It seems that responses are becoming less and less frequent, so I am not going to tally the previous weeks for and against, but I will just move on to the next topic. So, back to children and the vast multitude of issues therein, this week I am going to discuss:
"Should schools be allowed to refuse to let our children eat certain items in their lunchbox?"
So, your children's lunchbox contents are becoming more and more of a topic for debate. The biggest problem that I can see is the irresponsible parents who send their children to school with nothing but rubbish! They think it is okay to give their child a bag of minties and think that they will get all of their nutrition from this. It is because of these individuals that the rest of us are being punished by the education system. But now the good parents are being dictated to about what should and should not be included in their children's lunchbox. First of all I wold like to clarify that I am NOT talking about things related to allergies. If a student in the class has a severe nut allergy for example, I can completely understand restricting the lunchboxes in that respect.
I have heard of a case recently where a woman's little boy took a homemade cupcake to kindy with him, and he was not allowed to eat it. I was under the impression that these are OUR children, and do not belong to the state. If I want my child to eat a cupcake, I will give them a cupcake. We should not be teaching our youth that treats are forbidden and sugar is EVIL, or that the state has the final say! As all things in life, I believe that moderation is the key. In my child's lunchbox there is: a sandwich (which changes spread almost everyday), a few pieces of fruit, and a small treat. She knows that should she start misbehaving at school, the treat will no longer be in there. And she loves getting a reward for being a good girl. My child would be devastated if I had sent her to school with a special cupcake for being so good and her teacher said 'no, you cannot eat that!' I am her mother and I know what is best for her!
What gives the education system the right to decide what food is good and what is bad? I find it a constant frustration how much power the gorvernment is taking away from us as parents. Whatever happened to good old fashioned common sense and discretion? Their life is MY responsibility, and no one (except my partner) is more invested in their interests than me. Are the educators the be-all and end-all of knowledge on nutrition and health? I have always been of the belief that if you NEVER eat any sugary or fatty foods, your body does not know how to cope with them when it does get exposed to them. So a little bad every now and then is good, and it shows your body how to tolerate such things.
However, and potentially more importantly, I feel that doing this to children is forcing them to focus on body image much too much. Children should not be worried about getting fat or having high cholesterol. It is not wonder that aneorexia and bulemia are so rampant in western countries. We are teaching our children that the most important thing is looking good and watching your weight. Yes, as an adult we need to ensure that we make healthy choices and do not constantly indulge ourselves, but this concept should not even enter a child's mind until they are, well, no longer a child really.
I hate to say it, but the sad truth is, we as parents are losing the power to raise our children as we see fit at younger and younger ages. Soon, formula will be delivered door-to-door, and breastfeeding will be illegal, smacking will be an imprisonable offense, and they will get all of their meals from 'the system'. What a disgusting and miserable future we are facing!
Come on, let our kids be kids. Let them eat chocolate and biscuits! And especially, let them eat a yummy cupcake, made by their own mother with love. I think it is time we took back our rights as parents! I for one am sending a cupcake with my child today, are you? Please, let me know your frustrations on this issue, and tell me if they got to eat their treat or not.
-T.J.
I vote 'no', schools or governments should NOT be able to decide what does or does not go into a child's lunchbox. I do agree with 99% of what Matt says above except the part about the responsibility of government. Yes, it is the government's responsibility to protect us from internal and external threats, punish crimes etc. but it should not encroach in any way in people's choices. This freedom from the government is what people have fought and died for in this country and I would like it to remain that way. The alarming trend however in Australia is that government is becoming more and more powerful and encroaching on many aspects of our lives. Many people believe communism was defeated in the cold war but I can tell you that they are alive and well in this country though under different names. It is very interesting indeed that secular left governments want to start legislating on this topic yet they in part are the cause of it. Let me explain. Secular governments do not want anything in between the individual and the state. If there are no intermediaries between these then they have more power over your thoughts and actions. This is why secular governments have been at war against families and churches for decades. I can give many examples of this but one is the push for kids to be in school at younger and younger ages. This takes the child from the nurture of the parents and lets the state teach your children what they want them taught. This breakdown of families is a huge part of the childhood obesity issue. Childhood obesity started becoming a problem in the 1970's. I don't believe it is a coincidence that this is also the time of the rise of feminism and where many women left the family and entered the workforce. Children need the supervision of their parents and when they are raised by the TV and left to their own devices they will make poor food choices. So we need to get to the heart of this and many other issues and restore the sanctity and strength of families. If we do this, many fringe issues like these will sort themselves out. We need to get out of this mindset that 'governments know best', they don't. Parents know what's best for their children and no government should be able to infringe on the parent's right to raise children how they wish.
ReplyDeleteI am infuriated by this story & topic !! Teachers do NOT have the required knowledge or the right to overturn a parent's choice for their child's lunch. I agree that sometimes parents send inappropriate foods for their child to have for lunch but, without knowing the family's situation, the teacher should not be able to stop the child from eating what has been sent.
ReplyDeleteAn appropriate response from the teacher & from the schools in general would be to send a note home to the parents with a nutritional pamphlet included to offer better lunch options for the child. This would give the power & decision making back to the parents & might help them to make better lunch choices in the future.
As far as refusing to allow a child to eat a home-made cupcake that is deplorable ! It makes me think that maybe the teacher wanted it for themself. A treat is just that, a special thing given for a reason & should never be removed by a third party. Schools are supposed to build up our children not tear them down !
I, for one, agree with what you have said.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if push comes to shove, Education Qld does not have any power to enforce these rules ! If you look at the legal aspect of this issue you will find that they do NOT have the right to stop you from giving your child a cupcake. In fact the teacher who took away the cupcake could face legal issues as could the school. The only power that schools have is what we parents give them. I know for a fact that no teacher would dare take anything from my child's lunch box ! If you, as a parent, allow the school to stand over you they will. I have always been involved with my children's education & have made my feelings known at every opportunity,
Mar 22, 2012 05:14 PM
ReplyDeleteFirstly i would like to admit that i am not a parent and so therefore can't speak with true authority about children's luchboxes. Now i do agree with most of what (T.J.) has said but it seems to me that the biggest problem here is that while as parents (T.J.) and (partner) are mature and responsible and know to provide a balanced diet for their kids more and more people are not. I think it is as a result of children being sent to school with nothing but junk food that these measures are being introduced, because while i agree it is the right of parents to decide what their children should eat it is also the responsibility of the government to ensure the well-being of the people for which it was created. With the dramatic rise in childhood obesity it is important that we stop taking the easy way out and actually take the time to make sure that our children are given what they need, not just what they want. This is not to say that caring about the welfare of children should be taken to extremes like counting calories or making them acutely aware of body image or telling them sugar is evil, we just need to care enough to make sure that the next generation grows up healthy and well balanced.
From what i have seen the sad truth is that people don't think about tomorrow, only what is easy right now.