I spoke with a friend who has older kids at the school and I can send him with his own snack. But let’s be real, he’s totally going to go for chips or cookies if that’s available.
FWIW lunch is at 10:40am, snack is at 130pm and school gets out at 3.
My interpretation was that each kid brings their own snacks, they just bring them once a month instead of daily. Not that each kid brings snack for everyone one day/month (which wouldn't work because food restrictions).
Everyone brings their 24 prepackaged snacks at the beginning of the month. Then all of the snacks go in 1 big container and the kids get to pick what they want each day.
That's interesting -- for allergy reasons, this wouldn't be allowed at my school. My kids would enjoy it though!
I'm getting flashbacks to goldfish gate from YEARS ago.
OP, you could do raisins, or yogurt covered ones. Fruit leathers There are cauliflower crackers out there that are pretty decent - not sure if they come in single serving packages. I'm sure there are lots of "healthier" pre packaged snacks out now - those snacks made of chickpeas or similar may be an option.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Aug 16, 2019 14:01:22 GMT -5
One prepackaged snacks my son does like is Scooby Snacks graham cracker sticks that look like dog bones. I fully realize this does not meet board standards, but they are damn tasty, lol.
My son eats his lunch at 11:20 and snacks are at 1:30 or so, so he has had time to get a real lunch first.
One prepackaged snacks my son does like is Scooby Snacks graham cracker sticks that look like dog bones. I fully realize this does not meet board standards, but they are damn tasty, lol.
My son eats his lunch at 11:20 and snacks are at 1:30 or so, so he has had time to get a real lunch first.
Holy shiiiiit, those are a favorite of my girl scout troop, and I've never been so grateful for 5 year olds introducing me to something other than germs. If I were Scooby, I'd be a 900lbs dog.
Post by minniemouse on Aug 16, 2019 14:11:24 GMT -5
When dd1 was in K, there was a calendar for bringing in snack for the whole class. It worked out to about once/month. It had to be from the snack safely list or a fresh fruit/veggie. The teacher’s rationale was that the classroom was nut free and she didn’t have time to check 20 different snacks each day (even if though there was no sharing, cross contamination could happen). It was ok, most days ended up being goldfish, pretzels or Oreos. It was nice not having to worry about packing a snack every day though. Dd2 had the same teacher, but there were no allergies in her class so she brought her own snack each day. I no longer worry about the food they eat at school (or birthday parties or play dates)and just try to make sure they eat balanced meals at home. Also- when I think back to the crap we ate as kids, goldfish crackers suddenly look pretty healthy. 😂
Everyone brings their 24 prepackaged snacks at the beginning of the month. Then all of the snacks go in 1 big container and the kids get to pick what they want each day.
I'd push back on that. Everyone has a different idea of what is considered a healthy snack. It's not fair to put a 5 year old in the position of turning down Fruit by the Foot and leftover Halloween candy while their peers partake.
I may ask the teacher if she could send out guidelines about snacks. I don’t have an issue with prepackaged snacks it’s that there is so much prepackaged junk that a 5yo will struggle with peer pressure if they have something else and doesn’t have self control to turn down something like fruit by the foot every day.
When dd1 was in K, there was a calendar for bringing in snack for the whole class. It worked out to about once/month. It had to be from the snack safely list or a fresh fruit/veggie. The teacher’s rationale was that the classroom was nut free and she didn’t have time to check 20 different snacks each day (even if though there was no sharing, cross contamination could happen). It was ok, most days ended up being goldfish, pretzels or Oreos. It was nice not having to worry about packing a snack every day though. Dd2 had the same teacher, but there were no allergies in her class so she brought her own snack each day. I no longer worry about the food they eat at school (or birthday parties or play dates)and just try to make sure they eat balanced meals at home. Also- when I think back to the crap we ate as kids, goldfish crackers suddenly look pretty healthy. 😂
I think those of us who have older kids who have been in school awhile definitely have more perspective on issues like this. Just an observation. One snack a day is not going to be my hill to die on, especially knowing how much my kid's public school and teachers already have to deal with.
This thread is cracking me up. I remember the anxiety I had way back when my oldest started kindergarten about what “those other parents” were going to send for snacks and how my sweet precious would be exposed to junk food. I juts look back and laugh. Trust me, it will be okay even if they eat one bag of junky food every day for kindergarten. It really will be okay. Also, this is the point in your children’s lives when you no longer control every food that they are offered, they will start going to friends’ houses and I guarantee you those friends will have all sorts of unacceptable foods and guess what, your kid will eat them! And they will be okay. Offer healthy foods at home, model healthy relationships with food (including not labeling all of their friends’ food “bad”), and don’t sweat it so much.
As for ideas: Individual packs of beef jerky (I buy the jack links teriyaki jerky from amazon because they don’t sell teriyaki in my stores, but that’s what my kids like) Dried fruits Individual trail mixes with dried fruits and seeds (or nuts if you don’t have nut restrictions)
Guaranteed by the end of the year you will be sending goldfish, Scooby snacks, and the like. . Happy kindergartening!
Post by thebreakfastclub on Aug 16, 2019 14:26:41 GMT -5
The big switch in K IMO is that kids can have a meal account with pin, and there is a certain loss of control. They are living their own lives with that pin, lol. K and first students cannot buy snacks at my school, only meals and milk.
But my son certainly enjoyed buying chocolate milk, even when he had a thermos. He also treated himself to the third breakfast of his day when friends were hanging out in the cafeteria, lol.
You guys are going to make Goldfish crackers frown.
Post that was too argumentative, but made the Goldfish feel better.
I'm totally a food hand-wringer, and even I am feeling like Goldfish are taking a beating they don't deserve.
They are smiling at your children, for gods sake!
But seriously, this is one of those "teachable moments". We had something similar to this go down with our 1st grader her K year - we found out that kids can refuse certain things in the hot lunch line, and OF COURSE our kid was refusing vegetables most of the days and taking extra fruit. Not a huge deal, but you've got to eat your vegetables, kid! So now we just tell her that she needs to get the vegetables and take 3 big bites, even if she doesn't like it, otherwise, no hot lunch for a while. I'm going to take her at her word that she is doing as I instructed, and that's that.
If I were in this situation, I'd just send what I'd want my kid to eat and tell my kid to make a good choice, knowing that those fruit snacks were likely to be the first to be weeded out by the kids and the healthier snacks would be forced upon the tiny little sugar-laden savages later in the month.
Post by Patsy Baloney on Aug 16, 2019 14:30:52 GMT -5
thebreakfastclub, chocolate milk KILLS ME. Kids really feel like they're pulling a fast one. My DD would not speak up for the life of her about wanting milk at snack break in K. I told her over and over again that she had plenty of milk money in her account and could have milk whenever she wanted.
A month and a half into school, I was on a trip with some girlfriends and got a notification that her account had been used. When I called home that night to say goodnight, I asked her about what she got (honestly to make sure she hadn't been charged in error) and I could just SEE the horns rising out of her head when she said, "I got chocolate milk. Every day. Because I wanted it."
When dd1 was in K, there was a calendar for bringing in snack for the whole class. It worked out to about once/month. It had to be from the snack safely list or a fresh fruit/veggie. The teacher’s rationale was that the classroom was nut free and she didn’t have time to check 20 different snacks each day (even if though there was no sharing, cross contamination could happen). It was ok, most days ended up being goldfish, pretzels or Oreos. It was nice not having to worry about packing a snack every day though. Dd2 had the same teacher, but there were no allergies in her class so she brought her own snack each day. I no longer worry about the food they eat at school (or birthday parties or play dates)and just try to make sure they eat balanced meals at home. Also- when I think back to the crap we ate as kids, goldfish crackers suddenly look pretty healthy. 😂
I think those of us who have older kids who have been in school awhile definitely have more perspective on issues like this. Just an observation. One snack a day is not going to be my hill to die on, especially knowing how much my kid's public school and teachers already have to deal with.
I was just thinking about how much more chill I am now that my kids are older. Yes I want my kids to eat fruits and veggies and limit eating junk. I make 2/3 of their meals a day. I make sure they are served well rounded meals when I can. I’m not going to fret over one snack a day or lunch. My kids have lunch money and can eat anything they want for lunch when I’m not there. My goal is to teach them good nutrition and to listen to their body and their goal is to use their lunch money to buy lunch and eat it.
Because goldfish might not be a fruit or veggie but it’s not like making kids eat Oreos every day for snack.
Oreos and goldfish really aren’t that different from a nutrition standpoint. It’s not wrong to want to avoid a daily processed snack and offer an alternative that meets the rules.
Well then send Oreos ::shrug::
I’m sure my dentist would totally be fine with me feeding my kids Oreos daily.
I try to aim for protein heavy snacks. Or at least pair something like fruit with milk in a thermos. Shelf stable stuff is just not filling. It's fluff. Or loaded with sugar.
I would suggest fig bars, but ONE bar in the pack is a serving, not both.
You can buy reduced sugar Quaker granola bars.
Nature Valley granola bars (in green wrapper) are nut free. But I think that 1 bar in the pack is also considered 1 seeing.
Goldfish and Cheez-Its are low sugar, a little high in fat, and have SOME protein. So I would probably go that route. Pirates botty or Skinny Pop is another option.
Why can't everyone just send their own snack on a daily basis? Sometimes I even load DS up on calories and protein at school if I know we have a crazy afternoon / evening of activities and I plan for a light dinner.
Sorry, I'm laughing at this. My kids almost always eat both fig bars. We've switched to Z bars now, and DD's favorite are the Protein Z bars and what we're sending in with her for snack. The main drawback is they're expensive and not 100% nut free (it says "may contain", since some of the flavors have nuts).
Ok. Laugh.
But 2 fig bars (one pack) contains 20 grams of sugar. That’s insane. My kid is crazy when he eats sugar. We eat our share of treats and ice cream at home, on weekends when we’re out, and when we have friends over. But I do not send much sugar in his lunchbox to school. (I’m sure he would be running laps around his classroom.) A few chocolate chips in the sweet compartment of his bento box, an occasional apple sauce pouch, Quaker granola bar, or even a mini chocolate bar after Halloween.
He’s also not naturally skinny, despite being active and doing extracurricular sports. 2 fig bars in his lunch box isn’t going to happen. I was more lenient when he was a toddler and growing like a weed.
You do you.
But I don’t want someone else making decisions about what my child eats 5 days a week.
Sorry, I'm laughing at this. My kids almost always eat both fig bars. We've switched to Z bars now, and DD's favorite are the Protein Z bars and what we're sending in with her for snack. The main drawback is they're expensive and not 100% nut free (it says "may contain", since some of the flavors have nuts).
Ok. Laugh.
But 2 fig bars (one pack) contains 20 grams of sugar. That’s insane. My kid is crazy when he eats sugar. We eat our share of treats and ice cream at home, on weekends when we’re out, and when we have friends over. But I do not send much sugar in his lunchbox to school. A few chocolate chips in the sweet compartment of his bento box, an occasional apple sauce pouch, Quaker granola bar, or even a mini chocolate bar after Halloween.
He’s also not naturally skinny, despite being active and doing extracurricular sports. 2 fig bars in his lunch box isn’t going to happen. I was more lenient when he was a toddler and growing like a weed.
You do you.
But I don’t want someone else making decisions about what my child eats 5 days a week.
Yeah, they do have a fair amount of sugar, I wasn't even thinking about that. It's more about portion size - my kids eat big portions. I get that not all kids eat big portions, and that it's going to vary by kid and what the rest of their life is like. I wasn't trying to laugh AT you, I just thought it was funny because of how much my kids regularly eat.
But yeah, I'm not cool with communal snacks, that's weird.
Post by penguingrrl on Aug 16, 2019 16:53:41 GMT -5
I’ll be honest, I’d be pushing back on this policy. At home my kids don’t do snacks at all. If they want food between meals fruits and veggies are their only option. My kids are big eaters and their meals are more than enough to fill them up. I continue that rule for snack at school and only send a fruit or veggie, end of story (I hear a lot of whining on this from my kids, but don’t care).
I also flat out refuse to buy single serve packaging. It’s an environmental disaster. We use cloth sandwich baggies and reusable containers solely in our lunch and snack bags.
If this policy was for an infrequent thing I would feel differently, but for a daily thing that’s too much in terms of nutrition and environmental impact.
And this definitely isn’t an only mom of little kids thing, my oldest is going into 7th grade in September, so I’ve had a lot of years of school under my belt. I unclenched about a lot, but on this I’m pretty firm.
it is so interesting to me ever year when new parents start kindergarten what kind of snack policies come up. Some are legitimately awful, like my friend whose K teacher said they COULDN'T SEND IN CARBS for snacks. And she confiscated the kid's granola bar as if it were a butterfinger or something. She also said raisins were too sugary and banned them too. Basically carrot sticks was the only acceptable snack, it was ridiculous.
Another friend told me they weren't allowed to send snacks that might create crumbs...
In K we did the send in a snack for the whole classroom once a month thing. We had to send in 27, it was expensive! She was fine with pretty much anything that wasn't a dessert and even had a mini fridge so we could send in fruit or cheese sticks. Then last year we had the same teacher, same policy, but they could also bring a snack for themselves for 2nd snack (one morning, one afternoon). I thought that was a great combo.
This year there is no designated snack time. Kids can bring in a snack or two if they like, just has to be nut free. They eat it at their desk whenever they want to.
most schools here either have you bring a snack for the whole class (can be prepackaged for fruit or cheese) or your kid brings their own snack.
In 2nd grade I have way chilled out about food stuff, plus just in general learning that we need to not be so controlling over our kid's diet and stop restricting foods.
Oreos and goldfish really aren’t that different from a nutrition standpoint. It’s not wrong to want to avoid a daily processed snack and offer an alternative that meets the rules.
Well then send Oreos ::shrug::
I’m sure my dentist would totally be fine with me feeding my kids Oreos daily.
This board is still the same I see.
I’m all for people feeding what works best for their families, not telling people “it’s a bit much” if they want to feed something differently. Some people can’t do fruit snacks/leathers/dried fruit because of dental stuff. Some people’s kids respond differently to sugar. Some people’s kids need more fat or protein in a snack than others. I truly don’t understand being judgy about Oreos over goldfish though. They have almost the same amount of sugar per serving (11g vs 13g). What’s the reason why dentists don’t like Oreos over goldfish?
This year there is no designated snack time. Kids can bring in a snack or two if they like, just has to be nut free. They eat it at their desk whenever they want to.
...
In 2nd grade I have way chilled out about food stuff, plus just in general learning that we need to not be so controlling over our kid's diet and stop restricting foods.
1) I think the first point is amazing. It teaches kids to only eat when they're hungry. I wish more schools had this policy. I'm happy that most schools allow kids access to water bottles all day. I remember being SO thirsty at school and not even being allowed down the hall to use the water fountain between classes.
2) I do not think that wanting to keep sugar out of the classroom is controlling or restrictive. We are in a position to teach healthy eating habits and know our children best. DS knows that sugar makes him crazy. He jokes about it. My kid also won't eat a cheese stick, and would reach for cookies from a communal basket. If they all had to eat cheese, he would be hangry and inattentive. If he self selected cookies for snack, he would be hyper and not focused. He can eat junk at home on my watch. Not the teacher's.
I’m sure my dentist would totally be fine with me feeding my kids Oreos daily.
This board is still the same I see.
I’m all for people feeding what works best for their families, not telling people “it’s a bit much” if they want to feed something differently. Some people can’t do fruit snacks/leathers/dried fruit because of dental stuff. Some people’s kids respond differently to sugar. Some people’s kids need more fat or protein in a snack than others. I truly don’t understand being judgy about Oreos over goldfish though. They have almost the same amount of sugar per serving (11g vs 13g). What’s the reason why dentists don’t like Oreos over goldfish?
I wish I could post a picture. Goldfish have 0 grams of sugar. Follow link here:
In C’s kindergarten class, they all bring their own snack daily. School starts at 7:20 and they don’t eat lunch until 12:20, so C eats a pretty big snack (basically half of his lunch).
They recommend fruits and veggies and request nothing that makes crumbs — they eat at their desks in the classroom and I am fine with the teacher not wanting to clean up crumbs from 18 students every day. We send goldfish and a yogurt tube. I guarantee you that a piece of fruit is not going to keep a kindergartener full until their late lunchtime.
I’m sure my dentist would totally be fine with me feeding my kids Oreos daily.
This board is still the same I see.
I’m all for people feeding what works best for their families, not telling people “it’s a bit much” if they want to feed something differently. Some people can’t do fruit snacks/leathers/dried fruit because of dental stuff. Some people’s kids respond differently to sugar. Some people’s kids need more fat or protein in a snack than others. I truly don’t understand being judgy about Oreos over goldfish though. They have almost the same amount of sugar per serving (11g vs 13g). What’s the reason why dentists don’t like Oreos over goldfish?
Unless I’m missing something, the OP asked about 24 individually wrapped snacks that are shelf stable. I didn’t see anything about the nutritional content required. Perhaps the OP was edited before I read it.
The OP didn’t even seem to have a problem at first, she asked for suggestions. This post took a quick turn to “oh noes not the smiling fish”.
If you want your kid to eat fruits and veggies as snack I would email the teacher and ask if that’s an option. I would ask if it could be made at home and put in a reuseable bag if the environment is the problem.
I think most teachers would let you send in a snack specifically for your kid if you asked.
Communal basket is weird to me. You’ll have kids arguing if someone gets the last of something. Just give everyone the same thing or let them bring their own.
In my experience the snacks sent in are low in sugar. Teachers ask for them to be low in sugar other than bday treats. Most are carb heavy but carbs give energy. We can control breakfast, sometimes lunch, after school snacks, and dinner. The rest I have loosened up about over time. I am just happy our school allows snacks at all. As a kid they banned snacks and water bottles.
I also don’t think schools can win. Either they are too strict or not strict enough. Will vary by parent. So having kids bring their own, while respecting allergies, is the best solution /gavel
I’m all for advocating for better practices. The waste from individually wrapped packages is what would have me in the teachers inbox faster than you can say goldfish. I send snack everyday in a sistema container. When we send bag lunches that have to be tossed I use a ziplock type bags that can be recycled. I try my best but I know I’m not perfect.
I know for my DD they did class snacks in kindergarten because it was mandated by the state they provided them a snack for that grade. So that made it where they knew each kid had a snack each day. By 1st grade it’s not longer mandated so kids pack their own snack factoring in any allergies. In kindergarten, you were allowed to pack a snack for your child everyday if you wanted instead but they’d offer them the group snacks if you forgot.