PTO Today

"SHOULD he be self monitoring? Of course,but how many 7 year olds are,..."

how many ADULTS are self monitoring????


i think the no food policy eliminates lots of hazards, not every one washes hands before food prep, not everyone stores foods correctly etc etc. and some schools are so afraid of being sued (johnny got salmomella from a home prepared food item from a class party..,...) they start the policies for defensive reasons.

you cant protect kids from everything, but the things schools CAN control, like clean foods at lunch and parties, is the least parents can expect of our schools i thnk.

and who says a party cant be fun without food?

my .02 scents

For my son's second grade class many moons ago, we played games at the different parties.

I tailored BINGO to be GHOST. I made two dice: one with the letters GHOST, with one WILD spot, and the other with Halloween pictures. We rolled the dice to see what space they got to cover.

Another game was Mad Libs to the holiday. Another was a small craft, and the fourth was a bean bag toss game into the Jack O Lantern's mouth and eyes. (Prizes were pencils, stickers, and washable tattoos.)

We had four different stations. Rotated the groups around the stations, and no one even realized that we didn't have food.

You can do so much. The children don't need food to have a great time.

We have a district policy through out our town that clearly states what is allowed. A list of healthy choices. Sure enough, parents are already just doing what they want instead. Bringing in cupcakes for birthdays, even though it is not allowed. Even individual bags of candy to take home go along with it.

Sometimes it is really sad that a few parents can ruin it for the ones who do follow the policy. I wouldn't be surprised if the school district comes to a non food party policy in the future.

If misery loves company ....we have a no junk food policy yet teachers routinely pass out candy to the kids....use it as reward system.

Just saw this article from the NY Times. Our district still allows 'treats' for birthdays and parties but each school's principal can ban certain foods.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/we...23kershaw.html

Thanks for the response, although, a few of you are misunderstanding my intent with the question. I am not ambivalent, as one user called me. I am only asking for OPINIONS, to see how other PTO's handle this. I know the laws, I am married to the Assistant Superintendant in our district. I live with the laws. Thanks to everyone who offered an opinion.

well I guess I am lucky because my school district does not have this "No Food"policy. We normally plan small classroom parties for holidays etc.. We try to offer one sweet snack such as cupcakes and we also always have a healthy snack as well chees & crackers, veggies and dip, gold fish crackers etc.We always send a note home telling the parents about it. i feel if your child has an allergy to something it's up to you to send them in a snack for the party so they will not feel left out. As a child I always had celebrations in school and I looked forward to it and ity was a great treat. I see nothing wrong with an occasional party. Good nutrition should start at home a snack at school will not make a child obese. I also love to send home small candy bags for holiday's as well. If they don't want their child to eat it then they can throw it away when they get home. Children work so hard today they deserve some fun as well!

I COMPLETELY agree. We are a tree nut/peanut AWARE school, and we do all we can to prevent anything from happening to the children who have allergies. As far as the whole obesity issue, it DOES begin at home. I never liked the parties that offer 25 different snacks, but one small treat, and a drink, is harmless. Thanks for your input.

What some of my kids teachers have done is make it known that the homeroom mothers will be organizing the snacks/supplies with the other parents. The HR Mom calls parents and asks one family for napkins, another cups, another plates, we ask for one 'baked'treat, one wrappable treat,a finger food and juice. We do encourage the 'healthy' treats like sausage and cheese (one year my son and I put pretzel sticks in cheese cubes). I have made the calls asking a family for the cups or what ever and they are glad to help knowing they are contributing. The teacher also has informed us if there were any known allergies in the class and we try to accomodate. I would be against a "no Food" policy for class room parties.

At my kids school we have a no food policy for all classroom parties and even have a ban on most classroom parties. We are not supposed to do birthdays, and it is even discouraged on holidays. They have gone as far as to ban all bake sales as well becuse of the health and wellness programs now in effect. We have been coming up wiht other ways to treat the kids to special occasions. It make it easier in a way cause we have several children in our school with severe food allergies, my son included, but it also makes me feel bad cause I remember when i was a kid how much we looked forward to those fun things.