I decry the shoddy construction of today's Happy Meal boxes. There was a time when they could double as portable vomitoriums (you know, for those long car trips).

Posted by: Irving Marsula on February 23, 2003 05:18 PM

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Kids need excercise, period. Put'em on the treadmill, aka "conveyor belt of health". 'nuff said.

Posted by: Francis Wu on February 24, 2003 12:10 PM

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Free* school meals for all kids, that are balanced, healthy and nutritious.

* When I say free, I of course mean paid for out of general taxation. Or perhaps we could introduce a fast-food tax to pay for it?

Posted by: Mac - Dont Attack Iraq on February 25, 2003 03:07 AM

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I think if parents could allocate funds directly to cafeteria refurbishment, they probably would do more about the deplorable situation in most schools today. However, unless something has changed since my school days, they can't, and they are smart enough to realize that if you give schools more money they will spend it on badly needed supplies rather than upping the cafeteria budget.

Hopefully kids are getting better nutrition at home, or brown-bagging it with something more healthy than what they can get in school.

Posted by: Lydia on February 25, 2003 03:42 PM

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It is to blame everyone else except ourselves.

All parents have a responsibility to bring their children up correctly and this includes general health and nutrition - don't hand this responsibility off to the school system and expect them to do it for you!

If the food is of low quality at school make lunch for them

Posted by: JB on February 26, 2003 01:45 PM

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Got kids, JB?

Posted by: on February 26, 2003 02:36 PM

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All parents have a responsibility to educate their children correctly - don't hand this responsibility off to the school system and expect them to do it for you!

If the teaching is of low quality at school stay home and teach them yourself.

Neat logic, huh JB?

Posted by: BJ McKay on February 26, 2003 07:26 PM

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Speaking as a parent (not sure how many others here are) it would be nice, at some level, to think that a school would have both your kids physical and intellectual needs covered in at least a minimally-acceptable way.

I've 2 kids, and while it's easy to just say "make them lunch yourself" it would sure be frustating to think that after paying the taxes, and worrying about the curriculum, the teacher, the number of kids in the classroom, the possibility of classroom/playground violence that the durn school could at least put together a basic nutritional meal.

I say "would be frustrating" because we have, in fact, choosen to stay at home and teach (and feed) them ourselves.

Posted by: Boyink on February 27, 2003 09:06 AM

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I see school lunch programs as a support to parental efforts for good nutrition. If were as easy as "pack a bag lunch" and the problem is solved, everyone would be happy, but kids are human beings with wants and desires of their own, and the bottom line is that they can outright refuse to eat what you give them if they don't like it. Most kids want variety.

Giving them a cold bag lunch every day (since most schools don't have a facility for a child to warm something up) isn't going to work - there is only so much tuna, lunchmeat, or PB&J a kid will take before they trade it or buy something else. And what kid can resist the lure a hot meal that is at least fresly prepared when he has a tuna sandwich in his bag that has been at room temperature for most of the day?

(I know I'm not the person on the planet who was a picky eater as a kid and continues to be as an adult!)

The reality is that kids are required by law to attend school, so unless you can jump through the hoops required to educate your children at home, you should be able to expect that the school will provide a reasonable meal for your child, since you give them the taxes to do so and trust them with the care of your child for the day.

I don't expect schools to discipline errant behavior or be responsible if my kid saw an Internet site he shouldn't have, but I would expect reasonable precautions in place to minimize problems, and I see school lunches as being a similar situation - I don't expect to see a certified nutritionist observing daily meal preparation, but I at least don't want lard mixed into the meatloaf.

Posted by: Lydia on February 27, 2003 09:39 PM

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"The reality is that kids are required by law to attend school, so unless you can jump through the hoops required to educate your children at home"

Just to be exact, the "hoops" required to homeschool differ by state. Here in Michigan there are as of yet, no hoops. And we're fighting to keep it that way..;)

Posted by: on February 28, 2003 07:56 AM

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