A student in a friend's classroom has VERY health conscious parents... to the point that the child is rewarded with a trip to the dollar store if she brings home the candy that the teacher gives her as a reward. The child likes sweets and wants to eat like the other children, so she has been caught going through the trash can pulling out Goldfish and popcorn and EATING it. (Yuck, right?) She even takes candy from the teacher without telling the teacher. I was wondering what kind of advice I should give this teacher to give the parent. Are they setting their kid up for an eating disorder? The girl is only 7...
Parenting - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Yes the parents are being far too strict by not allowing some sweets. They are only making it more desireable for the child by making it forbidden. I don't know if getting the teacher involved by telling the parents will help...it may make them even firmer with the child and they could resort to having the school report back to them if they see her eating something they disapprove of.
2 :
the child isnt being a child a balanced situation is needed with candy for certain times. candy isnt a punishment its a reward and the kid thinks that she is being deprived of the reward. the parents and the child both need to be educated by a teacher
3 :
my feelings on this are mixed....a) the parents are being responsible and trying to teach the child good, healthy eating habits and should be praised for it. b) they are her parents and as such have the right to raise her anyway they choose so long as they maintain the childs health. that being said, i also believe that a child should be taught moderation rather than over restraint. as others have noted in previous posts, a child who is not allowed ANY junk food only wants it more....its the forbidden fruit. as parents with teenagers know, anything you tell a child NOT to do is always the first thing they DO when they are out of the parents sight. and it feels sooooo good to get away with it that they tend to overindulge. the parents should try giving the child a treat a couple of times a week and teach her that its ok to have it IN MODERATION. but that is only MY opinion. if the parents are unwilling to try this method, then the teacher should respect their wishes and not give the child the candy. but the parents also need to seek some advice from a doctor or therapist on how to get their daughter to stop eating from garbage cans....that's unhealthy and unsanitary. EDIT: is there any chance there is a medical reason the parents do not want her to have sugar?? diabetes or something? adhd? hyperactivity disorder? sugar can have major impacts on those disorders....
4 :
Please do not jump to conclusions. The child may have Prader-Willi Syndrome. Prader Willi Syndrome would cause kids to always feel hungry and eat out of the garbage, or the child might have diabetes. In either case the parents would be saving the childs life. Check out Prader-willi syndrome on the web.
5 :
If the child is on a sugar free diet, including abstaining from artificial sweeteners, processed flour, and "-ose" substances, then she will not crave sugars and will in fact be sickened by them. So she is getting sugar from somewhere, but is not getting enough to sate her addiction, (yes sugar is the second most addictive substance on earth, the first being oxygen). This has caused her to resort to "junky" behavior, including stealing and eating garbage. The parents need to sit down with the teacher and discuss their child's diet. They cannot be depriving the child of sugar at home and then have the school letting her have sugar.
6 :
I have to agree with 4x the fun on this one. My first child, I did not allow candy or sodas, he had his own drawer at the bottmom of my frig filled with string cheese, applesauce, jello, pudding and fruits and my mom with always not respect my wishes and give candy to him, now he is not much on candy or sodas as a teenager. My second child, I allow her candy and her father allows her soda and she just can't get enough of it. She is addicted to it. But she also will eat any vegetable you can give her and my son won't. Taking a child to the dollar store to get some junk toy is not an award. Maybe you should recommend to your friend buying the class cut apples, bananas or grapes so that the child does not feel the need to dig threw the trash and on the same note does not trample the parents wishes.
7 :
if i were the teacher, i'd just tell the parents what's going on and let them decide what to do with that information. and i'd tell the kid that they're not allowed to take food from the trash and explain why. but i'd also stop handing out sweets as a reward at school! why wouldn't school want to be teaching good eating habits? not that i think kids should never have sweets, but i certainly don't want my kid thinking every time you behave or get a good grade you should eat something bad for you....
8 :
the parents are whackos. give the kid a candy or two.
