This has got to be illegal. If not, it should be.

As far as I know, it isn't. My kids are in 5th grade and get 15 minutes to eat lunch followed by a 30 minute recess (often the only one they get during an average day). But they also get time in the morning for a snack. Then again, I don't recall having more than 20 minutes to eat lunch at any point during my primary or secondary education years; but how much time does it take to eat half a sandwich, a small piece of fruit and a few raw veggies with dip?
Schools are steadily cutting recess and physical education classes to focus on the 'more important' math, reading and science classes; next year, they will not get a recess and will have gym only once a week. When, exactly, are these kids supposed to get any physical activity? When they get home, they have 45 minutes to an hour of homework even now in fifth grade. By the time they are done with that, it's time for chores and dinner and with the days getting shorter, by the time dinner is done it's nearly dark outside.
It's difficult to balance education with enough activity already but then you add extracurricular activities and well...guess what goes by the wayside (unless that extracurricular is a physical one like a sport).



When you make sweeping generalized statements, people tend to think you are including them in the same category.

Rocky -- can't help but notice that you are posting this stuff in the "war zone" -- is that a "special forces" thing too? Then, you seem to be annoyed when others post negative or contradictory comments in response......I believe that is what the "war zone" is all about.

There's plenty of reading on the school luch situation in the media section, complete with the expected putting down of any changes being made as "not good enough"...

IMO, most schools I've personally dealt with either as a student or a parent seem to be trying to do the best they can with the resources they have.

How long has the issue for human beings been, "What and how much will I eat this meal?" as opposed to, "Will I find/kill enough to eat so I will live today?" I think blaming parents is a little short sighted. The abundance we have now is unprecedented by historical standards; even by the standards that reigned just a few generations ago: we aren't programmed to make consistently rational choices when confronted with plenty. I suspect that it's going to take more than tongue lashing lax parents to solve the childhood (and adulthood) obesity problem.

My youngest son complained about this when he was in Grade 1 and now, unfortunately, has had to learn to eat faster. They get a certain amount of time to eat and then they HAVE to go outside - no choice on when - so if he's not finished, too bad. I agree that they need the exercise, no argument here on that, but then they're not allowed to bring anything that would have garbage - in other words, they can't bring anything in a baggy or with a wrapper or even an apple because of the core, a banana because of the peel, etc. They had a problem with garbage so they can't bring anything outside. I get it but I think they should have added 5 minutes onto lunch to give them time to eat! They want the kids to focus and pay attention in class - hard to do if they aren't eating enough, right? I try to pack things that he can take outside without wrappers - cheese stick (peel it before going outside) 1/2 sandwich - hold in his hand, I've even given him raisins and nuts and told him to put them in his pocket

The worst of it is teaching them to gulp down their food - sure, it doesn't take that long to eat but when they're little it takes longer than when they're older, we don't want them to choke, and they're always more interested in socializing instead of eating at the best of times

I think it's fair to blame parents when they're younger (I'm a mom of 3) and somewhat when they're older because some of their decisions are based on what they've learned but then they get to the point where they're out there on their own and parents aren't there to supervise (they shouldn't be, anyway). My motto is to raise my kids the best I can and set them up for the best possible outcome in life and then let them free to put those teachings into practice and hopefully it all goes well. My oldest 2 are 14 and 16 and we're at that point now.... *grey hairs, chewed nails and all *

Don't worry, Nicole. My daughter is 20, and I survived. She even ADMITS I was often right...

I gave up the fight two years ago at my son's middle school. 15 minutes to get lunch and eat (usually 10 minutes in line and 5 to eat). So he ate bagged lunches all year. He was overweight already, and by the end of 8th grade, obese. I packed the things my mom packed in lunches. We were obese too, and totally frustrated. (Still obese, but not totally frustrated anymore.)

I started Atkins the last week in April. He started one week later. I showed him an Atkins testimonial of a teenager who lost 100 pounds, and he was hooked. I started this year sending lunch -- just too boring. Sandwich on 1 carb raisin bread with a thin coating of peanut butter and sf jelly. Cheese sticks, veggies, a Carb-right cereal bar. Not that much you can pack in a HS kids' lunch -- they want to blend in. I thought of lots of things, but they weren't cool for one reason or another. Now he's going after the salad bar every day. He'll burn out on that, too. Then we'll try something else.

He's still growing, and even if he drops moderately and keeps exercising, he should grow into his weight. He is 15, in marching band and plays tennis a couple of times a week. I figure I've given him two things - awareness of what he eats, and the tools to make it happen if he wants to succeed. We are all lo-carbing at home, so dinner is controlled, breakfast is controlled. We just don't make a big deal of "what did you eat today -- good boy or bad boy, how much did you lose?" Food is food. Your choices are yours. Eating disorders come from putting too much emphasis on food. I spent a childhood hearing that at home -- I won't give my son those memories.

Gee, I didn't admit that until I was at least 25...maybe closer to 30

thanks, Tater!

I know that there's a difference between Canadian and American schools when it comes to cafeterias and lunches. We don't have cafeterias in elementary schools (Kindergarten - grade 7) and there's only 1 machine and it only has juice and water and it's right by the office and they can only buy things at lunch and after school. Then, in high school, there's a very small cafeteria with a limited selection (mostly junk but also salads), prepared by the students who are enrolled in a cooking/cafeteria course, and only the fastest get anything. Otherwise, everybody brings bagged lunches or goes home for lunch. We're less than 2 blocks from the school so DS1 and his friends come here and DS will make something and the other guys will bring their lunches, sit back and relax and eat, watch TSN and go back to school. They do have vending machines but there's a health initiative going thru the schools and the machines will all be removed over the next year Very, VERY rarely I'll give my 2 older boys $ for a soda, otherwise they have to spend their own and they're just too tightfisted to waste their $

Just from what I've read and seen on TV , it seems like American kids have a lot more access to fast food/prepared food at school. Is that true???

Oh, once every couple of months there will be a 'hot lunch day' at the elementary school and they send home an order form, you fill it out and include the $ and send it to school and on that day they'll have hotdogs or personal pizzas.

I still find it horrific that the amount of time for lunch is so limited.

I'm feeling like my kids were pretty spoiled, even if the lunches weren't nutritionally ideal... they get a half-hour for lunch. Our schools have breakfast, too. I prefer to have Steven eat breakfast at home, since it's usually pancakes, cold cereal, bagels, and such... and he needs his food with his meds, especially protein (it seems to make it easier on his stomach). The pop machines are turned off during the school day, except the juice and water one. One day a week is "bake sale day" for the classes to have a fundraiser, otherwise food isn't allowed anywhere but the cafeteria. We don't even have a fast-food restaurant in the COUNTY, since we're so far in the boonies. That's a pretty good thing, actually.

The middle school I teach in has not quite 1,000 students, 38 minutes for lunch, 2 a la carte wagons, 6 food lines outside the multi-purpose room (the wagons and those food lines are for the kids who pay for lunches) AND 2 lines inside the MP room (for free and reduced lunch students or paying students). Everyone gets through the line--which means, gets food--in 10 minutes. That gives the kids 28 minutes to eat and play.

We offer lots of junk, true (not as much as in days gone by, when the only thing people could get at recess was giant cookies), but we also offer a lot of healthy choices. Last year, as an experiment, the district set up an "alphabet salad" day--giant salad bar with something that started with each letter of the alphabet (and no, I don't know what they did for X.) HUGE success, but too expensive to continue. <sigh> I agree with Tater: they really are doing the best they can with what they have. I don't know about other places, but our food services group has to make do with under $2.00 a day per kid, including breakfast, snack, and lunch.

Jude

...Especially when the culture can't agree on what's healthy. I feel like our choice to go lo-carb was the best thing that ever happened to our family. But it totally butts against the USDA. No servings of breads and cereals, etc. -- maybe an occasional lc tortilla or piece of very lc bread. Some veggies, no fruit, lots of meat and eggs, light on the dairy. Way more fat than the USDA preaches. And we're losing weight. Our family has lost more than 100 pounds together now. If we still were doing the traditional meat, potatoes, bread, cereal, milk, fruit and veggie thing, we probably would have lost nothing and gained 20. This isn't a diet, it's just eating differently for life.

Just finished reading through all the posts on this thread, and now considered myself warned! DH and I don't have any children yet, and though many things come to mind when I think about the responsibilities and challanges of raising children, never once did I think about teaching my kids to eat quickly so they can get their school lunch down! Of course, by the time we have kids and by the time they are in school, who knows what the rules will be. Anyway, I really appreciated hearing the concerns of parents and what they have done to ensure their children eat healthy meals. I myself was raised in a family that didn't have a microwave until I was about 10, and we rarely ate out. Even on roadtrips, we would usually just stop at a grocery store and get sandwich supplies. The main reason for the way we ate was because of finances, but I realise now that it was a blessing in disguise! I grew up on a dairy, so most of our meat, dairy, fruit, and vegtables were all fresh and organic. I really miss these, now that I live in town. One of the main things I worry about is the hormones in meat and dairy products. Does anyone have thoughts regarding this matter? I especially am concerned about a daughter getting too many hormones from food.......I've heard, and maybe it's not true, that is one of the reasons girl's periods are starting at younger and younger ages.