people bring is "fruit" snacks (namely Walmart brand Smiles). This drives me batty because they have no nutritional value and don't fill DD up AT ALL! The other day someone brought in 3 different kinds of chips. I didn't think chips were on the list from last year. I'm planning on emailing her teacher and asking her what the appoved list is for snacks.


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## JollyGG (Oct 1, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *superfastreader* 
Are you sure that M&M's were on the list? Because they are NOT safe for a child with a peanut allergy.

This was one of my thoughts as well.

Last year I didn't approve of the list of suggested snacks but it, at least, wasn't as bad as yours. Ours had things like goldfish crackers, graham crackers, popcorn, etc. on it. Other than the popcorn almost all of it was overly processed stuff that I don't keep out of my kids diet but do consider treats not an everyday snack. My solution was just to send in healthy snacks on my days for treats and I sent in things like string cheese, fruit, veggies, and yes yogurt tubes. And it was expensive to get a healthy snack for a class of 25. I did at the end of the year discover that at least two other parent had the same issue and tended to send in things that were healthier.

But this year it is completely not an issue. The school applied for and received a fresh fruits and vegetables grant for this year. So every single day the kids are getting fresh fruits or veggies for snack, these will also be the snacks at family events like the upcoming family carnival and fresh fruits and veggies are part of the school lunch.

Here is some information about he national program - http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/ffvp/ffvpdefault.htm

Edited to add - Already noticed that last years teacher had way more behavior issues than this year. In large part because this years teacher is a better teacher. But I think not having the kids hopped up on processed crap probably helps her manage her class alot better.

Also did have a talk with the principle last week and since they do do the fresh fruits and veggies program no outside snacks are allowed unless it is a health issue such as an allergy, then an alternative fruit or vegetable is encouraged. The principle strongly believes that alternative snack undermine that goal for this program to actually accomplish it's goal of exposing kids and families to healthy foods alternative snack undermine that goal.


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## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

I don't really understand why you are responsible for the whole class? I want to be responsible for my children and my children alone! Plain and simple

My ds is starting jk Monday and we got this letter

The children have 2 nutrition breaks each day-one for snack the other for lunch. Please send a *SMALL AMOUNT OF NUTRITIOUS FOOD* with your child. As well as being nutritious, all of these foods are very low in sugar. Here are some nutritious snack food suggestions:
fruit-fresh or dried
yoghurt-unsweetened
raw vegetables and dip
cheese
unsweetened cereal

*PLEASE DO NO SEND POTATO CHIPS, CHEESIES, CANDY, CHOCOLATE BARS, SOFT DRINKS OR OTHER "EMPTY CALORIES" JUNK FOOD*

Everything that is bold and underlined was like that in the letter









Ds has a dairy intolerance, and is a vegetarian both are being put into the news letter thats going home monday night for parents that wish to send a "treat" for their childs bday/holidays. There is also a rule that the teachers need to be given one weeks notice if you are going to do something special. So you cant just show up at the school with a chocolate cake for your kids bday. Which is great since I can send something to school with ds so hes not left out

I think it was a list the peanut allergy mom sent. Kind of like the list on peta.com that has vegan food. Seriously half that crap I wouldnt feed my kid even if it is vegan. Its just giving options.


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