NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_he_me/diet_cafeteria_monitor

5 HOUSTON - A student slides a tray toward the cafeteria cash register with a healthy selection: a pint of milk, green beans, whipped sweet potatoes and chicken nuggets — baked, not fried. But then he adds a fudge brownie.

When he punches in his code for the prepaid account his parents set up, a warning sounds: "This student has a food restriction."

Back goes the brownie as the cashier reminds him that his parents have declared all desserts off-limits

Do you think this is a good idea or just a ridiculous amount of control? I agree that it's a good idea to raise a red flag on food allergies, but I think that it's a bit controlling for the parents to restrict students from making choices on their school food.

No brownie for you!

I want a brownie :(

Some student will just hack into that system and well, make things easy for themselves. ;)

That's dreadful!
What if the poor kid's stoned? You can't satisfy the munchies on baked chicken nuggets!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all I have to say on this.

All the food when I was back in grade school was total shit anyways... if parents want their kids to eat healthy then they need to buy them healthy food to eat at home... pack lunch if its that big a deal

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_he_me/diet_cafeteria_monitor

Do you think this is a good idea or just a ridiculous amount of control? I agree that it's a good idea to raise a red flag on food allergies, but I think that it's a bit controlling for the parents to restrict students from making choices on their school food.
Oh for crying out loud! And here I thought I'd heard everything! Groan!

That sucks, i get overall control of what i eat, and once a month or so i will have a mars bar... that is it, otherwise i eat healthily enough. School cafeterias suck anwyays!! :mad: :headbang:

The Soup Nazi Gets Serious!
No Food For You! (http://www.consumerfreedom.com/advertisements_detail.cfm?ad=39) :eek: :D

It would be even more funny if the kid was fat.

Personally I think you would have to be a horrible parent to not trust your kid to find his own food.

What ever happened to talking to your kids?

As long as the parents are setting the limits I don't see what the problem is. Although my girls are on a very restricted diet, so I might just be used to checking everything my girls eat, drink, or touch.


Since when is it wrong to make choices for your children when it's a health issue? I mean if little Timmy wants to drink bleach should we let him?


Oh, and I thought your poll was biased. ;)

As long as the parents are setting the limits I don't see what the problem is. Although my girls are on a very restricted diet, so I might just be used to checking everything my girls eat, drink, or touch.


Since when is it wrong to make choices for your children when it's a health issue? I mean if little Timmy wants to drink bleach should we let him?

Well it would teach little Timmy not to do it again...

Well it would teach little Timmy not to do it again...
you would think so, but it won't really. Children have a limited memory about things like actions and consequences, until a certain age they are unable to make the connection.

As long as the parents are setting the limits I don't see what the problem is. Although my girls are on a very restricted diet, so I might just be used to checking everything my girls eat, drink, or touch.


Since when is it wrong to make choices for your children when it's a health issue? I mean if little Timmy wants to drink bleach should we let him?
A brownie is hardly bleach

One is having a bit of desert the other is deadly.

I would be sad for any parent that has so little confidence in their kid that they need to micromanage school brownie consumption

(note I am excepting life threatening things and allergies and such)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_he_me/diet_cafeteria_monitor



Do you think this is a good idea or just a ridiculous amount of control? I agree that it's a good idea to raise a red flag on food allergies, but I think that it's a bit controlling for the parents to restrict students from making choices on their school food.

So just because ha decideds to have a brownie for dessert, when he's made healthy choices, he can't have it?

Thank god I'm on the other side of the atlantic ocean. Although, the food does sound better.

I might tell this to my friends and see what they think...

Cafetaria revolution.

All the food when I was back in grade school was total shit anyways... if parents want their kids to eat healthy then they need to buy them healthy food to eat at home... pack lunch if its that big a deal

Yep, flavorless and one step above plastic. I packed my lunch until highschool, when the food was abit better. I can not tell you how happy I am to be out of the school systems.

you would think so, but it won't really. Children have a limited memory about things like actions and consequences, until a certain age they are unable to make the connection.

Just Natural Selection in action.

A brownie is hardly bleach

One is having a bit of desert the other is deadly.

I would be sad for any parent that has so little confidence in their kid that they need to micromanage school brownie consumption

(note I am excepting life threatening things and allergies and such)
I was going at it from the medical diet angle..........

1/48th of a slice of bread has enough gluten in it to severly damage my daughters' intestines, making them unable to digest any food for up to 6 weeks, a whole brownie could actually kill them. (from malnutrition, if they didn't get dehydrated and die from the vomiting and diarrhea first)

yeah, I talk to my kids, try to educate them about healthy choices, but I would like the assurance that they won't get something bad for them if I am not around to stop them. Even though they understand the seriousness of thier condition, sometimes they just want a cookie.

I think as long as the parents are making the restrictions it's not a problem, if the kid really wants a brownie they will find a way to get one. I doubt that any parent would be cruel enough to restrict a child's diet unless there was a true medical reason (allergy, intolerance, obesity,diabetes ect.)

you would think so, but it won't really. Children have a limited memory about things like actions and consequences, until a certain age they are unable to make the connection.
It sounds like you're underestimating children consderably. I never EVER had trouble "making the connection" between an action and its consequence, if it was clearly affecting me, or clearly explained to me. THat's probably the best and most consistenet way kids learn.

It sounds like you're underestimating children consderably. I never EVER had trouble "making the connection" between an action and its consequence, if it was clearly affecting me, or clearly explained to me. THat's probably the best and most consistenet way kids learn.
I have seen it happen first hand.

Besides what if the consequence is so bad that you don't want them to experience it at all, like a child with a peanut allergy who will die if they take a bite of a peanut butter cookie, when are they going to be around to practice thier newfound knowledge??

I was going at it from the medical diet angle..........

1/48th of a slice of bread has enough gluten in it to severly damage my daughters' intestines, making them unable to digest any food for up to 6 weeks, a whole brownie could actually kill them. (from malnutrition, if they didn't get dehydrated and die from the vomiting and diarrhea first)

yeah, I talk to my kids, try to educate them about healthy choices, but I would like the assurance that they won't get something bad for them if I am not around to stop them. Even though they understand the seriousness of thier condition, sometimes they just want a cookie.

I think as long as the parents are making the restrictions it's not a problem, if the kid really wants a brownie they will find a way to get one. I doubt that any parent would be cruel enough to restrict a child's diet unless there was a true medical reason (allergy, intolerance, obesity,diabetes ect.)

Like I said I understand your position where it is life or death its the "I just dont care for them to have it" group that it seems not worthy of them micromanaging

And I am not so sure about cruelty this story sounds like it was just that (probably why it IS controversial

you would think so, but it won't really. Children have a limited memory about things like actions and consequences, until a certain age they are unable to make the connection.

I made that connection since I was three. If I did something would hurt myself or someone else, like try to step off the curb intoi traffic, my parents would pull me back, give me a good sharp smack to head, then tell me why it was wrong. I never did something stupid twice.

On topic, this is kind of like trying to stay healthy by ordering a diet soda with your half-pound hamburger and large fries. The food cafeterias serve are low grade crap not fit for discount bulk stores. Parents should just pack the kid's lunch, or teach them to do it for themselves like my parents did, if they're worried about health.

It sounds freaky, but keep in mind that more than 2/3 of Americans are overweight, so obviously something has to be done there...

Besides, canteen food is gross anyway, I certainly never touch it and rather to to a bakery near my uni :rolleyes:
[x] No way in hell would I let my kid eat cafeteria food.

Like I said I understand your position where it is life or death its the "I just dont care for them to have it" group that it seems not worthy of them micromanaging
okay. Then you have to ask "why don't you want them to have it?"
adults have good reasons for restricting thier children, we don't do it for fun (because it's not fun)

We don't know this child's personal situation, he could be diabetic, he could be that 2nd grader that weighs 200lbs and has to loose weight fast before his heart gives out, he could have thrown the cat down the stairs that weekend and lost his brownie privilages.

Parents have so much to do already, I doubt they would micromangage thier kid's diet if they didn't feel a compelling need to do so.

snip

Parents have so much to do already, I doubt Good Parents would micromangage thier kid's diet if they didn't feel a compelling need to do so.
I understand ... (and change in bold and I would compleatly agree with you)

I guess we just dont have enough info to know if this is a good or bad parent

I made that connection since I was three. If I did something would hurt myself or someone else, like try to step off the curb intoi traffic, my parents would pull me back, give me a good sharp smack to head, then tell me why it was wrong. I never did something stupid twice.

why does everyone assume I am anti-kid today?:rolleyes:

what if your parent's weren't around to tell you not to do that? if you ran into the street and got run over you would be dead or maimed just the same.

If children listened to everything thier parent's said, there would probably never be accidents where children are hurt or injured, think about all the times you got hurt when you were a kid 99% of the time you were probably doing something that your parent's told you not to.

Adults can see that a brownie has 400 calories, they know how hard you have to work to burn those off, if the kid is supposed to be losing weight an extra 400 calories a day isn't going to help them any. Does the kid think about the calories? no, they see a brownie.

I understand ... (and change in bold and I would compleatly agree with you)

I guess we just dont have enough info to know if this is a good or bad parent
yep. :)

This is completely ludicrous in my mind. If it was for allergies, it'd be one thing, and that I understand; the last thing you want is a severe allergic reaction to happen to your child because s/he forgot about it or something. But if the parents truly cared about the well-being of their own children, they might, I don't know, perhaps pack a healthy lunch for their children in the first place?

Rather than passing off the responsibility for their children on to the highly trained cafeteria workers, why don't they own up to the health of their own offspring? To me, this is just another way for parents to be laissez-faire with the raising of their children, by punching in a couple of numbers and sending it to the school so they don't have to think about it. We might as well just let robots watch over people's children, so the parents can go out and have a real life without worrying about their children.

Schools should realize that the parents are the #1 caretakers of their children, and that the school shouldn't have to take the word of the parents to restrict their dietary needs. If the parents care about their children, they'll provide the healthy lunch for them. They shouldn't be good parents until it's convenient for them not to have to care.

why does everyone assume I am anti-kid today?:rolleyes:

what if your parent's weren't around to tell you not to do that? if you ran into the street and got run over you would be dead or maimed just the same.

If children listened to everything thier parent's said, there would probably never be accidents where children are hurt or injured, think about all the times you got hurt when you were a kid 99% of the time you were probably doing something that your parent's told you not to.

Adults can see that a brownie has 400 calories, they know how hard you have to work to burn those off, if the kid is supposed to be losing weight an extra 400 calories a day isn't going to help them any. Does the kid think about the calories? no, they see a brownie.

Sorry, I didn't want to say that you were "anti-kid" or anything like that, just that some kids don't need that kind of constant supervision. Looking over my previous post, that was probably the wrong way to go about it.

Still, I do know what you mean. I was an assistant teacher for two years at a preschool my church ran. There are some kids that do require people to keep an eye on them almost all the time or else they eat the Legos or glue their hands to the table (both true stories about one child).

Sorry, I didn't want to say that you were "anti-kid" or anything like that, just that some kids don't need that kind of constant supervision. Looking over my previous post, that was probably the wrong way to go about it.
It is true that all kids don't need such close supervision, but some kids do. I doubt that this is a "required" thing, probably the majority of the people who use it are the ones who have kids that do need constant help making choices.

Still, I do know what you mean. I was an assistant teacher for two years at a preschool my church ran. There are some kids that do require people to keep an eye on them almost all the time or else they eat the Legos or glue their hands to the table (both true stories about one child).
I teach mother's day out on Thursdays, there is a 2 year old in my class that has been to the ER 15 times because he keep sticking army men up his nose. :p

I don't keep any toys in my class room small enough to fit anywhere they shouldn't go.

It seems that the parents don't learn either, or they would quit giving him army men. :rolleyes:

It is true that all kids don't need such close supervision, but some kids do. I doubt that this is a "required" thing, probably the majority of the people who use it are the ones who have kids that do need constant help making choices.


I teach mother's day out on Thursdays, there is a 2 year old in my class that has been to the ER 15 times because he keep sticking army men up his nose. :p

I don't keep any toys in my class room small enough to fit anywhere they shouldn't go.

It seems that the parents don't learn either, or they would quit giving him army men. :rolleyes:

It's not his fault! There are terrorists in his sinuses! :D

It's not his fault! There are terrorists in his sinuses! :D
then he should send in the Marines........the army's already been and didn't do anything.........LOL:p

then he should send in the Marines........the army's already been and didn't do anything.........LOL:p

It's a pity the G.I. Joe action figures are too big. :(

It's a pity the G.I. Joe action figures are too big. :(
Who says? ;) *Hides hammer and nostril opener behind back* :p :D

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_he_me/diet_cafeteria_monitor



Do you think this is a good idea or just a ridiculous amount of control? I agree that it's a good idea to raise a red flag on food allergies, but I think that it's a bit controlling for the parents to restrict students from making choices on their school food.

WTF?
What sick person came up with this? Do we really want to control EVERYTHING?

Bring your own brownies to school, thats what i would do.

Anything that encourages parents to actually take responsibility for what their kids do is fine by me.

poor kid.

Anything that encourages parents to actually take responsibility for what their kids do is fine by me.
No taking responsibility would be teaching your kid rather then micromanaging him

it won't help. people who aren't allowed certain foods will just get them some other way.