https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:56:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311966 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 15:33:06 +0000 littlejoy 2311966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think all of the food (even the pretzels and goldfish) sound like junk food. Our school offers healthy snacks, which has been a huge relief. I have a printable monthly menu I'd be happy to send to you, if you'd like a list of ideas. It wouldn't hurt to email your concerns AND have a solution (like food suggestions). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311929 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 14:46:36 +0000 looch 2311929@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would still speak to the director, assuming there is one. The teacher might feel defensive and I wouldn't want to risk that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311884 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 14:11:07 +0000 littleveesmommy 2311884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@brownie: Definitely lucky he is not ANA to his allergens! I'm glad you found a solution. We are currently working with my daughters school to make sure proper food allergy care is in place (it's a private school so they are not as great as public schools are, oddly enough). My daughter is ANA to peanuts and tree nuts so the two incidents were totally not acceptable. But I think the principal / teachers seeing me crying and sweating when I booked it to the school in 10 minutes (biked and ran) after she ate unknown food during a birthday party brought the message home to them. Not cool. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311842 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 13:47:47 +0000 brownie 2311842@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littleveesmommy: yup. It's on the wall but it was different teachers so they didn't think about it. They will after I "caught" them. And we updated his name tag to have "food allergy" on it so everyone knows. It's a college cdc so there are the teachers, subs, interns, and child dev students. So it was the best solution to the problem. Luckily he isn't ANA to anything just intolerant. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311825 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 13:27:40 +0000 Trailmix 2311825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I cannot believe that there are preschools who provide junk food for snacks! I'm not hardcore about healthy eating, my kids get treats here and there but I would absolutely not be ok with them getting those kinds of snacks at school on a daily basis. No way. Mine get a banana at the preschool they are at now. I would definitely raise a fuss about it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311770 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:43:43 +0000 littleveesmommy 2311770@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would approach the teacher in a way that asks why the change in snack type from last year then express that you typically limit sweets/junk to special occasions. Also see if you can offer to bring in snacks for the class or even if you can pack a snack for your LO. DD1 has food allergies so I packed a lunch and snack for her for daycare and now for preschool. When I found out what the daycare served for snacks I was glad I was packing my own - the list included Ho-Ho's. Yup………</p> <p>@brownie: that's crazy that they offered your LO a cookie without checking ingredients! Are the teachers aware of food allergies? My daughters preschool is well aware of her food allergies and her Epipen, and on one occasion offered her something that was laced with an allergen without asking. Luckily that particular one was not a nut but the snack came from a nut facility. I made it a point to speak with the teacher and principal about it, and they put better procedures in place for her class. Then last week another incident happened. It's so frustrating when it happens because childcare providers should be well versed in how to handle food allergies! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311517 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 08:52:54 +0000 kiddosc 2311517@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Whether or not the director picks the snacks, it is their job to make sure that the whole school is running well. I would speak to the director about it rather than the individual teacher. Perhaps if the director hears it enough they will be willing to put a policy in place about which snacks are appropriate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311514 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 08:51:43 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 2311514@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Like @misolee: I wonder about the teacher providing the snacks. Does she buy them/choose them? That seems like a strange system for a preschool. When reaching out to the teacher, maybe you could frame it/suggest creating a parent-provider snack system? Parents could rotate donations from a list like previously mentioned. If all else fails, insist you send your child's own snack. Food is not usually high on my concerns list, but I would not be okay with that amount of junk for my kid on a regular basis! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311479 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 08:30:49 +0000 LulaBee 2311479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our preschool serves lunches from public school system and does junky snacks too. I have always sent DD's lunch, but tried letting her eat school snacks. I walked in on her eating Fritos too many times, so now I send morning and afternoon snacks. I may talk to director at some point, but for now it's not a huge extra step for me to pack snacks every day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311466 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 08:19:20 +0000 brownie 2311466@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So even with a dr note they feed him stuff they shouldn't (luckily it gets him out of most sweets brought in because they don't have labels). The other day I walked in and sled if his glass had almond milk and the tracer looked at me like i was crazy. He doesn't get milk. Then later the same day was a birthday and they had cookies and I walked in right as Logan was given one. There were no ingredients. I talked with his teacher and now his name tag says food allergy on it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311435 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 07:32:17 +0000 regberadaisy 2311435@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I have a problem with what the school is offering I have no problems telling the teacher so. When my daughter was younger I would simply tell them she gets no sweets (cookies, cupcakes, etc). But now that they're older that will be harder to achieve. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311369 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 05:02:58 +0000 brownie 2311369@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The doctors note is because the school gets paid back for the food they provide. It is based on the food pyramid (which is not necessarily and end all be all but that's what they use). So to deviate it has to be a medical situation instead of a preference.</p> <p>I get around the carby snacks but not providing carbs for lunch. And he pretty much gets meat at lunch only. It's rough because he does have medical exemptions for milk and soy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311353 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 02:24:59 +0000 misolee 2311353@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just a thought but I've worked at a preschool for several years and I'm kind of wondering the reasoning behind the sweet snacks and came up with some possible ideas. </p> <p>1)is the teacher young? If she's young and not a mom yet, the quality of the food might not be in her radar. You could you offer suggestions on what kids will like that's not as sweet </p> <p>Or another thought I had was...do the teachers provide snack with their own money? Bc if they are, then she might be picking up whatever is cheapest. Maybe offer to bring in a snack?</p> <p>Our preschool had a snack calendar rotation by parents. We had to give them a snack list and asked Parents not to deviate. 90% of the time, it was goldfish :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2311309 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 22:53:45 +0000 serenity207 2311309@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gracecat - "in this day and age..." - my thoughts exactly!</p> <p>@blackbird - that's crazy that you would need a doctor's note to provide healthier food! </p> <p>Thanks again for the thoughts, everyone. It looks like each classroom has its own snack so the snacks are not determined and consistent at a school-wide level. So my next step will be reaching out to the teacher! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310517 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 06:58:52 +0000 blackbird 2310517@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd talk to the director about it. I toured a bunch of preschools and all but one offered really shitty food to the kids (cinnamon rolls, cookies, and pretzels, all in one day....regularly....fruit was offered 5x that MONTH) and I was welcome to send my own food to some of them. Some of the other ones told me I'd need a doctor's note... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310506 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 06:33:44 +0000 looch 2310506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would talk to the director first. At our preschool, all the classes get the exact same snack. I have no idea how it's coordinated, to be honest. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310505 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 06:30:33 +0000 gracecat 2310505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes I would definitely talk to the teacher in charge and offer to provide healthy options once in a while. It's your kids' health and in this day and age, I'm surprised she thinks Oreos and regularly giving processed snacks is ok! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310496 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 05:43:04 +0000 MamaCate 2310496@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@serenity207: if your school is licensed/accredited/regulated in some way it might be worth checking if there are rules about the snacks. My LO's school has to follow health department rules about the nutritional content in the food provided, like so many fruits per week, whole grains, etc. This does end up being whole grain goldfish crackers at times but also banana and cut up broccoli, yogurt, quesadillas and other things with some nutritional value.</p> <p>You could also mention the change from the previous year and ask about the reasons for the changes. I think it is reasonable to want to limit sugar and to be able to give treats at your discretion!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310491 Mon, 05 Oct 2015 05:17:54 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2310491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@serenity207: I would talk to the teacher. But if you're packing a lunch, could you just also pack a snack? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310464 Sun, 04 Oct 2015 23:26:17 +0000 serenity207 2310464@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@simplyfelicity - thanks for the feedback! I definitely don't want to stir up trouble or create a situation where the teacher feels ganged up on by talking to other parents so I don't think I'll go that route but I'm honestly a little curious if anyone else feels bothered by this or if it's just me. I'm addict snacks to my Costco shopping list. :)</p> <p>@Baby Boy Mom - sorry to hear you're in the same boat! It would definitely be nice for their snacks to be less carb heavy but I do understand the snacks have to be allergy (allergen?) safe, affordable, easily stored/prepared and something most toddlers would eat without a fight. So I'm okay with pretzels, goldfish, crackers, and the like. I just don't see the need for the excess sugar and oil/salt (fried chips, etc.). Hoping things work out for the both of us! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310422 Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:42:04 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 2310422@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are in the same situation where food is provided by the school and it is way too carb heavy for my liking. I honestly think they give cookies as a snack because they know kids like it (won't complain) and it's cheap. :/ For the time being, we've just been upping the veggie intake at home but I will at some point go in to talk to the director. ( I just have other things that I wanted to address first and don't want to come in all at once with everything). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310408 Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:14:31 +0000 simplyfelicity 2310408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am not a preschool teacher, but I would rather have a parent email me their concerns than have a group of parents discussing this without my knowledge. Chances are, it just hasn't occurred to the teacher or maybe that's what people are donating? I think offering to supply some healthy snacks would be great. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-would-you-handle-this-situation-1#post-2310403 Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:10:46 +0000 serenity207 2310403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Overall, we love our daughter's school but I have concerns about the snacks the teacher is providing this year (teacher/school provides snack, kids bring lunch). Last year, my daughter had the usual pretzels, goldfish, crackers, etc. for snack with the occasional cookie here and there or birthday treats if a student brought them in. This year though, it seems sweets/junk food are pretty consistently given. For example, some of her snacks on a regular basis are Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, fruit snacks, and corn chips. I feel that's unnecessary and excessive in the sweets/junk food department for prek children. Our kids do get treats like ice cream and chocolate chip cookies at times, but they're considered a treat and we prefer that they don't get them every day. Plus, this may sound silly and selfish, but I feel like if she's gotten cookies at school already, I shouldn't give her more at home and I like to have a treat with her once in a while for fun.</p> <p>What would you do in this situation? Do I talk to other class parents and see if this is a shared concern? Do I approach the teacher in person? Email her? I want to be able to talk to her about this without embarrassing her and while putting her at ease. Would it be helpful to bring in some healthier snack choices so that I can help contribute that way? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! </p>