School sweet school

Day Two of 'The Daily Post'.

Writing yesterday’s post about the Pizza Hut Book-It scheme reminded me of how shocked I was when I first arrived in the US at the amount of sweets and treats handed out in schools. I am keeping my ear cocked for the rest of the day after I publish this post, to see if I can hear the sharp intakes of breath, and the tutting, that I suspect it will cause amongst UK readers.

Sweets (candy to US readers) are a usual and acceptable reward for good behavior or work in school. I can’t really blame the teachers. If I was a teacher, and if it wasn’t frowned upon, I’d hand out plenty. I'd like to be popular too. One of my children was in a class when we first arrived here where the teacher gave out small suckable sweets called light sabres, on the basis that they helped concentration. (They turned out to be called life savers – more appropriate for polo-shaped sweets when you think about it.) Then there is the tradition that children take in treats for everyone on their birthday, usually brownies, doughnuts, or cake. Any and every excuse for sweets or cake seems to be taken, and if there isn’t an excuse to hand, well, they just give it out anyway. In my early outraged days, I considered telling the school that my kids were allergic to sugar, but I never did, and as time has ticked by, I suppose I’ve just had to get used to it.

It’s not just the sugar. It’s the food colouring. Take a look at these.

Birthday cake from Dillons.





Hallowe'en - it's nearly that time of year again.









Breakfast cereal called Fruit Loops. Yup, lots of fruit in those.





All considered normal fare for children. Last Hallowe’en, one of my children’s teachers sent home a sheet about how artificial food colouring can affect children. It contained examples, statistics, and websites for further information. It read like a document seeking to persuade people who had never heard anything on the subject before (“We all know that children’s behavior can change when they’re on a sugar high, but have you ever thought about what else might be affecting them in those trick or treat bags?”) Surely the whole thing about food additives can’t be news to American mums?

I thought I was acclimatised (or acclimated, as they say round here), but 5-yo shocked me this week. We were discussing what she liked best at school, and the conversation went like this:

5-yo: I like Art.

Me (swelling inwardly with pride at creative child): What do you like about Art?

5-yo: The teacher gives us all bubble-gum.

Me: All of you?

5-yo: Yes, everyone. It’s only for the Art lesson. We have to put it in the trash when we leave.

Me: Oh. Um. Do you really need to be chewing bubble-gum in an Art lesson? (Not a fair question for a 5 year old, but I was in shock.)

5-yo: Well, she does have RULES about it.

Me: What are the rules?

5-yo: You’re not allowed to put your fingers in your mouth, because that makes them sticky. [Sensible rule in a school where there are reported cases of swine flu, though I couldn’t help thinking that not giving gum in the first place would be better.] And if you want to take it out, you have to ask the teacher first, and then you have to put it in the bin.

What can I say?