On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District (2nd largest district in the United States) decided that the schools it presides over (approximately 680,000 students in total) would not be allowed to serve chocolate or strawberry milk in the cafeterias as of July 1st.
In an attempt to lower obesity rates in children, the LAUSD decided to take out sugar/flavored milk and put in soy milk along with low-fat and no-fat milks.
I have mixed emotions about this; the libertarian side of my brain is disgusted that choices are being removed from young people, and the over-involved mother/ republican side counters that if you’re dead set on giving your kid chocolate milk just pack it in their lunch. Better yet, don’t rely on the school to feed your kid at all- making lunch for your child not only shows your little bundle of joy that you love them, but also provides a means to ensure they are properly fed a nutritious ad enjoyable meal.
Apparently some parents are concerned that children may stop drinking milk altogether because the only milk they liked was flavored. Institutions such as the American Heart Association, the National Medical Association and the School Nutrition Association have argued that flavored milk has more pros than cons, and adding a little sugar to encourage consumption is justified.
Those who support the ban point out that chocolate and strawberry milk have ingredients such as colorings, flavorings, artificial sweeteners and high rates of sugar which don’t tend to be healthy. Their next targets are soda, chips and other unhealthy products as they continue to create healthier menus for schools.
Chocolate milk ban supporters also say that the presence of sugar makes the consumers develop a “drive” for sweetness, which tend to develop into bad diets. I personally love chocolate milk. If it weren’t so loaded with fat and sugar I’d drink it all the time. That doesn’t mean Nixon is going to be pounding it when she’s older. Sweets are meant to be an occasional treat- not a daily accompaniment with meals.
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Not that my kid goes to public school in LA, or even drinks cows milk, so it really doesn't affect us. But I'm like you, I have mixed feelings about this, just the idea of regulating what parents feed (and do) with their children. As a parents I would like to make my OWN choices, I've had my daughter's school tell her she's not allowed to eat the "candy" I put in her lunch (two Twizzlers) even after she eats the rest of her lunch, because candy is not healthy. Well obviously it irritates me, I didn't give her pixisticks, it was Twizzlers, I put it in her lunch box for a reason, because I intend for her to eat it, and guess what, she will one way or another, if she doesn't eat her Twizzlers during lunch, she'll just eat them on her way home for school.
ReplyDeleteAs far as you saying that parents are worried that kids will stop drinking milk all together if they don't offer flavored... My Aunt and Uncle could never get my cousin to eat cereal or drink milk, so they got in the habit of sprinkling sugar on already sugared cereal and pouring loads of chocolate syrup in her milk... Now she's addicted to sweet things... I mean once you start something like that, it's kinda hard to reverse... With mine, she's gotten used to drinking plain soy milk, she gets vanilla soy as a "treat" and she knows it's a "treat"... Same goes for candy and even simple things like vanilla yogurt, usually she gets plain yogurt and doesn't think anything of it.
I think the thing that surprises me the most about this ban is that they chose to ban flavored milk BEFORE soda and chips. I really don't agree with giving children soda at all... I mean I don't even drink it, there's just something unnatural about the carbonation... I think as far as the chips go, they'd be fine if they offered the baked chips which every brand seems to make now... And even as far as the flavored milk goes, they do make low sugar options... But it's all a matter of how much the school district is willing to pay for this "special" milk. I am a little surprised, and pleased, that they plan to start offering soy milk, which is something I wish my daughter's school would offer. Ok, I'm getting off my soap box now.
--Stephanie
OMG Steph. If I sent my kid to school with a treat of ANY sort and the school told her she could not eat it you can bet your butt I'd be there and they'd hear all about MY parenting rights- I don't know how you composed yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was only playing devils advocate about the chocolate milk or no milk thing- I don't think that by making milk less healthy in order to get them to drink it does kids any favors.
I have a HUGE sweet tooth, and I know I'll have to reign Nixon in early to prevent her from going overboard.