is this inappropriate behaviour by a head teacher?

mum-of-two_2

Bufger wrote: »

Why should this be up to the school? It should be a parents responsibility to make sure their child has a healthy balanced diet, it should be up to the parent to make sure their child gets some excercise, it should be up to the parent to actually raise their child!!!!!!!!!

The school should provide healthy meals if the children are eating school dinners.

Its easy to blame a school but should they even be doing it in the first place? NO! why are they doing it? because most parents in this god awfull poor excuse for a country of ours are just too damn lazy to even consider the welfare of their own children and should be steralised (contraversial!). Its just easier to blame an institution for their own failings.

No point in skirting around the issue :eek:

I don't agree that MOST parents are too damn lazy to consider the welfare of their children.
I do make sure my kids have a healthy balanced diet.
I do make sure my kids get some excercise (they actually get lots).
I AM raising my children!!!!!!!!!

I'm not blaming an institution for its failings - but for its interference in my childrens diet and the manner in which they are doing it.

seven-day-weekend

kegg wrote: »

all very well saying they shouldn't check lunch boxes but what about when a child brings a cold mcdonalds hamburger as their lunch? Should they say something then?

And yes it did happen in my sons school.

Yes, they should say something to the parent of that child (they still don't need to inspect the lunch boxes, a dinner lady or teacher would see them eating it if they are only of infant school age).

Why should decent families be targeted just for the sake of a few chavs?

seven-day-weekend

(thanked bufger's post because I agree with the first part of it).

Bufger

mum-of-two wrote: »

I don't agree that MOST parents are too damn lazy to consider the welfare of their children.
I do make sure my kids have a healthy balanced diet.
I do make sure my kids get some excercise (they actually get lots).
I AM raising my children!!!!!!!!!

I'm not blaming an institution for its failings - but for its interference in my childrens diet and the manner in which they are doing it.

Its not directed at you, im talking about our whole society and blame culture. The fact that lots of parents out there blame schools for how their children turn out makes us all look like a joke, there are a couple of simple things that determine how an individual will turn out to be.

Health. Social interactions and education. The schools job is to deal with education, thats why its there. With the education comes social interactions so its important that the teachers help to teach children whats socially acceptable and whats not - which can be a losing battle if some parents dont mind that their little timmy goes around beating seven bells out of other kids and gets his willy out at any chance. The last one is health, why then should the school now be expected to own all 3 items that determine how the child will turn out in later life? how can they be expected during their 5 hours with a group of children to do the work parents should be doing in their 19 hours of 1 to 1 teaching. (obviously its less than 19 but you get my point).

Dont take it personally, i could in no way judge you as i have no idea on your personal parenting ability but from many observations and a few government statistics its quite easy to see the way things are starting to turn.

shaven-monkey

Was there any request for your consent to steal food from your children "for their own good" ?
Have you at any stage been informed by the school that a stop and search policy is being followed with regards to your child's food?

If the food is not returned to you and no official contact occurs when food is taken then it sounds like the HT is just stealing their own lunch materials from the children. Put this suggestion to the HT in a letter, they'll probably be outraged. Put it to the PTA and they may even stop doing it.

It does sound like some sort of action on a fantastic pro-health scheme handed down by the government. It's still not right.

piratefairy

I must admit that I am generally more confrontational than most, upon matters which I have strong feelings..That said, mum-of-two, I think you are right to be annoyed, and definitely a letter / discussion with the Head would be good. If you feel she will try to "run circles around you", maybe a letter is better? It doens't have to be a formal complaint - just an outline of your concerns.

Yes, I'd agree that confiscation of any food is theft. Presume they do not make any attempt to return this food. And in my opinion, the more children see that certain foods are confiscated / "banned", is this not the way to encourage them to want to eat "forbidden" junk food etc more as time goes on??

A school ought to be responsible for their meals, to ensure that they are nutritionally sound, for those who choose to pay for that option. If a parent decides to provide their child with a packed lunch, they are the ones responsible for the contents / nutritional value, and IMO a balance can be achieved between healthy fruit / veg / sandwiches, and treats such as a biscuit or crisps.

Spendless

mum-of-two wrote: »

I agree - in one of my earlier posts I said that I vary the bread I use for sandwiches - granary, wholemeal, 50/50, etc - and I buy healthy choice cheese.

The cheese sandwich wasn't confiscated, it was commented on which made my daughter self-concious about eating it.

Food confiscated includes low-fat crisps/snacks and the (I admit) high sugar Nutrigrain bar.
No alternative was offered.

What was in the rest of her lunch-box other than the nutrigrain bar? I wonder if you just add a bit eg cucumber to the cheese sandwich or a few carrot sticks or baby tomatoes in a snack container or a piece of fruit. You would stop these comments because they would see the overall picture of the lunch-box.

headoutthesand

My sons school checks lunch boxes everyday with the child getting a gold star on the class chart if the lunch box is healthy. They don't seem to bother much with whats on the pieces but more about the drinks and the sweets/crisps.

It does seem a total contradiction though that if I send him for a school dinner he can opt for a burger, cake and crisps.

He has told me when we go shopping that we should buy no added sugar drinks, small treat size sweets and quavers or corn snacks for crisps (he doesn't know what corn snacks are but he's obviously paying attention to the teacher).

He always needs to have 1 fruit item too.

I think it's a good idea when they are made aware of whats good and bad as it makes the parents think twice if their bad shopping decisions have a reflection on the kids infront of their classmates.

As a general rule I don't give the kids fizzy juice unless it's a treat and I always have snack sized portions of grapes on hand for when they start moaning that they are hungry just before dinner. Same goes for yoghurts too. Always in the fridge for them to help themselves.

Gingham_Ribbon

The best time to allow a 'treat' food such as something a little higher in sugar is surely during or after a meal? It's better for their teeth and prevents those highs and dips that come from eating them at other times.

Unless the school has banned puddings from school dinners, I'd be very concerned about them confiscating such things from lunch boxes.

Bubby

Its probably only to gain their "healthy schools" status rather than actual concern for the children. The apprpriate course of action if you deem a child to be bringing in an unhealthy lunch is to discuss it with the parents. If a headteacher made my child feel uncomfortable around their lunch (which can influence eating disorders) they would be eating their words!!!!