Should birthday sweets be banned at school?
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A school board in Neenah, Wisconsin has forbidden birthday sweets on the school premises. If you can come up with a sweetless party and sugar-free party favors, then you are allowed to celebrate your child’s birthday at school. Otherwise, go elsewhere. This is the school board’s latest measure against childhood obesity as reported at LiveScience.
Has it really come to this? What are we going to ban next? Trick or Treating? Christmas parties? Easter egg hunts?
I firmly believe in moderation when it comes to sweets, as I’ve written in my posts again and again. I also believe there are valid restrictions at school that should be followed. In one of my sons’ preschool classes, the teachers specifically requested this year that party goodies be free from nuts and chocolates out of consideration for kids with allergies to these foodstuffs. That’s reasonable. And my son was the first one to remind of these. “No chocolates or nuts, mommy. I don’t want my friends to be ill.”
I also try to go for healthy food and party favors without taking the fun out of the party. I serve only juice and water instead of soda, for example. I go for banana or carrot cakes, dark chocolates, and whole grain cookies. A few gum drops and gummi bears here and there for color can’t hurt.
I agree that there is reason for concern considering the current estimate of 16% incidence of children obesity in the US. However, studies have shown that food intake is only one of the many factors involved in this problem. Physical activity, genetics, and environmental factors are also involved.
Recent studies have shown that exercise especially plays an important role in controlling children’s weight. There are many schools out there which have launched anti-obesity programs through healthy food and exercise and some have shown some degree of success. In Switzerland, health insurance companies will soon be paying for special fitness exercises for overweight children conducted by certified fitness instructors and centers.
But is such a radical move as banning birthday sweets really necessary? What do you think?
artio.sd says...
I understand the school’s concern for providing a healthy and safe envoioment but you can go to far.
My father was a Type 1 diabetic, with a sweet-tooth. We rarely had anything with sugar in our household because of that, but you notice i said rarely not never. Our birthdays, easter, halloween, valentines day, christmas and when we had special company the sugar ban was lifted. Even dad would partake, especilly if a german choclate cake was involed.
So I do belive banning sweets at school ALL the time is to much. I belive they shoul allow them on special occasions such as birthdays and halloween and maybe valentines day.
reinarenegada says...
Great, people are finally starting to take initiative. Seriously, kids get enough junk all day long. Half the food they serve in the lunchroom could be considered junk. It’s nice they start here, but they need to follow through. Step up gym classes to more than once a week.
Fortunately I personally have time to be active with my children: almost every day we do something together, be walking, bike-riding, whatever. I know not everyone has the time for this. Since kids are at school most of the day/week, schools should take a little bit of responsibility in helping to keep our children healthy.
OmegaWolf747 says...
I think these bans on sweets are ridiculous. There was no such thing as a ban on sweets when I was a child in the 80s.
I would really like to know why schools think such extreme tactics are necessary? Have they been taken over by extremists? Or is this due to parents abdicating their responsibility and expecting schools to raise, instead of just educate, their children?