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.

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.

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.

"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

No food policy... BAH!!!!

Too many go to the extreme; like eating one to ten cupcakes (or even 30) a year at school is somehow going to make child only eat junkfood, make stupid nutition choices and get fat

Education is supposed to be fun too!!!!

I realize their are a myirad of allergies, reasons etc. An they shouldnt be exluded (alternative can be made)

To punish a whole class because others are obese, have allergies, etc is just plain nuts. (no pun intended)

Lets educate our kids but shelter them from the real world (life IS Not FAIR or Equal) is nuts, too. (also no pun intended)

Both of my sons are sensitive to food dye, it causes marked changes in their behavior and we've eliminated it from their diet at home. At school however, it's up to them to be careful because most of the teachers either don't believe us or won't take the time to watch what they are eating (and probably also because treats are given at the end of the day, so they don't actually see how it affects them). Our older son is very good about this, he knows what he can and can't eat, but our youngest loves to get something that is "forbidden" when we aren't around to stop him;if we had a no treats rule I wouldn't need to worry about him having foods that adversely affect him.
SHOULD he be self monitoring? Of course,but how many 7 year olds are, especially when it isn't something life threatening?