It has already started: the dreaded snack emails. Am I the only mother that detests being mandated to supply junk food to my child after he finally burns a few calories?
Another typical kid coming off the soccer field…
“Oh, but the kids just love it!” I hear. They would love having ice cream for dinner, too, so why stop there?
“Oh, a little treat isn’t going to hurt them!” Is another point of view. If only it were that ONE treat we had to deal with. Now you are encouraged to bring enough treats for siblings too. We have four kids and have an average of 4-6 games a weekend! On one special occasion, after consuming an untold number of fruity snacks, my son thought something was really wrong when his bathroom deposit was blue. Egads! How about hardening of the liver due to over consumption of high fructose corn syrup?
Treats have become the standard American reward system. Treats for good grades, treats for nice manners, treats for going potty on the toilet…do we really need to continue this illogical tradition of rewarding physical activity with calories? Do you treat yourself to a juice box and bag of chips after breaking a sweat?
So, to all you snack-list-making-moms out there, I give you five good reasons we need to stop the soccer snack madness:
1. They are eating more calories that they burn
How many calories do you think my five-year-old burns playing soccer? Taking into account actual playing time, intensity, and weight…about 80. (Check out this site) Yes, less than a low sugar granola bar. So, the argument that we are replenishing our children’s used glucose stores isn’t very compelling. Add a Capri Sun or Gatorade, and you have a potential weight gain scenario. While your child may not have a weight issue, it is an epidemic in America. Childhood obesity has tripled over the past 30 years and has no sign of slowing down.
2. It engrains a “Pavlovian” response
This has already happened in our house. When I asked my son today how his soccer game went, his FIRST response was, “Bad. They forgot to bring snacks.” I am not making this up! Do you think, as a man, he’ll have an unidentifiable urge to eat goldfish after running on the treadmill? He might already be ruined. Perhaps I’ll send him to behavior therapy to disconnect the sweat-gut connection.
3. It is unhealthy
Here are the top snacks I see around the fields: fruit roll-ups, cookies, doughnuts, goldfish, granola bars, and graham crackers. And that doesn’t even take into account the sugary drinks. There may be the occasional mom who cuts oranges and organic apples, but more often than not the snacks are JUNK! They are highly processed and full of chemicals, sugar, HFCS, and trans fats. Rather than requiring the snacks be healthy, JUST DON’T HAVE SNACKS! The kids will survive that 20-minute drive home.
4. It can be unsafe with increasing food allergies
With the ever-increasing issue of childhood food allergies, we have to be very careful what we put out there. Nuts, wheat, and dairy are in almost everything. No mother wants a child to feel left out, but more importantly, no one wants an accidental allergic reaction from handing out Oreos. Especially when the kids come at you, like a pack of wild hyenas, grabbing bags of Scooby Snacks like it was their final meal before Judgment Day. One unintentional Nutter Butter munch and a kid could be sent to the Emergency Room.
5. Remembering to pick up snacks is a pain in the arse
What more is there to say? Please, spare me another item on my “to do” list. I can hardly remember to pick up milk, let alone 4 boxes of Juicy Juice….
Amen!
Amen x 2
Thank you for posting this, Lina. I hope I’m not the only one in agreement with you. Unfortunately, this continues through high school and college. After pledging her sorority, my daughter was continually “treated” all semester long by her pledge mom and sisters, although in this case there was no physical activity. On one occasion, she was brought an entire (full size!) chocolate cake, and it wasn’t for a birthday. The bright side: they do actually start to get it eventually. Stand firm in knowing you are correct, mom!
Ha! I remember gaining that freshman 15! Food everywhere!
Great post! Too bad parents just can’t bring snacks for their own kids this way those who want to poison their sons and daughters can while others of us who don’t won’t!
Totally, completely agreed. But if you think soccer is bad, try cheerleading on for size. My daughter was signed up for this super-duper “sport” by her stepmom, and clearly, it’s just a venue for getting “stuff.” We not only supply snack bags, but “treat” bags, which have to be filled with party supplies and such.
I wanted to be the mom who just sliced some oranges and called it good, but sadly, only my daughter would suffer (socially) from that act of rebellion! 😉
Well done! I love the “input” from other families about what my kid should eat, when he should eat it, and my favorite, the kind of container in which it should be delivered.
I completely agree. When our kids were in soccer, we brought real fresh fruit, cut bananas or grapes, because we had to, but we thought it was ridiculous. When I was a kid, you had 3 meals and an occaisonal snack, and we were out playing until we were called for dinner. It’s just so wrong to give kids juice boxes and fruit roll ups for playing a little soccer, like they couldn’t have survived without it.
I’m so glad someone finally put these facts in print in one spot! Even when we weren’t required to buy snacks because of the field’s snack bar, they provided each kid with a hot dog after the game. Guess what? He already ate dinner and now it’s an hour before bedtime. Do I really want him shoving that in his face right now?
N. O.
I’m with you! Parents can bring whatever they want for their own kids. My kid can get a big bottle of water for the game and I will feed him on my own time with my own food. Thank you very much.
Love this post! We have been soccer parents for almost 8 years and it wasn’t until we joined a travel league that the snacks finally stopped (I was told “This isn’t rec and ed sweetheart” when I asked if we had a snack list – rude!) I was the mom that cut oranges,apples,grapes…but yes, the majority of parents grabbed what was easy and quick. A box of chips from Costco, Capri-Sun from Walmart. Not only was it a waste of calories – but yes! a waste of money when everyone’s younger sibling would come searching for THEIR snack!
I say boycott! Good luck.
– Emily
So good. Thanks.
I love this post! Although I am not a mother, I admire the fact that you don’t accept every status quo thrown your way. What happened to the sport being the reward? Yeesh!
HA! I survived this with my kids when they played preschool soccer. When my daughter’s athletic career was reincarnated at age 10 with fastpitch softball this was exactly our response when we found out snacks were once again part of the tradition. And lots of times kids had to hurry and eat the snacks so families could get to the ice cream place.
Unfortunately its a bad habit to start, one that stays with until later life. My water Polo team feast on unhealthy snacks after every match, and from the waistlines in our team, it is proof that you can eat more than you burn.
You are my idol. Luckily – our soccer team hasn’t gone that route yet but we just joined our current team. I am anti the snack for all anyway. I will bring what my kid needs -you bring what your kid needs – simple as that. End of season party is different – ok, have your pizza and sugary drink but agreed, we don’t need to force feed the daily bad habit.
Luckily my kid will eat anything but of course he won’t choose that Kashi bar over the oreo’s so I prefer what I bring be his only choice and that’s that. If I feed my kid crap, it’s on me but don’t make me adapt to other parents feeding my kid crap outside of both of our homes. I prefer to be the only one blamed for bad habits thank you very much! When he grows up and I have to pay for his psych bills I only want the doc to hear “it’s my mothers fault” not his soccer teams moms.
Great post. Thanks!
Wouldn’t a carton of chocolate milk be enough of a treat for those who can partake? It’s good for you – especially after exercise – but just enough of a sweet treat that kids would dig it…
unfortunately , i AM that mom…. NOT the one who is assigning snack-tasks to others because i’ve never been her, BUT i am the one to pack goldfish and various other types of crap for my child for AFTER the game…. as a reward, yes.
but, in my own self-defense, my child HATES soccer. and, coming from a father who breathes, eats and dreams it, it’s a never-ending source of conflict. so i coat it with treats. ice cream, story time, extra time at the park…whatever it takes. somewhere in my mind i’m teaching him the more important lesson, which is that we continue to show up at and practice the thing that is the hardest, but i know in my heart of hearts i’m also reinforcing food as the reward. not to mention i’m a type 1 diabetic myself, so there’s that….
thank you for your post. you’ve got my mind ticking… thoughts of how to get the parents to try to work together on this. however, if you never hear back from me again, it’s probably because i’ve lost the battle, and we’re camped out over dairy queen. post-game. :O)
You crack me up! We all have our bribes. Love the honesty 🙂
What about healthy snacks? We were always instructed (yeah, I hated that too) to bring in orange wedges during half time in Football or after the game when the coaches were having a pow wow with the kids. I NEVER appropriated snacks for the siblings. That’s their moms job, not mine!
If the kids need snacks, maybe it should just be left up to the individual’s mom.
Stick by your guns, don’t give in to other parent’s ideas about snacks. What kids eat now may effect them later on in life. Aren’t we suppose to teach our kids healthy habits?
Wow good post. I wasn’t aware how little calories are burned and children sports. The interesting thing–that you actually pointed out, is that Americans do tend to use food as a reward system too often. A juice and a debbie snack is just about 500 calories(if not more) and it does nothing to replenish energy, and is really a waste. I’d say that if we’re going to reward children after a game, why not give them a banana and a small carton of milk?
http://paperforgood.wordpress.com
Man oh man! I couldn’t agree more. It was the bane of our organized soccer lives. I too have 4 kids and standing by and watching them consume all manner of food dye and corn syrup and salty snacks was just too much. We now do family soccer with a few other families. No snack requirements. All ages play together. You can read it about it here…
http://rhythmofthehome.com/summer-2010/slow-family-soccer-mom/
Thank you – nice article!
It doesn’t get much better with college sports. I played basketball in college and on road trips we would stop at Wendy’s, McDonalds, etc. just because it was quick and easy. We once boycotted Wendy’s and demanded another food option. It was a small victory for us.
This post was cute, funny and most importantly you tackle a topic which definitely needs to be handled. You should boycott and only bring healthy snacks and maybe the other parents will come around.
Congrats on FP!
Grrrreat post!! In full agreement with you here. When my girls were in T-ball, and later softball, they were only allowed to bring oranges cut in quarters and fruit juice. I always wondered why the need for snacks. Just water would suffice and the parents can take care of their hunger needs when they get home!
Absolutely! That’s why we grow up thinking we were born with a ‘sweet tooth’. The sweet tooth phenomenon is such a load of rubbish – I read an article saying that junk food is as addictive as cocaine. Shocking!! I have been weaning myself off my sweet tooth – and it isn’t as innate as I though! Now fruit, instead of chocolate will suffice as a snack or a pudding.
Good on ya! Keep fighting
http://www.meandmybiro.wordpress.org
I don’t have any kids, but when I was young we got orange or apple slices, never did we get fatty, sugar coated snacks after a game. What happened to the doctor and dietitian recommenced water and fruit or a small peanut butter snack…I run and after every run I eat something healthy and good ole’ H2O!
Lina-
I absolutely could not agree with you more! The idea of snacks and treats for everything under the sun is doing a complete disservice to our kids. I actually have the same issue with birthday treats at school – yes it is wonderful for the person who is having their birthday but when you multiply that by 40 or so kids plus donuts and all the other “special” treats it seems impossible to try and enforce healthy eating. Due to food allergies and sensitivities in our house we are completely organic and gluten and dairy free so that makes all the outside snacks even more frustrating.
I totally understand where you are coming from, but I dig the after game snacks (we don’t do it after practice). Often after games its home, shower and quickly head to the next thing with dinner on the fly. We parents do take turns and supply healthy snacks. Granola, pirates booty, fresh fruit, etc. along with cold waters.
Perhaps if you can’t get out of the snack brigade you could set the example by providing a tasty but healthy snack not filled with corn syrup, red dye #5, and other snacky evils.
Wow, things have sure since I was a kid playing AYSO Soccer. We always had the same treat–orange wedges. Maybe for a special occasion, we’d get something fancy like frozen orange juice (OJ frozen in a small Dixie Cup with half a popsicle stick).
I really agree, with your point. It’s getting so we can’t have dinner at our house without our kids begging for desert! Growing up, desert was a rare thing, maybe once a week if we were well-behaved.
Totally agree, and thought I was alone in my thinking! The kids are already amped up enough, they don’t need sugar pulsing through their veins. We have to stop the junk food feeding frenzy.
I love you! Thanks!
Interesting post. We are required to provide afternoon snack 1/month for our kindergarten class. The challenge is to bring something remotely healthy and not what other parents are bringing. One turn I brought in applesauce cups after months of cracker.
Bravo!
Did you see that episode of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ that centered on the dreaded snacks for kids? Hilarious.
Just watched part of it – so perfect and side splitting!
Hilarious! Reminds me of an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Next time it’s your turn, bring water and apples… then let us know how it goes 🙂
I am SO with you this one! It’s such an uphill battle though. We all finally agreed last year that by 3rd grade, treats after basketball might be outgrown. Yes, you need water to rehydrate. No you do not heed a sugar OD, too. One time I brought peeled segmented orange slices, which we considered a treat after soccer when I was playing. One or two kids at most took one. The rest (including my dear son) passed….I guess they weren’t hungry? =)
That is exactly what Dalai Daniel would do – and I am his green-smoothy-making mother!!!
I’m in complete agreement with the unhealthy-ness of these after game snacks, I am constantly complaining that fruit snacks are not healthy just cause they have the word fruit in them. As an athlete I understand that it’s important to replace that which is lost, and I just work up an appetite after a workkout…flatout.
So for after the spawn’s swim meets, I usually provide water and some sort of fruit. Understanding that these teenage girls will eat the 1st thing that they see right after a meet, I try and make the 1st option a healthy one. I try not to be a part of the continuing problem, and hopefully help some kid see the joys of great eating that they might not have been exposed to anywhere else.
Wow, I couldn’t agree with you more! Brilliant! If they’ve had a decent breakfast, they can absolutely survive the game with water to rehydrate and that’s about it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this outloud. Our soccer season just started and I’ve been hiding to avoid being put on the snack list. We bring our own snack, thank you very much – and they’re of the orange/apple/whole wheat cracker variety. Oh – and water. Whatever happened to drinking water?
So glad to have discovered you on Freshly Pressed. Congrats!
Thank you! The comments have been so fun to read!
Great post and one I will share. Thanks for putting it so clearly and effectively!
You are so right!! kids should eat healthy!!
love.
summer.
this is an eye-opener to me, because I always remember the tupperware with the orange slices after soccer games from the moms that were sweet enough to bring anything. I usually had just my water bottle and a hug from my parents.
My children are little little, but your post is a great inspiration to curtail the snacks thought process now in my fellow toddler friend mommies.
Well said.
Totally agree with you on this. Too many high calorie junk foods going into kids at the end of a soccer, baseball, football or hockey game/practice.
Congrats on Freshly Pressed!
When I was in school my mom would get me all sorts of snacks to bring in for my lunch. Now, being older, I just recently cut the snacks out of my lunch that I bring into work. I never played any games or anything like that, so my main problem with the snacks was my lunch I had. I bring in yogurt and other healthy stuff instead of chips, even though I get tempted by chips and snacks a lot.
Your post is a bit anal . . . but I see what you’re saying. My kids are just now getting to the age where they are starting to play sports and haven’t run into this yet (starts next month). I think maybe there is a ulterior motive in that there is a sense of socializing and not just loading up and driving away immediately after the game. I do believe the snacks should be healthy . . . my son’s preschool last year required all snacks/treats (even birthday stuff) to be healthy, i.e. fruit, veggies, no junk food. I brought 100% frozen fruit bars for his birthday . . . the kids enjoyed them, but they were within the guidelines. If the rules are set up and enforced at the beginning, people really don’t mind . . .
Hopefully you’re strong opinion will change things instead of just whining about it on here.
Oh, how I have tried! I have reformed some, annoyed others…but this has at least sparked the debate!
What is even worse is that this has now permeated into the workplace. I was a trainer in a call center for many years, and it was expected by the students that you have candy, donuts or some other treat readily available for them on at least a weekly basis. I can’t help but make the connection that this is the Pavlovian conditioning still remaining from childhood.
There are better ways to motivate and reward behavior than food, convincing others of that is the difficult part.
I am with you on this 100%. I hate the dreaded snack e-mail. I’m in agreement with you…my kids can wait until we get home and by the time we get there, they would probably forget that they wanted that snack anyway. Either that or we will eat lunch and move on with the rest of our day.
Good point. Having coached soccer for several years, I’ve discovered that for some kids the sugar bump after the match is what they’re really playing for.
Volunteer to bring water and fruit.
@Laurel – I think the occasional celebratory treat is fine for bday’s but maybe that is me being nostalgic. I actually dedicated an entire post to the ‘death of in school bday cupcakes’ on my blog back in May(http://littlebigboys.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/death-to-cupcakes/#comments) but I do see your point. Even the birhday treat doesn’t have to be entirely unhealthy – there are always alternatives. I think if we all ban together though – we can carry Lina’s message onto the field and refuse to do group unhealthy soccer snacks!
The Dalai Lina is NOT opposed to cake! Especially if it has cream cheese frosting 🙂 Although I see the point about class birthday treats – with 30 kids it gets to be a little much.
I think there needs to be a balance. Healthy snacks are fine (although I still don’t see the need to pay the markup on “organic” fruit when it costs nearly twice as much–I’m not made of money!) although I don’t think it’s needed for children to have a snack right after their game. Sure, they’ll need some sort of hydration–water being the best–but that’s it. Like you said, they can survive the drive home.
I also wonder what’s up with all these food allergies lately–maybe it’s all the junk we’ve pumped into ourselves that causes it. I certainly don’t remember nearly as many kids in my classes growing up 15-20 years ago that were allergic to gluten, nuts, dairy and every other thing under the sun. Heck, I never even heard of gluten allergies from anyone until I got to college and that was only 7 years ago.
Anyway I am certainly not a poster child for healthy eating–I eat unhealthy all the time unfortunately (sadly, buying the prepackaged stuff is cheaper and saves me more time) but I hope to change that when I have kids–it’s incredibly hard though! But who said life was easy? 🙂
The allergy phenomenon is intriguing. It has to be somehow linked to diet, right???
I couldn’t agree more! I also have 4 kids, and get so frustrated with food being a reward for just about anything: playing sports, academic achievement in the classroom (ack!), boredom. And I *love* food! Too bad most of the snacks cannot be considered food. My 10 year old’s teams decided not to do snacks for both baseball and soccer–hooray! If they do have snacks after a game, I feel pressured to bring something for my other kids, which will invariably not be as exciting as the team snack. My 5 year old’s team has orange slices at halftime, AND a snack/drink combo after the game–that’s only 40 minutes of play. Give me a break.
One of my boys has severe food allergies, so snacks are a constant source of anxiety. We’ve always rewarded our children with books, trips to the library, or an in home movie or game night. I just don’t want them to equate exercise or a job well done with mandatory dessert.
You’re absolutely right about this, and I wish my parents thought like you, growing up.
I completely agree, it reminds me of “Approved Snacks” on Everybody Loves Raymond (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeukHLf1V0Q).
That is hilarious! I had never seen that before – thanks for sharing!
This is so refreshing to hear! I taught cooking and nutrition classes at a summer camp this season, and was frustrated to no end when other teachers rewarded their students with candy or soda. Ah!
I am with everyone here, THANK YOU for posting this! The kids I know believe that for every ‘healthy’ food they eat they should get one treat. For instance, for every cup of water they drink they expect a cup of chocolate milk, juice or soda and that for eating a piece of string cheese or some mandarin oranges they should get a cookie. It drives me bonkers! What happened to real fruit (you know, like apples with the peel still on them) and plain milk?! Not to mention WATER!
Thank you for writing a post about this that isn’t hysterical and ridiculous.
When I first started reading, I was thinking, ‘Oh god, another one of these health nuts…’ but I was wrong. You’re just being reasonable, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
Further, why do people have such a hard time saying ‘no’ to their kids? Seriously? Why is it so bad to say “You can have water and orange slices, or you can have nothing.” What, are people afraid to hurt their kids’ feelings? Seriously, stop enabling your kids and turning them into entitled little brats!
(On the other hand, and someone who worked in a public school for 5 years, I’m slightly annoyed with the whole ‘healthy’ campaigns at schools. These kids are not getting fat from one meal a day at school. They’re just not. While I don’t disagree with a healthy meal from school, when is someone going to stand up and state the obvious – Kids are getting fat because of the crap they eat at home and because they play videogames after school. We had to play outside until dinner when I was a kid – no ifs, ands, or buts! And a cupcake for a kid’s birthday in the classroom WAS a treat when I was a kid….not an expectation.)
I am right with you! My son played baseball and basketball last year and I really just wanted them to not have the snacks. I think it’s just ridiculous, seriously. When I played soccer growing up, we had someone cut oranges so we could drink the juice quickly at half time to give us all a burst of energy. Like you, we don’t see that. At my daughter’s first soccer game last weekend, it was gatorade and rainbow goldfish. Blech. Gatorade is not made for children number one, but add in a hefty dose of artificial food coloring on top. I will grudgingly bring snacks when it is our turn, but IF I bring drinks, it will be water, and I’ll do my best to find something that is not sugar/artificial food coloring-laden. Hm, maybe some cut up oranges! Enough already!
Maybe I should cut up apples and oranges for my daughter’s Girl Scout troop when it’s my turn to bring snacks. The girls (and parents too) are so used to junk food that it’ll probably go over like a lead balloon.
In this economy it’s silly to ask someone who is financially strapped to feed the team and their siblings, too. You want snacks for your kid, bring them yourself.
I bet you are right – the kids will look at you like you are crazy! But it is a start!
When I played soccer, we always had orange wedges during half-time. It was more of a way to keep us full as we were still young(this was grade school). I never got a snack that wasn’t oranges, so it just seems weird that all these unhealthy snacks would be passed out. It seems weird.
Totally agree and appreciate this entry. Two years ago when my daughter was in 8th Grade I put my foot down about supplying snacks to my daughter’s basketball team in what was effectively a 40 square mile area during rush hour in the busy DC suburban area. She went to a private school and games could be played at some distant locations. I was the only parent who refused to deliver snacks such as pizza and other heavy snacks before these athletic events. A simple snack bar in the backpack would have been sufficient.
I played basketball as a child for 10 straight years and we were never supplied a snack. Parents routinely overfeed their children and wonder why they have poor eating habits and fight weight issues when puberty sets in.
It’s no mystery.
Thanks again
I’m glad you put your foot down! Thanks for sharing…
Great post, too funny. When I was a kid the moms brought orange slices and water. What is happening in our world today? You know there is actually a kids only gym around the corner from my house, that’s how many overweight children there are. A gym. Just for overweight kids. Unbelievable.
I wish I had the time to comment on every post, but I had to say HOLY COW! What happened to riding bikes and playing outside? It breaks my heart.
When I played soccer in high school on multiple teams, we ALWAYS had orange slices and bananas on the bench during the game. Maybe you could try that instead.
I don’t think that’s near as bad as potato chips and capri sun.
Totally agree — thanks for a great post. We condition our kids to believe that their every activity is deserving of some edible reward. It’s completely ridiculous. How about, after your soccer game, your reward is feeling really good about those two goals you scored … not after your soccer game, your reward is a package of Oreo cookies and a juice box. Love the post, thanks again.
[…] I actually looked at a blog called Dalai Lina and read it for a while. What really drew me in was today’s post on kids’ snacks. This is like my anthem, I swear! I don’t get how people don’t […]
HAHAHAHA….LOVE!
I have the same aversion to snack with regard to my Girl Scout meetings. Most of the time we don’t even do anything that warrants the need for additional calories. But the girls drive me bonkers about snack almost as soon as they enter the meeting. ARGH!
If it was up to me…NO MORE SNACK!
We don’t do treats. It helps that my husband is the coach, so he could suggest it as an option at the beginning of this season.
We decided to try it because last year one of the mom’s on our team mentioned that her other son’s team just didn’t do treats and it was great!
And as someone who has a child with food allergies, it’s just nice that he doesn’t have to feel left out while the other kids eat things he can’t.
well said! nothing like setting your children up for failure by making them run around after a ball and then getting them hopped up on crap after they’re done running.
O.M.G. You are my hero! I have been saying this for years in my community!!! I REFUSE to participate in any of it! Rock on!!
I am not a soccer mom, or a mom, but I write a newsletter for a student writing coaching program and include a section on nutrition for 6-12th graders and love your thoughts. I also jus watched Food, Inc. and…whoa.
Thanks for writing. I’m enjoying your posts/raves.
I hope other parents read this and actually understand. A snack here or there wouldn’t hurt, but if kids are being treated to snacks daily or multiple times daily, it will add up. Obesity, diabetes, um it’s a no brainer! I would suggest sharing this post with @changefood
Thanks for the tip! I’m going to check that out!
YES. GOOD FOR YOU.
I always hated it, too, and I’m a dad.
I’m not a mom, but I have to say I’m glad to see that there are parents who are concerned with what goes in their kids’ mouths. Junk food shouldn’t be a reward for physical activity– or anything at that. It’s sad that healthy food seems to take a backseat nowadays, because it isn’t being hawked on TV by a cartoon character.
Brilliant!
Totally agree!! I refuse to send my daughters to my father-in-law’s church for Summer VBS because they are given junk ALL day. It seems like a lure to get them to want to come back. Great idea, kill them with junk food, but at least they know God. Food should not be a way to entice children to do anything, it’s just not right.
[…] It has already started: the dreaded snack emails. Am I the only mother that detests being mandated to supply junk food to my child after he finally burns a few calories? Another typical kid coming off the soccer field… “Oh, but the kids just love it!” I hear. They would love having ice cream for dinner, too, so why stop there? “Oh, a little treat isn’t going to hurt them!” Is another point of view. If only it were that ONE treat we had to deal … Read More […]
Wow! Thank you so much for the link! Enjoying your videos…
Couldn’t agree with you more. Silly to give out junk after an athletic event!
psst… up at the top… it’s “due to” not “do to”
I love you! Can I keep you around as a proofreader?
Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed! Glad you did because this was brilliant!
I agree 1000%! I gave birth to a healthy boy whom I breastfed and introduced slowly to REAL foods that I cooked in my kitchen all to see it go down the drain with the advent of SNACKS. Now I worry about his weight and I find that ridiculous and appalling.
Another are that irritates the snot out of me is Sunday School. Seriously?! A child can’t go 50 minutes without an animal cracker during church? And if it were actually and animal cracker I’m not sure I would mind so much but a 2 foot artificially dyed gummy rope?
Praise Jesus!
All this to say, “Bravo” and I’m linking this post to my facebook!
To further illustrate the church school thing – our church changed to Monday nights from 5-6 and they still will hand out candy! Nothing like a little sugar boost right before dinner 🙂
To further illustrate the church school thing – our church changed to Monday nights from 5-6 and they still will hand out candy! Nothing like a little sugar boost right before dinner 🙂 And, what an amazing story YOU have! Glad that everything is going well!
My son is a senior in High School and I am so glad those days of “required” anything or almost over! He played soccer for one year in middle school and I remember going through the same thing. Wrestling, too–although those snacks did seem somewhat healthier than the soccer snacks.
I thought it was really unfair to ask parents to do this for another reason as well–the financial burden. Maybe the other soccer moms and dads didn’t have a problem with this, but for everyone to assume I should just be willing and able to provide for a whole group of kids that weren’t mine was not at all fair to me. I was a single mother struggling constantly to raise her two kids. It was enough for me to pay the fees for playing soccer, along with the cost of the uniform, shoes, socks, shin guards, etc. let alone adding to my single burden of feeding everyone! Not nice.
What an excellent point. That should have been #6!!!
Great Post! Thanks for sharing this story. I agree on the fact that a little snack once in a while won’t hurt anyone.
I will never forget eating sugar-soaked oranges during half time of my football games. I never really thought of the downfall of consuming all that sugar. You’re absolutely right, nice post.
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Clearly the majority of respondents feel like the junk food snacking is out of control…….so where are all these crazed-food-obsessed mom’s we have all been forced to bring in snacks for?
Are we all bringing snacks just so our kids will not be ostracised?
I am all about water and apples. Love it or leave it… or take me off the snack rotation. 🙂
Isn’t it interesting. If we all feel the same way, let’s call it a day!
Totally agree! Glad to see it written about! We stopped it when we coached our then 7 year old’s soccer team. We were not popular… some even brought snacks anyway.
We promised a big pizza party at the end of the season… the kids loved it!
Another one out there like me! I abhor The Snack. Throw in there the school party snacks and treats, and the soda and snack machines in some high schools and it’s a mess. It’s all marketing. We’re victims of companies competing for our business. No one sells tasty little snacks anymore. They sell FORTIFIED, HEALTHY, NATURAL, LIFE-ALTERING GOODNESS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. Sheesh. We need to start thinking for ourselves again.
Thanks for this!
I thought I was the only one….
Unfortunately “a little snack once in a while” is NOT the case.
Kids are eating donuts for breakfast in the car on the way to school, soda for lunch AND dessert, and soda in after school care. The teachers reward with candy. The Sunday School teacher serves donuts and chocolate milk and the Children’s Church passes out candy rewards, and that’s all before they meet the church “grandpa” who carries candy in his pocket to give to every kid he encounters each Sunday.
Grandma “treats” them with homemade goodies, birthday parties are sugar fests, and the bank passes out candy.
There’s enough candy at Halloween to last until pumpkin pie is served at Thanksgiving and then the Christmas candy canes tide us over until New Year’s dieting – which fades by the time we’re getting Valentine chocolates. About the time we’re recovered from the clearance Valentines we’re chomping on yellow peeps and chocolate Easter treats followed by end of year parties and and endless sugar summer of ice cream and freeze pops. August rolls around and it’s back to school parties and the cycle begins again.
Every other commercial on TV tempts children with sugar cereal and HFCS “treats” It NEVER ends. Maybe we should stop calling the junk “treats” – it’s not a “treat” when they are getting it all day long, all year long. It’s just “standards”.
Well said! And, bravo on your weight loss journey!
Amen!
Excellent post!! And ab excellent point about food allergies… I work in a school- and you would not believe the number of children with various food allergies and the amount of epi-pens they (hopefully don’t ever) need. I am absolutely CONVINCED it is additives etc creating these allergies…
I feel your pain. I’ve always been (secretly) baffled by it, but conceded that it was a cultural thing that I might as well go along with. Now, I find myself at times with this stupid anxiety about it…What if I forget the snacks???
How silly is that? I mean, its is not like any of the kids on those teams are depending on that snack nutritionally.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I have 5 boys and they all play sports. What ever happened to eating oranges and drinking water. Why are we feeding kids garbage after they exercise? Why also is there a need to feed teenagers this junk after a game? Can’t they wait until they get home?
If you want your kids to have a snack after a game, bring it yourself and stop making me bring it for the whole team! I don’t have time for this. The last straw for me was when my high school lacrosse player told me I had to sign up for snack for his team. Half of the kids can drive themselves to the store to get a snack, and the other half probably have overprotective parents who will make sure their kids get a “treat” after the game anyway. Our kids are way too spoiled.
Well said!!!!!!!!! These are great comments too about VBS and Girl Scouts. My pet peeve are the cookies my daughter must sell to support her troupe. What example is that? If they sell organic veggies or green-good-for-our-Earth products, I’m in. I had to sign my permission for her to sell cookies and felt so mixed up. Yes? No? Should I be the only one of 50 mom’s to boycott? Does it matter? Dilemma that was solved by signing and promptly misplacing the cookie order form….
Sometimes the Universe helps in mysterious ways!
I never realised that this happened! How shocking. You lay out the arguments against the snack practice very well though, and the more people that can be convinced against it, the more children and mums will have a healthier and less stressful experience after games.
It is crazy, isn’t it!
Who are you, Michelle Obama? XD Cuz u sure sound like her!
Ha! I’ll take that as a compliment 🙂
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Another serious issue is Pep Baskets for High School activities such as tennis matches, soccer games volleyball, softball, even Band performances! I am the ONLY mother who has said enough is enough! No! I will not give you $10-$15 bucks to take to the nearest Dollar General and blow on HFCS and processed foods to put in one more basket type container in exchange for same before the event. Stop The Madness! Lina I love your blog!
I have never hear of such a thing! I was hoping in a couple years the candy madness would be over! Jeez…it never ends!