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?

So Independence Day weekend wraps up, celebrating our nation’s birthday. OK, technically, not my nation, while I live in Minnesota, I’m British born, and tend to keep my mouth shut on Independence Day lest I get thrown in a swimming pool again as a jolly reminder of who won and who lost the war of Independence!

And another birthday that’s sure to be extra-memorable for his parents… Utah state troopers assisted with the delivery of a baby boy born in the passenger seat of a pickup truck on the road, on the way to the hospital this Independence Day. Happy Birthday! Do you think he’ll be named Ford?

I know a mom of 11 (yeah, eleven) kids, one of whom was born on the back seat of her car when they didn’t get to the hospital in time. She doesn’t recommend it. She said it’s impossible to get amniotic fluid out of the upholstery.

Any Independence Day babies reading? Hope you, and everyone, had a safe, happy and fun holiday weekend!