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Just wondering how most people feel ( a poll would be nice) about pre-K teachers giving out candy to the little ones.
Michele O'Bama is knocking herself out to send a message regarding junk food, childhood diabetes and obesity..
For 3 & 4 year olds to be indoctrinated by their teacher this early seems unnecessary, however the teacher that gave it saw
nothing wrong with it. I saw it as "leading them" and gives the wrong message.
They were all enjoying the first day. No tears at all.. so why the pandering of candy? Certainly not ALL teachers do this..
but many do, and wave it off as just a little treat. (More came out of the backpack!!) The reward system they use.. "write the letter A correctly and get a ticket
for a reward. At the end of two weeks those who wrote better have more tickets than those who have not yet developed the
hand muscles. The reward box contains; coloring books, plastic dinosaurs, Dollar store puzzles, boxes of crayons, stickers, books, cool sox, hairbands, and little tiny packages
containing two Smartees or small-pack of three Skittles. These are incredibly inexpensive so they are the low ticket item..
If you begin school seeing you only have achieved a few tickets, you get a FOOD REWARD, and thus the wrong eating
message begins. Many school teachers who do this will guard it, and dismiss it.. they are using these kids as their own
Pavlovlian experiment the way you'd train a dog for good behavior. Check it out.. its quite a hush-hush story.
Oh, By the way, the state of California has banned candy from schools period! Its against the law in Virginia to go 'Trick or Treating'
supervised parties are A-OK! Case in point, if a 3 or 4 year old is taking candy from an adult who is NOT their parent, then what
prevents them from the discernment of NOT taking it from strangers?
Thought I'd share.. maybe this is worthy of getting others opinions.
(I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT B-DAYS IN SCHOOL)
You could ask the teacher not to give your child candy.
I'm more concerned about the teaching methodology of handing out rewards for every little thing. What kind of message does that send and why is it necessary?
I don't see the big deal. If you have a big problem with it, offer to supply the reward box with non-food items for the teacher, or teach your pre-k student at home.
I don't see the big deal. If you have a big problem with it, offer to supply the reward box with non-food items for the teacher, or teach your pre-k student at home.
Stickers aren't enough anymore? OP, I wouldn't have a problem telling the teacher I didn't want my child to have candy. I'm unsure if you have done so.
It's human nature to enjoy being rewarded for a job well done. Praise is nice, but something tangible is even better. If this were not so there would never be raises given at work, no bonuses, no prime parking spots and so on. There wouldn't be promotion titles, certificates of excellence, paid days off awards or trophies.
2 Smarties or 3 Skittles every two weeks are such a tiny little treat that they really won't have any negative effect on a 3 or 4 yr old's nutrition.
If the teacher were handing out full servings of candy daily, then yeah, that would be a problem I'd be discussing with them.
It's human nature to enjoy being rewarded for a job well done. Praise is nice, but something tangible is even better. If this were not so there would never be raises given at work, no bonuses, no prime parking spots and so on. There wouldn't be promotion titles, certificates of excellence, paid days off awards or trophies.
2 Smarties or 3 Skittles every two weeks are such a tiny little treat that they really won't have any negative effect on a 3 or 4 yr old's nutrition.
If the teacher were handing out full servings of candy daily, then yeah, that would be a problem I'd be discussing with them.
Sometimes, I would use a food reinforcer with my early childhood special education students. It would always shock and amaze me how much work they would do for ONE M&M or ONE SKITTLE or ONE RAISON.
Even the parents who normally didn't approve of candy felt it was OK for their child to get 1, 2 or maybe 3 M&Ms perhaps once a week. I used a wide variety of reinforcements (praise, bubbles, stickers, extra playtime, hugs, etc) not just food.
However, I could understand a parent getting upset if candy was used often and the children could eat a lot of candy.
Actually food coloring plays a big role in children's behavior. I am NOT a big fan of candy and junk food as a treat. We live in a very progressive area and we are lucky that our public elementary school already has a ban on junk food,candy,holiday treats, birthday treats, etc.
Some people ask what the big deal is about a little junk food/candy? I ask, what's the big deal about not? Are kids going to be deprived because of it? No. Are they going to have issues because of the ban? No.
All you have to do is google food coloring and behavior.
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