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I find it interesting that several people here are concerned about giving children some freedom about allowing them to eat when they want to eat. Throughout my adulthood, I have received many comments from other adults about the fact that I easily turn down doughnuts and other treats when presented, and I generally don't worry about my food consumption like so many other people do. I eat when I am hungry and generally prefer healthy food. I grew up in a household where we were allowed to snack when we wanted to snack. I allow my children to do the same, and they are all normal to low in their weight. I suppose this may be a problem if I stocked potato chips and a bunch of what I consider the worst food choices, but I generally don't. I do buy some dessert foods that they are only allowed to eat after lunch or dinner, and everyone needs to share those so you can't have more than your sibling or your parents. Other snacks are available for whenever. Our household fruit consumption, for example, is very high.
The only concern I may have about the teacher allowing such open snacking really is more of a concern about distraction. I would think it would be distracting to other students to have kids pulling out snacks whenever they want throughout the day. All my kids did have a set snack time throughout elementary school, and that seemed to work well. My daughter in high school wishes she had snack time! One of the most common complaints at her school seems to be hunger, and she talks about kids sneaking snacks at their lockers in between classes since they are not allowed to eat food outside the cafeteria.
Growing up a lot of us didnt have a ton of money to fill the house with food so if we wanted a meal then we had to cut out snacking. As an adult ive also seen instances where a teen would grab something to snack on then find out later on that "snack food" was what we were going to make for supper.
I think there needs to be a designated snack time which ends with clean-up and getting back to the learning tasks. Snacking while learning does not go together. It's not like sitting on a couch reading a novel.
For what it worth my mother packed me and my brother's lunches the entire time we were in school, same thing every day. A pepper turkey sandwich on a croissant, chips, fruit, carrots and fun sized candy bar. + a note.
I'm 26 now and have very fond memories of that lunch. I'm glad she was able to do that everyday until we graduated.
To the OP. When I worked with 6th graders in WY they had a the same policy(or close too) during seat work they would snack on something they brought. Had to be healthy; no candy, chips etc. But carrots, apples, pretzels...all that, was perfectly fine. They had a late lunch at 1:30 and most of our kids ate breakfast at school at 7:30. They were expected to, use napkin as a plate, clean up, wipe down their desk and no one could share food.
Worked great, I never saw any problems with it and I was in 6 classrooms through out the day.
I'm one of those people who gets "hangry" so I totally get the healthy snacking thing.
So you would rather waste food? Kid tells me theyre hungry I tell them "Shouldve cleared your plate then" Heres an idea, cut down on the portion sizes and their plates will be cleared and if they complained later that theyre hungry tell them they shouldve asked for seconds at dinner. Even better idea is tell them to go play (no, not video games but actual playing). Distraction is great for hunger.
Ha! Food is hardly ever wasted at my house. Portion sizes are appropiate and my kids usually eat enough food at dinner to fill them until morning. I can only think of maybe a few times where they asked for food after dinner and it's mostly because we ate dinner earlier than usual, like last night. My oldest had a school function during our normal dinnertime, so we ate an hour early. They had a snack when we got home. And no, I will never force my kids to clear their plates or eat something they don't like or want. It doesn't mean mealtimes are a free-for-all, we all eat whatever I or my husband fixes, but we are considerate of their food likes/dislikes. And it seems to be working out pretty well for us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest
I'm not talking about "clearing their plates". I'm talking about eating at all. I don't make things my kids don't like, but like all kids, they play games and decide on some days they just don't want/like it. If they decide they don't want it, they don't get anything else to eat. Sometimes I let their dinner sit out for about 30 minutes and they can choose to eat it, but after that, they will not be able to eat their "leftovers" at whatever time they deem they're starving. Dinner time is dinner time, and they will eat or not eat.
And they don't skip meals for desserts because parents allow this. They do it because they are testing boundaries. Some parents give in. I do not, so I don't know why my kids continue to do it, but they will eat what is given to them, until they are old enough to make dinner for everyone and then we will enjoy (or not) something they cooked...
My kids have never done this. My son will sometimes act picky, but I won't force him to eat and I don't think he's ever asked for food later. Often it's because he had a late or larger snack. He was hungry earlier in the day, not as much at dinner, it balances out, not a bug deal.
Sometimes they get a treat after dinner, usually not.
Maybe the first time they are testing boundaries, but they keep doing it if the parents give in.
Being strict and obsessive with food creates bad habits. If you never allow treats, they will gorge on them when they are old enough to, if you let them snack on treats they will as adults. Being casual with food while setting them up with good choices and sprinkling sweets in just because and not as rewards, is the way to go.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93
I am curious as to what other parents do, both in the number of snacks they send, and what they define as healthy (which is a subjective term).
Although my son's school has a pre-determined snack time, I send him with three things for snack and they always get eaten. I usually send a banana, a string cheese or yogurt, and pretzels or crackers. He gets three things for lunch, too - usually a sandwich (sometimes leftover quesadilla, pasta or a burrito), a fruit and baby carrots. What I find is that while snack ALWAYS gets eaten, sometimes all of his lunch doesn't get eaten because he's too busy talking or something. So he eats it when he gets home from school.
I don't think that having snack whenever you want is a big deal. As long as you send her with whatever you would have sent her with if they had a predetermined snack time, then she's still consuming the same amount of food - just spread out instead of at one time.
The only thing being strict with food does is teach people to both not waste food and to not be picky about what theyll eat.
It does more than that....and not being an authoritarian food monitor doesn't teach anything either.
Plenty of kids that aren't treated like cap learn how to not waste food ( and why they shouldn't- not just in fear of having the cap beat out of them or left starving).
We get it....you had a poor upbringing with authoritarian parents that didn't think much of their kids othere than to controll them....and you think you came out of that with all the answers. It's a shame you either can't, or refuse, to see that our children are not our enemies.
The only thing being strict with food does is teach people to both not waste food and to not be picky about what theyll eat.
My parents were strict with food yet I was still extremely picky so I ended up going to bed hungry a fair bit because I couldn't finish the plate at tea time and therefore would not get any supper. I only became less picky since becoming an adult and being able to make my own decisions about when and what I eat. I can't, and never have been able to, eat a large amount at once so more smaller meals/snacks works better for me than 3 squares meals a day. Its the same for a lot of people I imagine and probably healthier to spread out eating that way too.
If my kid doesn't finish her dinner then she gets the leftovers offered later. If she really doesn't like it then she gets something boring that she doesn't particularly like but will eat when hungry.
My daughter's 2nd grade teacher allows them to snack in class throughout the day. They can't bring in junk and it can't be distracting to others, but aside from that, they have a green light to eat whenever they feel hungry.
The ground rules I have set with my daughter is that I will only send one snack per day and it must be healthy.
I don't worry about the additional calorie consumption because she is very petite (actually a bit underweight) and has a small appetite; what I am not sure I like is the message it sends that it's okay to sit around and eat while you are engaged in other tasks and/or are bored. She has already asked to have snacks while she does her required nightly reading and I remind her that's not allowed at home.
Does anyone else have kids allowed to eat in their classroom and what do you think of it?
In elementary for my son up until 4th grade they were allowed snacks and all grades allowed water bottles. Being in Texas it gets very hot during the beginning and the end of the school year, so they really do need to stay hydrated.
Snacks were during a general time frame, not always at an exact set time, but perhaps during individual reading time the kids could eat their snacks if they wanted. One might eat at the beginning of that time, another at the end. I don't recall any of the classes allowing free range grazing all day, however.
I think most teachers handle it just like we as parents do. If we see our child behaving in a way that we know means they are hungry, we feed them something. It might be a snack, or it might be a meal. If it's close to lunch time, I imagine the teacher would say the same thing we would...it's almost lunch time so let's wait for that.
I think it kind of depends on the snacks available. Just about everyone, adults included, will mindlessly graze on chips and sweets. If your options are carrots and celery, you generally eat when you are hungry.
My girls are starving when I pick them up. I kind of wish they could eat more in the afternoon.
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or something. So he eats it when he gets home from school. 
