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Let Them Eat Cake!
Billy sits in his 3rd grade classroom, happily munching on double Dutch chocolate cake with creme frosting.
Suddenly the door to the classroom is kicked open. Five policemen rush into the classroom and surround Billy. "Kid, we have a report you brought a toxic substance into the school and, even worse, are inciting other children to ingest it, much to their peril."
Billy starts crying, "But it's my favorite cake and it's my 8th birthday and I brought enough for everybody.'
"Sorry, kid. We will have your cake analyzed at great taxpayer expense, but clearly you have violated the new statute of the State of California's school nutritional standards which forbids any snacks during the school day containing more than 35% sugar by weight or 35% of their calories from fat or more than 10% of their calories from saturated fats. Kid, it's the slammer for you. The good news is that you can eat all the cake you want in jail!"
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Suddenly the door to the classroom is kicked open. Five policemen rush into the classroom and surround Billy. "Kid, we have a report you brought a toxic substance into the school and, even worse, are inciting other children to ingest it, much to their peril."
Billy starts crying, "But it's my favorite cake and it's my 8th birthday and I brought enough for everybody.'
"Sorry, kid. We will have your cake analyzed at great taxpayer expense, but clearly you have violated the new statute of the State of California's school nutritional standards which forbids any snacks during the school day containing more than 35% sugar by weight or 35% of their calories from fat or more than 10% of their calories from saturated fats. Kid, it's the slammer for you. The good news is that you can eat all the cake you want in jail!"
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OK, I made up this scenario, which hasn't taken place - at least not yet. But the law and its standards are real. I learned of it in a newpaper article about school bake sales being banned in California (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/us/10bake.html?_r=2&ref=health&oref=slogin&oref=slogin).
Should you have a mistrust of agents of the government getting it right, here is exhibit #1,098,765. First, start with an excellent idea: food offered to kids while at school should be healthy, low in saturated fats and junk food and refined sugar, high in nutrition and fiber, etc.
So far so, good. The initiatives to make school breakfasts and lunches healthy are truly laudable. Banning soda and other junk drinks - instead offering only water and 100% juices - is the right thing to do. Trying to teach proper nutrition and eating habits is an appropriate role for schools where, after all, kids are eating 1-2 meals / day.
Should you have a mistrust of agents of the government getting it right, here is exhibit #1,098,765. First, start with an excellent idea: food offered to kids while at school should be healthy, low in saturated fats and junk food and refined sugar, high in nutrition and fiber, etc.
So far so, good. The initiatives to make school breakfasts and lunches healthy are truly laudable. Banning soda and other junk drinks - instead offering only water and 100% juices - is the right thing to do. Trying to teach proper nutrition and eating habits is an appropriate role for schools where, after all, kids are eating 1-2 meals / day.
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But, as often happens, the well-meaning authorities don't know where to stop. Banning cake sales? Does anyone believe that by banning bake sales from the premises, children will come to abhor cake and ice cream and all junk food, and live happily ever after in tofu & bok choy heaven?
Not me. Let's deconstruct the article:
Misstatement #1:
Banning junk food from schools "will do for junk food what smoking bans and taxes did for cigarettes." Forgive me, but what a dumb analogy. There is no inborn pleasure or motivation to smoke, but there certainly is to eat and for foods high in fats and sugar to be especially appealing. If the goal is to make kids hate cake and ice cream, lots of luck fighting city hall. In fact, I'd argue that, in the long run, prohibition only increases their allure, so that the deprived child may even want it more than s/he would have otherwise.
Misstatement #2:
"You're teaching them eating habits for life." I have to say, there is no good research relating early eating habits to those in later life (except in extreme cases). Having watched a lot of kids grow up for a long time, I'm quite skeptical of this truism. The reason to promote healthy eating habits is to keep your kids and their arteries healthy, at least for the 18 years or so in which they are (sort of) in your clutches.
Misstatement #3:
Misstatement #2:
"You're teaching them eating habits for life." I have to say, there is no good research relating early eating habits to those in later life (except in extreme cases). Having watched a lot of kids grow up for a long time, I'm quite skeptical of this truism. The reason to promote healthy eating habits is to keep your kids and their arteries healthy, at least for the 18 years or so in which they are (sort of) in your clutches.
Misstatement #3:
"I don't think all celebrations need to be around food." It is this attitude which led to the described "Healthy Halloween vegetable platter" for kindergartners, a "celebration" which must have bordered on child abuse in my book.
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A decade ago, when I was co-authoring Dr. Spock's book, he came out strongly against cow's milk for kids over age 2 years. It was a major bone of contention between Dr. Spock and me (guess who won). Aside from there being little to no credible evidence to ban milk from the diets of children, the idea of a childhood without ice cream was unthinkable to me.
I can't help but believe that - aside from legitimate health concerns - the zealots are in some way anti-pleasure meanies (much like H. L Mencken's definition of puritanism: "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."). The answer is to teach moderation and smaller portion size, not a blanket prohibition of some of life's great delights - cake, ice cream and, yes, even the occasional Twinkie.
I can't help but believe that - aside from legitimate health concerns - the zealots are in some way anti-pleasure meanies (much like H. L Mencken's definition of puritanism: "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."). The answer is to teach moderation and smaller portion size, not a blanket prohibition of some of life's great delights - cake, ice cream and, yes, even the occasional Twinkie.
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11 Comments:
Dr. P:
I sort of agree with you but I worry that, in your humor, you are tivializing the very real and very dangerous epidemic of childhood obesity.
I think it's a good idea. Kids get enough junk food at home, why pick some up at school also?
Dr. P,
I couldn't agree more. Let kids enjoy their childhood and the treats that come with it. A bake sale or a birthday celebration doesn't cause obesity or undermine good health. Poor food choices overall and lack of adequate nutrition at meals leads to health problems.
Overhaul your diets at home. Replace your white breads and pasta with whole-grain. Eat less red meat and more fish. Serve fruits and veggies at every meal. Drink water instead of soda. Then, sit back and relax while your kids enjoy their birthday cake!
I think that you are exactly right!
Healthy eating should not so dichotomously delineate good and bad foods---as you say, moderation and attention to healthy nutrition and portion size are key. Note that many people with serious eating disorders declare some foods--ie anything containing fat as off-limits---to their very great peril!
One reason our school stopped baked goods for celebrations was because of food allergies, particularly peanut and tree nut, both of which may be hidden in the food. We encourage fruit, veggies, small tokens, etc. instead. This has worked very well.
I think it's best not to introduce junk food to kids in the first place. That ways they don't know what they are missing.
I agree that the treats should be left at home. It reallly perturbs me that in my daughter's kindergarten class when we are asked to bring snacks once a month to share with the everyone that many parents are bringing items such as "cheetoh balls" or potato chips. Why are items such as this okay to share with a class of five and six year olds but it's not okay to bring cupcakes made with applesauce for her birthday? If they are going to make rules about what is healthy and safe, they need to be a little more thorough. or abolish the rule altogether.
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I think that it's a good idea to make the lunch menu healthier at schools and ban junk food from the usual menu.
However, banning the occasional bake sale is more than a bit unnecessary (unless for allergy reasons, of course). And offering a special "Halloween Vegetable Platter" to kindergarteners? That's a bit overboard. Just giving them a craft to do would've been a lot more humane. I don't recall many children in kindergarten liking vegetables, so I don't see how it's a treat. Even apple would've been better. But a vegetable platter for a treat? Eating a small piece of candy about the size one of their fingers on one day of the year isn't going to cause all hell to break loose and cause them to become obese and malnutritioned. And chocolate, though it may not be very good for you, at least has a very slight bonus of well-needed iron.
At our old high school, they added healthier food to the menu, but made the cheapest 'healthy' product, aside from the soup which vegetarians can't eat, on the menu $3 more than the most expensive junk food item, and students were banned from the cafeteria for bringing food from an outside source if they were caught.
The people organizing this whole 'Healthier Food Initiative' thing really need to think about what they're doing.
"I think it's best not to introduce junk food to kids in the first place. That ways they don't know what they are missing."
That is a great idea, now when your kid gets their first taste of junk food (and they will at some point), they'll realize what they've been missing and begin either binging or hiding it and binging when you aren't around.
People are crazy with things like this, whatever happened to that crazy old idea of....MODERATION??
When I did send treats in to school when my kids were growing up, I always made sure I listed any "allergy" sensitive ingredients, like nuts, milk, wheat, and eggs. I still do that at potlucks at work. I always make low fat recipes that still taste good.
What makes kids fat today is 1.) the fact that they have twice as much homework as we did and they don't go to play as much and they are more stressed. This all sets them up to be fat. 2.) Busy parents often take the easy way out when it comes to meals and fast food becomes a big part of their diet instead of the treat it should be. 3.) Junk food is much cheaper than the healthy stuff per calorie and per pound. Therefore strapped parents find it easier to buy the food with more bang for their buck. Studies have been done to show that kids in poorer neighborhoods have more weight problems and eat less vegitables and fruits. 4.)Some parents DO spoil their kids with too much food. Let's face it, it seems easier to apease the screaming tot and give them the candy bar than it is to hold out and make them eat the carrot stick. Parents just need to make the healthy daily snacks seem more attractive with things like low fat and non fat dips. If you give chips, buy the baked ones only and not the family size bag. Little things like this help to make the over all diet healthy for their child.
I have worked in schools and I think that kids need the social bonding that goes along with the birthday celebrations and holidays as much as they need the three Rs. To take that away because of the food nazi's is not helping our kids, especially the not as popular ones that may not otherwise get to celebrate birthdays with groups of peers. By the way, I have a grandson now that loves chocolate, but he will eat his fruit and veggies too because we make it fun.
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