Primary school inspects children's lunchboxes for unhealthy food

[Honey]

A PRIMARY school has been accused of running a "mealtime Gestapo" after insisting on inspecting children's lunchboxes for unhealthy food.
If pupils are found to have lollies, sweets, chocolate, carbonated drinks or full-fat potato chips, teachers confiscate them and hold them in the staffroom.
The snacks are returned at the end of the day but only if parents ask.
One parent, Magdi Cullen, said she was shocked when her nine-year-old daughter Maria told her about the policy at Danegrove Primary School in Barnet, North London, England, the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK reported.
"When I found out about what they were doing, I thought, "This is a primary school, not Guantanamo Bay"," Mrs Cullen, 34, said.
'I can't believe that teachers go through their lunchboxes because there might be something like a small chocolate bar.
'My daughter has a sandwich and an apple as well, but now she has to hide a small box of Smarties I give her. It's just not right."
The outcry follows concern last year about a policy introduced into child care centres in NSW's Hunter New England area where staff conduct lunchbox audits to ensure parents comply with strict food policies in a bid to combat childhood obesity.

Parents at Mrs Cullen's school were sent a letter informing them of the strict meal searches. The letter warned: "Lots of unsuitable items have been sneaking in lately. Therefore, we will have to look after such items until the end of the day in order to be fair to everybody.
"So chocolate and other unhealthy foods found in packed lunch boxes will be taken to the office for collection by parents at the end of the day."

Primary school inspects children's lunchboxes for unhealthy food | body+soul | News.com.au

[Grimmlok]

god, here comes a lawsuit.. my child has the right to be an obnoxious hyperactive blob of lard, IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOING

[chattykathy]

The school isn't buying the groceries for the parents, it's none of their dang business what is in their lunches.

[Kittylady]

So if the school confiscates part of a child's lunch what happens then? Do they replace it with a piece of fruit? Or does the child have to make do with whatever is left in their lunchbox and possibly be hungry until hometime?

[katerpillar]

Erm, I hope there are exceptions at least for diabetic kids who might need a bit of sugar in the event of hypocglycaemia...

Honestly, it's rather stupid. My parents packed little snack treats amongst my lunch and I didn't get fat - because they were just treats. It was in moderation. It's not as though my entire lunch consisted of junk!

[Wiseguy]

If the school has a no chips, soft drink, chocolate etc policy then they can do this. At the previous school I worked at, the kids were only allowed healthy food at school and parents were asked to endorse that. It was never policed to the degree which this school did, but it was successful and instigated by the parents themselves.

[crumpet]

Parents can buy whatever fucking food they want for their kids and it isn't anyone else's business. unless the school wants to start buying peoples' groceries they need to back the fuck off. I would sue,too, because the government needs to know it doesn't own people.

[Grimmlok]

If it's the school's policy, then fucktard parents can take their precious snowflakes elsewhere.

[Laurent]

I bet this has more to do with protecting the precious feelings of the fat kids than it does fighting childhood obesity.

[BoogsBun]

In other news: while teacher's are being lunch nazi's, Nutboy is getting nuts tossed at him and is going into anaphylactic shock, but yet no one notices due to snack-pak contraband.

[Grimmlok]

Rofl! Nut boy!

Someone find that thread, quick!

nevermind, found it!

Boy, 11, with nut allergy forced to quit school after bullies pelt him with nuts

[BoogsBun]

^Nut boy never fails to disappoint.

[crumpet]

If it's the school's policy, then fucktard parents can take their precious snowflakes elsewhere.

I would argue that the school doesn't even have a right to determine what foods children eat. They can determine what they choose to serve, but not what food you bring from home, and that goes for nuts,too. We're not talking about bringing handguns to school here. Plenty of kids can enjoy a candy bar and not turn into a tub of lard.

[Grimmlok]

nut boy is my hero.

I wonder if he's made the news any more...

[witchcurlgirl]

if only schools paid as much attention to how and what kids are taught as they do to what they eat, they might actually be serving the function that school was intended to serve. this is part of why today's kids are idiots.

and recess would help with the obesity...get out there and play you little fat bastards