is this inappropriate behaviour by a head teacher?

isitenough

Do you get the food he confiscates back? Or does it go in the bin? I know I should be focused on the diet/weight issue but these days as parents we can't afford for food to just be thrown away.
My kids primary school used to try to promote (and still does btw) by asking for healthy snacks but the policing of it was too much so they are a bit slacker with it these days. But taking food from lunchboxes is not on.
Schools and exercise is a joke - 2x 1 hour sessions per week, which includes time for getting changed! They want more healthy children they're going to have to allow more time for exercise!
I would ask other mums their feelings and/or write a letter to the head.

kingfisherblue

I haven't read all the posts, but have two points to make, which are related.

One is that my youngest son is on the 100th centile for weight. He is also on the 100th centile for height. He is almost as tall as me (I'm 5'6") and has size 9 feet, despite being only ten years old. He has been weighed and measured for three years because a locum community paediatrician told me that I had my two sons mixed up - my older son has Down's syndrome and is shorter than his brother, but she wouldn't accept that a younger child could be taller, despite my older son's many health problems and the fact that children with DS are often shorter! Anyway, my younger son was seen every three months by the paediatrician and he told me that whilst my son is very tall and is also heavy for his age, he is in proportion and that as I was feeding him a healthy diet (with occasional treats) and exercises frequently, I shouldn't worry.

The other point is about the weighing and measuring of all children in year 6 in school. I have refused to allow my son to participate, as he is already conscious of his size.

Flearoy

I often wonder why on the one hand our society seems to infantilise children, especially with regard to culpability and responsibility for actions, especially criminal actions, yet on the other hand, we seem keen to infect them with adult neuroses - cases in point : 'Is it healthy Miss? Will I be a big fat bloater with heart disease and diabetes when I'm 13 if I eat this chocolate bar' and the frickin' climate change advert where the story shows the kid's pet rabbit or whatever drowning because they left a 10watt bulb on for 10 minutes so they could read the latest diet book. Nose out thanks very much.

mum-of-two_2

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I haven't read all the posts, but have two points to make, which are related.

One is that my youngest son is on the 100th centile for weight. He is also on the 100th centile for height. He is almost as tall as me (I'm 5'6") and has size 9 feet, despite being only ten years old. He has been weighed and measured for three years because a locum community paediatrician told me that I had my two sons mixed up - my older son has Down's syndrome and is shorter than his brother, but she wouldn't accept that a younger child could be taller, despite my older son's many health problems and the fact that children with DS are often shorter! Anyway, my younger son was seen every three months by the paediatrician and he told me that whilst my son is very tall and is also heavy for his age, he is in proportion and that as I was feeding him a healthy diet (with occasional treats) and exercises frequently, I shouldn't worry.

The other point is about the weighing and measuring of all children in year 6 in school. I have refused to allow my son to participate, as he is already conscious of his size.

Kingfisherblue
that must have been awful for you and your youngest son.

There's nothing worse than kids being made to feel 'the odd one out'.

That's really the nub of this issue for me - this head teacher is singling some kids out - in front of their classmates - and telling them that what they are eating is unhealthy and in some instances, taking the food from them and putting it back into their lunchbox.

Spendless

mum-of-two wrote: »

Thanks everybody.

At least from most of the replies, it's not just me 'being funny' about this.

Re the 'confiscation', what the Head actually did was take the food from the child, toldl them that 'it's not healthy' and put it back into their lunchbox.

So, they're not really 'stealing' the food - but you can imagine the effect that the Head teacher actually doing that it has on young children, especially when they're sat with their friends.

For those that have asked. my kids lunch usually consists of sandwiches, cherry tomatoes halved (they love these, luckily), sometimes some julienne of cucumber and always a piece of fruit - their favourites are cherries, strawberries or grapes.
They usually have a small (multi-pack) bag of crisps, hula-hoops, mini cheddars etc.
It seems to be this that is an issue for the Head, I don't think they are taking the contents of the lunch-box as a whole, just seeing individual items that are (in their eyes) to be unhealthy.

It's the daily bag of crisps/mini cheddars that are the problem? I also think like someone else has said the school is going for Healthy Eating status and if they've been asked to knock down chips for the hot lunches down to once a week/fortnight, then they've probably been asked to do the same for the nearest equivalent item in a packed lunch.

rze1979

I haven't read all the replies so apologies if this is repeating anything already said....

The way it has been explained in our school is that allowing food at breaktimes is actually not an obligtion and down to the individual school and so they can dictate what 'snacks' can be brought in and eaten (we insist on friut/veg). However lunchtime is a different thing and we do not have any say on what the kids eat. Yes of course we can encourage healthy eating and flag up any concerns over packed lunch boxes with the school nurse etc BUT we cannot confiscate anything the kids bring in. At break if we see them with crisps etc then we send them to put it back in their lunch boxes and get something else to eat.

This has always been what I have been told - hope it is of use.

DrScotsman

mum-of-two wrote: »

One Mum was saying that her child was sent home with a letter saying she was ONE POUND (yes, 16 ounces) overweight. The letter detailed a long list of illnesses that can be caused by obesity

That is the most sickening thing I have ever read on these forums.

No UK school in this day and age should be using anything but the metric system of measurements when referring to weights. This is appalling behaviour and I would be changing schools NOW.

:whistle:

Indie_Kid

rze1979 wrote: »

I haven't read all the replies so apologies if this is repeating anything already said....

The way it has been explained in our school is that allowing food at breaktimes is actually not an obligtion and down to the individual school and so they can dictate what 'snacks' can be brought in and eaten (we insist on friut/veg).

It was like this when I was in primary school. We were also allowed cheese too. When we were in secondary school, we could have anything we wanted.

smk77

kingfisherblue wrote: »

One is that my youngest son is on the 100th centile for weight. He is also on the 100th centile for height.

Which is a mathematical impossibility as he'd have to be taller than everyone including himself

esmf73

Oh joy - I can see that I've opened a right can of worms in allowing my eldest to have a packed lunch after Easter then!

I would be planning to send him in with some water (he loves this), a sandwich (meat/cheese/jam/peanut butter) and then depending on his sandwich some cheese sticks (cut from a block of cheese at home), cucumber and carrot sticks, apple and if he has had a savoury sandwich then a home made cake (small fairy cake or the like). I can see that I've opened a right can of worms in just agreeing to this - I shall look forward to the letters from the school.

DS is almost 6, and is rather thin - eats very well and actually if I see what he doesn't eat then I will know exactly what he is eating every day. He's lucky that his parents have a reasonable education and intelligence and can afford to give him nice food.