A friend said that she heard on the radio yesterday that:
" the KINDERGARTNER had a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, chips and apple juice for lunch. the federal agent took her lunch because there were no veggies. the little girl had to buy a school lunch of veggies and chicken nuggets and they sent her mom a bill for the lunch. the mom told the agent and the school that her daughter doesn't care for veggies and she would just throw them away at school so she has them with dinner so they can sit together and eat their veggies. All because it didn't meet the new federal guidelines."
Now I have no idea if this is true or not. I asked her to find a link and send it to me. But it wouldn't surprise me. Not in the least. (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/14/preschoolers-homemade-lunch-replaced-with-nuggets/
You know what Big Government (BG from here on out)? If I want to feed my kids fries, I can. That's MY RIGHT!!! Not your right to take away. If I want to pack them a banana instead of carrots, again, that's MY right. BG, YOU are NOT the parent. I am. I decide what is best for my children, NOT YOU!! You don't know if my kids are allergic to something. You don't know what my kids like and don't like (and if you have ever had kids, you know they go through phases).
I just don't understand why in the hell our government thinks we as parents are going to sit back idly and watch them strip our rights away. Oh wait... WE ARE DOING THAT!!
WAKE UP PARENTS!
Take back our rights!! Before it's too late.
I'm not saying that kids should always be given chips and soda. Quite the contrary, actually. But each family has a different set of standards for what is right and/or healthy for them. Who is BG to step in and dictate that to us? I think it's great we have doctors on tv, and the media, making us more aware by the day about how important it is to stay healthy. I love that people care. But I don't think it's our governments job to step in and tell families how to raise their kids. Not like this. It's a personal choice, for everyone.
I just don't understand why more parents aren't stepping up the plate here and saying enough is enough already. You want to make recommendations, BG, fine. Do that. But do NOT go passing legislation about what I choose to either feed or not feed my child. That, frankly, is none of your damn business.
Quit blurring the lines of what is you are suppose to be, and allowed to be, doing. Please put your energies into our budget, into health care, into education, into research for diseases such as Cancer, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's, and countless other things that would better serve society; and stay out of my personal choices I make for my children.
Thanks.
http://www.thenews-journal.com/
the article I found link is above and here it is below:
Child's lunch makes Rush Limbaugh
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
A child attending pre-kindergarten at West Hoke Elementary last month ate school-provided chicken nuggets instead of her home-packed lunch, and now her story has made the Atlanta Constitution and the Rush Limbaugh Show.
The four-year-old’s homemade lunch of a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice was supplemented with a school lunch tray including chicken nuggets when a state employee at the school deemed the child’s lunch didn’t meet state-mandated nutrition requirements.
The child’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for backlash against her child, reported receiving a bill for $1.25 for the school lunch. The child told her mother she ate only three chicken nuggets from the lunch tray and didn’t touch her home-packed lunch, the mother reportedly informed state Rep. G.L. Pridgen’s office.
“She couldn’t understand that they tell her child her meal’s not any good and then they end up giving her chicken nuggets,” Pridgen said Tuesday. The incident was “very upsetting” for the child, the representative said.
The larger issue behind what happened lies with state rules supposedly meant to promote nutrition for preschoolers. All lunches, even those brought from home, served in pre-kindergarten programs are supposed to contain “milk, two or more fruits or vegetables, meat or meat alternative, bread or bread alternative,” according to the state Division of Child Development and Early Education, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The four-year-old’s homemade lunch of a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice was supplemented with a school lunch tray including chicken nuggets when a state employee at the school deemed the child’s lunch didn’t meet state-mandated nutrition requirements.
The child’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for backlash against her child, reported receiving a bill for $1.25 for the school lunch. The child told her mother she ate only three chicken nuggets from the lunch tray and didn’t touch her home-packed lunch, the mother reportedly informed state Rep. G.L. Pridgen’s office.
“She couldn’t understand that they tell her child her meal’s not any good and then they end up giving her chicken nuggets,” Pridgen said Tuesday. The incident was “very upsetting” for the child, the representative said.
The larger issue behind what happened lies with state rules supposedly meant to promote nutrition for preschoolers. All lunches, even those brought from home, served in pre-kindergarten programs are supposed to contain “milk, two or more fruits or vegetables, meat or meat alternative, bread or bread alternative,” according to the state Division of Child Development and Early Education, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Division of Child Development and Early Education has been in charge of overseeing pre-kindergarten programs since July of 2011, when the N.C. General Assembly transferred the program—previously known as More at Four— to the division’s oversight. The policy about food from home is not new and parents receive written information about the pre-k meal regulations at the beginning of the school year, Hoke County Schools Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson said.
The division’s child care rule .0901 regarding food from home states that “When children bring their own food for meals or snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the nutritional requirements outlined in the Meal Patterns for Children in Child Care, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements.” Foods such as sweets, soft drinks, potato chips, candy, cakes, cookies and fruit juices that are not 100% real fruit juice are not considered to have any nutritional value.
The rule means that when one of the required items is missing from a home-packed lunch—for example, if a child doesn’t have milk or a fruit or vegetable—then the school must provide that item to the child in addition to whatever food the child brought with them. The policy does not mean to take away a home-packed lunch so a child cannot eat it and that’s not what should happen, Williamson said.
However, there was a problem with how the situation was handled here.
“Clearly this was a communication issue,” he said.
The person who inspected the lunch was a state employee with the Child Development Center, not a local school system employee, the superintendent said.
The division’s child care rule .0901 regarding food from home states that “When children bring their own food for meals or snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the nutritional requirements outlined in the Meal Patterns for Children in Child Care, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements.” Foods such as sweets, soft drinks, potato chips, candy, cakes, cookies and fruit juices that are not 100% real fruit juice are not considered to have any nutritional value.
The rule means that when one of the required items is missing from a home-packed lunch—for example, if a child doesn’t have milk or a fruit or vegetable—then the school must provide that item to the child in addition to whatever food the child brought with them. The policy does not mean to take away a home-packed lunch so a child cannot eat it and that’s not what should happen, Williamson said.
However, there was a problem with how the situation was handled here.
“Clearly this was a communication issue,” he said.
The person who inspected the lunch was a state employee with the Child Development Center, not a local school system employee, the superintendent said.
Waiting to see
Pridgen said the state worker might not have really looked closely at what the child brought for lunch before sending her off to the school lunch line.
“My understanding is they saw the potato chips and the potato chips may have been on top, and that’s all they looked at,” he said.
The story spread quickly on news outlets and social media sites Tuesday. Conservative talk radio commentator Rush Limbaugh dubbed those responsible for the incident “food Nazis.”
Pridgen said he didn’t think the government should be involved in what children bring to school to eat for lunch. His office is looking into the issue but awaiting further developments.
“We’re waiting to see what they do first,” he said.
Williamson said the incident shows an opportunity for the school system to improve.
“Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn and grow and communicate better,” he said.
The list of rules regarding meals for pre-kindergarten children is available in chapter nine of the Division of Child Care’s Child Care Center Handbook, posted online at http://ncchildcare.dhhs.state.nc.us/pdf_forms/center_chp9.pdf.
“My understanding is they saw the potato chips and the potato chips may have been on top, and that’s all they looked at,” he said.
The story spread quickly on news outlets and social media sites Tuesday. Conservative talk radio commentator Rush Limbaugh dubbed those responsible for the incident “food Nazis.”
Pridgen said he didn’t think the government should be involved in what children bring to school to eat for lunch. His office is looking into the issue but awaiting further developments.
“We’re waiting to see what they do first,” he said.
Williamson said the incident shows an opportunity for the school system to improve.
“Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn and grow and communicate better,” he said.
The list of rules regarding meals for pre-kindergarten children is available in chapter nine of the Division of Child Care’s Child Care Center Handbook, posted online at http://ncchildcare.dhhs.state.nc.us/pdf_forms/center_chp9.pdf.
(psst...BG...if you want to be jerks about it all, remember, potato chips come from POTATOES. So, technically, she did have a veggie. May not have been the healthiest form of one, but technically, it was still one) =P
I could continue this "rant" but I think you have covered it pretty well. You should read "Somebody's Got to Say It" by Neil Bortz. He dives into government schools and what they are doing to our kids.
ReplyDeleteNow, when I was growing up in the 80s, we brought our lunches from home. I would have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, probably some chips, a 10% juice box (since 100% juice wasn't big back then), maybe some grapes, and an oatmeal cream pie. But when I got home, we had a healthy meal with at least one fruit or veggie and milk. Was I healthy and over weight? No. I was a skinny minny. Why - because I went outside and played. I probably could have eaten junk all day long but still been healthy because I was outside playing.
ReplyDeleteAt my kids school, I would not always call what they serve - healthy. Chicken nuggets, though they sound okay, aren't if you really think about it, they are fried and the chicken is processed and probably full of chemicals. Probably three-forths of what they serve at schools is processed. If you want to talk healthy, talk about fresh, non-processed, hormone free, anti-biotic and chemical free. It doesn't have to be organic. Girls mature faster than ever because our meat and milk has growth hormones in it. And the schools don't have the money to buy the good stuff. I always have the good stuff at home. But to send for lunch, with all the rules for food allergies for other kids, and my daughter's picky eating habits, it is very hard to find something to send. She ends up with a hot dog, cheez-its, and grapes with a 100% juice bag. She won't each sandwiches or soup and sending stuff that needs to stay cold is hard - even with one of those freezer things.
And now high schools are replacing sodas with Snapple and diet sodas. HELLO - diet sodas should only be used by diabetics and only as a last resort. All those nasty chemicals are worse for you than the sugar ever would have been in a regular soda. And Snapple is probably one of the worst things to drink. There is usually little to no actual juice in them and they have extremely high calories and sodium content.
I would love to go back to my grandparents era - they were probably healthier back then. They ate stuff right out of their backyards, had fresh eggs and meat from down the street, they worked hard everyday, and the kids played outside till the lightning bugs came out. Vitamins didn't come in a pill - they came with your meal. To drink, you had water, tea, and maybe lemonade. You didn't have plastic or styrofoam to reheat your over processed meal in, either.