Mr. Teacher

Other readers' comments on this article:

1. We don't keep a lot of junk food in the house. It's an occasional treat, not a food group. My kids drink sparkling water more than they drink soda. My son has a strong dislike of all things fruit or vegetable, but we insist that he eat either an apple or a few broccoli florets every day, on general principles (he's fine with those, but they are the ONLY fruit and vegetable he'll eat). Even if he has a box of cookies or a bag of candy on hand, he won't overindulge. He knows how to stop (which I find fascinating, since I'm not that way at all - I could easily scarf down the whole box in a sitting, given half a chance, whereas, he can have just two a day and ration them HIMSELF). So part of it is teaching self-discipline and not using food as a "reward," I think. Not making junk food "taboo" helps, too - gives kids one less thing to rebel over. I don't believe the words, "If you [do something I want you to do], you can have a piece of chocolate cake" have ever come out of my mouth. Nor have I ever said, "Clean your plate! Think of the starving children in Bangladesh!" My favorite - "If you don't clean your plate, it's going to rain!" Food is just food.
   
   On the whole, yes, I do think kids are getting fatter. Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Pepsi?? OMG. I packed boring lunches like chicken and cheese on whole wheat, a small pack of peanut butter crackers, and water. I'm appalled by school lunches - my son is in middle school, now, and gets pepperoni pizza EVERY DAY. (I worry more about sodium and sodium nitrite as I do about sugar, in his case.) I have to agree with him, though - the alternatives are usually just nasty. I've eaten cafeteria food at his school. Nasty.
   
   Lunch period lasts about 20 minutes, and starts at 10:30 AM for many classes. It is rushed; it is run like some weird, condescending boot camp. The last half of the time is "silent lunch." (In other words, "Shut up and cram down your food.") Part of the reason for buying pizza is that if you stand in the regular line, you have about five minutes to eat. What happened to conversation and chewing your food?
   
   We used to have gym every day, from First Grade on. In my son's elementary school, it was part of a rotation with art and music. That's a sad state of affairs, right there. And I don't think it's entirely fair to blame the kids and say that it's because they're lazy; when I was little, we could pretty safely roam the neighborhood. There were no fences, and our neighbors were fine with us using their yards for hide and seek, tag, and other games involving lots of running, jumping, climbing, and imagination - provided we didn't damage the flowerbeds. Back when I was little, no one would've sued anyone if a kid fell from a tree and broke an arm. Now? They wouldn't hesitate. So I don't think it's the kids' faults, entirely - but they're not complaining, so long as they have their Wii.
   
   Mind you, I don't even think the parents are always to blame, either.  A few decades ago, the neighbors wouldn't hesitate to scold a kid for getting out of line. That was nice, because kids didn't think their PARENTS were the alien creatures - they got the same advice and admonitions from the majority of the community. Now? The notion of "community standards" is a joke - what does that mean? People don't dare scold someone else's child - they're afraid the kid's parents will come back and beat them up for speaking harshly to their Precioussssssss. (I know - I tried talking with a girl's father, a few years back, after she beat up on my daughter. HE thought that was perfectly acceptable behavior and proceeded to call me every foul name he could think of, until I gave up, called him a "pathetic, little man" and turned away. To this day, I'm surprised he didn't knock me down from behind and beat the tar out of me. I learned, later, that he had chased another mother around the apartment complex, screaming profanity at her.) Sometimes, it really does take a village, and the village has failed us all. The village idiots appear to be running the place, some days.

   Posted by Holly on Dec 12, 2007 11:05 am

2. Jessica, I'll bet your daughter is really proud to see the pounds drop!  And keeping sugar away is no easy feat, since it's in just about everything!
   Holly, thanks for sharing.  At my school, the kids are supposed to eat in silence, but they never do.  I think it's because there are over 200 kids in the cafeteria, with about 4 adults to watch over them, and "conversation" is a foreign word to them.  They talk, and then they talk louder, and then they talk even louder, and then they yell.  Or they get up and run around and hit people.  I'd be happy for conversation and chew.

   Posted by John Pearson on Dec 12, 2007 7:38 pm

3. I have student's that come into my class and all they want to do is eat junk food while they are learning.  It's maddening.  I agree with you that something needs to be done in order to stop this trend.  The district I work for has a wellness policy encouraging teachers to exercise regularly and also we only are allowed to serve healthy snacks to our student's when we bring treats.  It makes an interesting twist for holiday's, but student's do like things like cheese and whole wheat crackers or fruit snacks.  I have student's that still choose to eat a bag of chips and drink a pop for breakfast.  ICK!

   Posted by Teacher in agreement on Dec 14, 2007 4:53 pm

4. It really is alarming at the state of kids today. A study on the Today show showed that while yes kids do play a lot, they are playing inside on their electronics and hardly going outside at all. While it's important to teach children about nutrition and staying active, you have to sit there and look to the parents and seriously ask them "W-T-F?" Students learn their eating habits from somewhere, and if goods ones aren't enforced and taught at the home, there is little else that can be done. It's so sad that children have to deal with this.
   

   Posted by Jessica on Jul 17, 2008 11:57 am