Bit of an issue with teacher.

marley123

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice.#
My little one is in SI & a very happy child @ school however there is one issue in particular which is starting to grate on my nerves. Her teacher this year is a bit of a Health Nut! She has been telling the kids that crunchy nut cornflakes , frosties etc are not suitable for them to eat as WAY too much sugar, this has in turn caused my daughter over the past 2 wks to question everything she is eating & asking if too much sugar in it - we had Pizza on Friday night & she said her teacher said they shouldnt be eating anything that came out of a packet.
Now 6 out of 7 days pw, we have a very balanced diet , lots of fruit & veg etc & TBH really should teacher be ramming down her thoughts down the kids necks, am concerned such a focus on diet etc may escelate to kids developing body image anxieties. HELP how do I deal with this.

Feeona

I think saying that the teacher is 'ramming' healthy eating down their necks is very unfair to the teacher. It's part of the curriculum to teach children about healthy eating. The teacher is teaching a class, and what he/she says is directed at everyone in the class, not just your daughter. You know yourself that you're eating healthily and that's all that matters. It's also great that your daughter is curious about these things, I would talk with her openly about the different things in foods, so you can put her mind at rest that the food she's eating is perfectly safe and that a small treat isn't going to do her any harm.

Big Bag of Chips

My kids SI and 1st class are definitely more conscious of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods now.

They often ask about whether something is healthy or not. I tell them that it's ok to have 'unhealthy' things sometimes, but its very important to eat more healthy things.

Neither of them are overly obsessed, but do mention healthy and unhealthy everyday, at some point!!

I keep it light at home and reinforce healthy is definitely better than unhealthy, but sometimes unhealthy is fun!

thesimpsons

I'm all for teaching children about good eating habits and what constitutes good and bad foods, however, as always, I'd question the teacher's qualifications regarding nutrition. We had situations in past with my children's teachers and school where certain foods were banned by teachers. It went down to no cakes, biscuits, etc but then some teachers went overboard and deemed that a home made bread with raisins in it was unhealthy whereas a plastic ham sandwich was healthy ! Homemade pizzas were banned even though it was obvious they were laden with vegs ! Choc spreads were forbidden but jam was permitted ! Teachers should advise and encourage but I do not believe they should tell anyone what they can and cannot have to eat. What was happening with some children were that they were hiding their foods from teacher cos they were afraid of what might be said about them, and hiding food is never a healthy attitude towards nutrition. other children were not eating anything from their lunch boxes in fear that it was the wrong foods. However, even an unhealthy mars bar is better than a child going a whole school day not eating anything.

What I would do however, is approach the teacher and find out if she is in fact "ramming " it down their throats or what her approach to foods is. If you are still concerned that there is something at odds with a rational healthy approach to all foods, then maybe approach the principal or parents association and see what can be agreed upon.

byhookorbycrook

At that age teacher's word may still be like the word of God.Teacher,in mentioning say-the food pyramid may be translated into something a child takes as a directive.1st port of call is to make an appt with the teacher and talk to her.I'm not saying your little one is tellings fibs, but perhaps taking things too much to heart..

muinteoirA

Frosties and Crunchy nut cornflakes are full of sugar! They are more suitable as a treat rather than breakfast every day. The teacher is not making any judgements on you about what you are feeding your child.
Most schools have a healthy eating policy.

Healthy eating is part of the curriculum for Science and S.P.H.E. Check it out on www.curriculumonline.ie often the children will be asked to discuss what healthy alternatives there could be for sugary cereals, pizza etc and should become more aware of what is healthy and unhealthy.

The fact that your child is aware that her Frosties are full of sugar (as an an example) shows that she has been engaging in the learning process and you should be happy about this.

ShamoBuc

marley123 wrote: »

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice.#
My little one is in SI & a very happy child @ school however there is one issue in particular which is starting to grate on my nerves. Her teacher this year is a bit of a Health Nut! She has been telling the kids that crunchy nut cornflakes , frosties etc are not suitable for them to eat as WAY too much sugar, this has in turn caused my daughter over the past 2 wks to question everything she is eating & asking if too much sugar in it - we had Pizza on Friday night & she said her teacher said they shouldnt be eating anything that came out of a packet.
Now 6 out of 7 days pw, we have a very balanced diet , lots of fruit & veg etc & TBH really should teacher be ramming down her thoughts down the kids necks, am concerned such a focus on diet etc may escelate to kids developing body image anxieties. HELP how do I deal with this.

Maybe the teacher is not a health nut but are covering the food pyramid and what makes food healthy and unhealthy - this will probably happen in every class while they are in primary school - especially at the start of the year.

Crunchy nut cornflakes and frosties are full of sugar - I never buy them because of their sugar content.

Ramming down her thoughts down their necks - just a tad of an over-exaggeration. Her thoughts - are more than likely the healthy eating policy of the school and or curriculum lessons pertaining to same.

Unfortunately some children - or should I say their parents - do not even consider eating healthily and end up unhealthily overweight which of course escelates to kids developing body image anxieties as a result of being obese.

What should you do? Take an active interest in your childs curiousity with regard to food. Next week she might just move on to the next topic that is being taught. I wouldn't worry too much.

Come back in a week or two and update us if you could - it will be interesting to see if things are better or worse.

marley123

She gets them once a wk on a Saturday morning! Thats beside the point though. I had no problem with the Food Dudes Programme " last year - as it was fun & engaging for the kids. . anyhow making an appt to put my mind at rest.

muinteoirA wrote: »

Frosties and Crunchy nut cornflakes are full of sugar! They are more suitable as a treat rather than breakfast every day. The teacher is not making any judgements on you about what you are feeding your child.
Most schools have a healthy eating policy.

Healthy eating is part of the curriculum for Science and S.P.H.E. Check it out on www.curriculumonline.ie often the children will be asked to discuss what healthy alternatives there could be for sugary cereals, pizza etc and should become more aware of what is healthy and unhealthy.

The fact that your child is aware that her Frosties are full of sugar (as an an example) shows that she has been engaging in the learning process and you should be happy about this.

E.T.

Healthy eating is part of the curriculum, it has to be taught. I don't think anybody could argue that the cereals you mentioned aren't full of sugar, it's pretty well known! The way I address the issue of food with infants is by talking about healthy foods and treat foods. I get the children to sort pictures of food, and food labels/packaging into healthy/treat foods. We talk about the importance of eating healthy foods most of the time, but that treats are ok once in a while.

If you are going in to speak to the teacher, can I advise not taking the same tone as in your post and accusing her of "ramming her thoughts down the kids necks"! You don't know what slant your child, or any child in the class has taken on what the teacher is saying. I've had parents come in with off the wall stories that have a completely different explanation in adult terms, and had children tell me totally odd things from home that aren't necessarily true in reality!

Mr.Wemmick

In all fairness here, I think that the OP knows her own child and if her child infers that the teacher has said something in a certain way then I guess she has no choice as a parent to take it for what it is. Most parents have enough cop-on to know when their child has some vague misunderstanding or are fairly accurate when re-telling an event or a conversation. If the OP has had to explain to her child that it is okay to have a pizza on a Friday evening as a treat, then it is clear that the teacher hasn't explained the healthy eating rules fully or effectively.

A vent on a forum doesn't necessarily translate that the OP will go on and rant at the teacher.

A word with the teacher regarding how food can be a treat too would help your child/the class understand a takeaway is okay on the weekend if he/she has home cooked fresh food all week long. Most nutritionists agree that the 90/10 rule is the way to go to help towards healthy eating.

I guess you now have to find out how the teacher explained her healthy eating views based on the curriculum to the kids. Teacher/topic delivery in the classroom is everything and it could be that work based on the topic of healthy eating has not fully begun yet and as a result your child/the class might have only got some info through a brief class discussion over snack time.

I would explain to the teacher your problem over the weekend and ask her to make sure your child understands the treat vs healthy food/ and getting the balance right.

marley123

I happen to know Teacher IS a health nut and the only reason I seem to be putting across a " Tone" is the fact that I don't want my daughter to develop body image problems or calorie counting problems @ 5 years old!

E.T. wrote: »

Healthy eating is part of the curriculum, it has to be taught. I don't think anybody could argue that the cereals you mentioned aren't full of sugar, it's pretty well known! The way I address the issue of food with infants is by talking about healthy foods and treat foods. I get the children to sort pictures of food, and food labels/packaging into healthy/treat foods. We talk about the importance of eating healthy foods most of the time, but that treats are ok once in a while.

If you are going in to speak to the teacher, can I advise not taking the same tone as in your post and accusing her of "ramming her thoughts down the kids necks"! You don't know what slant your child, or any child in the class has taken on what the teacher is saying. I've had parents come in with off the wall stories that have a completely different explanation in adult terms, and had children tell me totally odd things from home that aren't necessarily true in reality!

chicamom

Doesn't take long for the muinteoiri to come out slugging in defense of each other! I think it was the tag the OP used "Bit of an issue with a teacher" that drew them on you( I bet they all thought you were going to say something far worse!) You know your child best and you have her best interests at heart, you're right to speak up if you feel the teacher is possibly projecting her own "issues" on your child.

SerialComplaint

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

My kids SI and 1st class are definitely more conscious of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods now.

They often ask about whether something is healthy or not. I tell them that it's ok to have 'unhealthy' things sometimes, but its very important to eat more healthy things.

Neither of them are overly obsessed, but do mention healthy and unhealthy everyday, at some point!!

I keep it light at home and reinforce healthy is definitely better than unhealthy, but sometimes unhealthy is fun!

Fully agree - great username for the thread topic!

ShamoBuc

chicamom wrote: »

Doesn't take long for the muinteoiri to come out slugging in defense of each other! I think it was the tag the OP used "Bit of an issue with a teacher" that drew them on you( I bet they all thought you were going to say something far worse!) You know your child best and you have her best interests at heart, you're right to speak up if you feel the teacher is possibly projecting her own "issues" on your child.

OP came to the Primary section looking for advice.....of course teachers are going to comment - what did you expect

Fuinseog

marley123 wrote: »

Hi All, looking for a bit of advice.#
My little one is in SI & a very happy child @ school however there is one issue in particular which is starting to grate on my nerves. Her teacher this year is a bit of a Health Nut! She has been telling the kids that crunchy nut cornflakes , frosties etc are not suitable for them to eat as WAY too much sugar, this has in turn caused my daughter over the past 2 wks to question everything she is eating & asking if too much sugar in it - we had Pizza on Friday night & she said her teacher said they shouldnt be eating anything that came out of a packet.
Now 6 out of 7 days pw, we have a very balanced diet , lots of fruit & veg etc & TBH really should teacher be ramming down her thoughts down the kids necks, am concerned such a focus on diet etc may escelate to kids developing body image anxieties. HELP how do I deal with this.

although I eat them myself they are full of sugar. the trend these days is towards healthy eating and you are sending your child to school to get an education.

chicamom

ShamoBuc wrote: »

OP came to the Primary section looking for advice.....of course teachers are going to comment - what did you expect

Commenting is one thing....giving a "lecture" as to the OP's "tone" is quite another. Just wondering if teachers here have to take a special course in " Projecting superiority over the snivelling parents" at Teacher Training College or could it just be that many of them are naturally gifted in this area of their profession?

Fuinseog

I remember when I was in primary school the teacher used to check behind our ears and our hair for head lice. was a major embarrassment when my brother was sent home with the latter but my mother could hardly complain.

these days the parents would probably sue.

Mr.Wemmick

chicamom wrote: »

Commenting is one thing....giving a "lecture" as to the OP's "tone" is quite another. Just wondering if teachers here have to take a special course in " Projecting superiority over the snivelling parents" at Teacher Training College or could it just be that many of them are naturally gifted in this area of their profession?

Totally agree. I do not understand why a criticism of one teacher is seen as a criticism of all - lacks objectivity big time. And it seems to be prevalent here on this forum for some teachers to get very defensive and give a knee-jerk reactions by firing back criticism rather than considering what a parent has to say.

I have been in enough staff rooms over the years to know there are some really crap teachers out there. Fortunately, for parents and kids, there are more good to great teachers than there are bad.. and when you have a good teacher teaching your kid, in a great class with solid learning and positive progress going on, the sense of relief and gratitude you feel is immense. But, having said that, Education needs to have a transparency and a whole approach to teaching kids with parental involvement, understanding and co-operation. This old-fashion attitude of tip-toeing carefully around the teacher whilst trying to find out something about the education of your child is outdated and rather ridiculous.

The OP has every right to have whatever tone she wants. She has experienced something of concern from her daughter that she is not happy with - end of.
No-one has any right here to insult her.

ShamoBuc

chicamom wrote: »

Commenting is one thing....giving a "lecture" as to the OP's "tone" is quite another.Just wondering if teachers here have to take a special course in " Projecting superiority over the snivelling parents" at Teacher Training College or could it just be that many of them are naturally gifted in this area of their profession?

So, someone comments and it is automatically seen as a lecture because they are a teacher? The op used the terms " teacher is a health nut" and " ramming it down their throats" - objectively speaking - that's a bit ott, plain and simple.

The underlined bit - you are coming across as a bit bitter.

Mr.Wemmick

ShamoBuc wrote: »

So, someone comments and it is automatically seen as a lecture because they are a teacher? The op used the terms " teacher is a health nut" and " ramming it down their throats" - objectively speaking - that's a bit ott, plain and simple.

The underlined bit - you are coming across as a bit bitter.

Seriously?! What nonsense!

You, I and everyone on this thread, apart from the OP, hasn't a clue how this teacher is.. or do you know this teacher or poster personally? Did it escape you that she possibly is a health nut and is ramming unbalance subjective opinions down the the kids' throats.

Why on earth can you not take the OP's word for it? All I read into the original post is that she is pi$$ed off and annoyed by the teacher's approach.

And now to top it off, objectively speaking, you've just insulted the last poster

ShamoBuc

Mr.Wemmick wrote: »

Seriously?! What nonsense!

You, I and everyone on this thread, apart from the OP, hasn't a clue how this teacher is.. or do you know this teacher or poster personally? Did it escape you that she possibly is a health nut and is ramming unbalance subjective opinions down the the kids' throats.

Why on earth can you not take the OP's word for it? All I read into the original post is that she is pi$$ed off and annoyed by the teacher's approach.

And now to top it off, objectively speaking, you've just insulted the last poster

The op doesn't know if the teacher is ramming unbalanced subjective opinions down the kids throats - that's the point. How her child has reacted to the lessons and the way they were taught is leading her to believe this - why should I or anybody else automatically believe the teacher is ramming this down her throat because the op says so. If she had met the teacher and discussed things and formed her opinion based on that - that would be completely different, but she hasn't.

And as for insulting the poster?

" Just wondering if teachers here have to take a special course in " Projecting superiority over the snivelling parents" at Teacher Training College or could it just be that many of them are naturally gifted in this area of their profession? "

- that to me was the insult.

Mr.Wemmick

Again, how on earth do you know that the OP doesn't know? But you do know, eh? I am gobsmacked - you have assumed the child here has reacted badly to a good lesson, do you? And that the child has some how made it up/misunderstood and this fact has gone undetected by her Mother.. and now the Mother has reacted badly hence the original post. How on earth do you know all that? You are not taking her word for it, you are assuming she is in the wrong because of the way she has worded her post but not the words she has written..

I could be wrong but you certainly are coming across like the OP has got your back up, don't you think?

Your post is rather presumptuous as you expect me to treat your assumption as okay when you yourself do not afford the the OP the same privilege. Funny that.

ShamoBuc

Mr.Wemmick wrote: »

Again, how on earth do you know that the OP doesn't know? But you do know, eh? I am gobsmacked - you have assumed the child here has reacted badly to a good lesson, do you? And that the child has some how made it up/misunderstood and this fact has gone undetected by her Mother.. and now the Mother has reacted badly hence the original post. How on earth do you know all that? You are not taking her word for it, you are assuming she is in the wrong because of the way she has worded her post but not the words she has written..

I could be wrong but you certainly are coming across like the OP has got your back up, don't you think?

Your post is rather presumptuous as you expect me to treat your assumption as okay when you yourself do not afford the the OP the same privilege. Funny that.

I'm not saying I do know. You seem happy to presume that she does though, why?

Who says the child has reacted badly to a good lesson? I've no idea if the lesson was good or bad - how could I?
She is more inquisitive about the food she eats though - hardly a bad thing really.

The op hasn't got my back up - why would she? I've asked to keep us informed of how the next few weeks go.

Presumptions and assumptions are made in open forums like this due to the fact that no one knows each other or the situations. It is what one says and the way they say it that is also important- don't you think?
You can agree or disagree with them as you see fit.

Mr.Wemmick

I don't presume anything, I just believe what the OP has written.

I tend to trust a Mother's or a Father's instincts/feelings when it comes to their kids. It has served me well as a teacher over the years and I have always gone out of my way to work with parents and listen to their concerns etc.. terribly important to have happy kids who know they're valued and respected.. I don't understand why so many adults, teachers included, don't listen to kids.

..and if some one goes on to a forum to have a rant about how their child has been affected by so and so, I tend to take it for what it is.. and I believe what is written and don't really read into it, or try not to. I would rather take a supportive role and balance it out if I can.

D4RK ONION

chicamom wrote: »

Commenting is one thing....giving a "lecture" as to the OP's "tone" is quite another. Just wondering if teachers here have to take a special course in " Projecting superiority over the snivelling parents" at Teacher Training College or could it just be that many of them are naturally gifted in this area of their profession?

This post is completely unhelpful and off topic. Please refrain from making sweeping insults of an entire group of people.

Also, can I remind people to keep it civil.

chicamom

Sorry...mine was a sweeping statement and sarcastic, Hands up, sorry again. I feel I should apologise because Mr Wemmicks posts have inspired me to reconsider my views on the Irish teaching profession which were indeed becoming a bit "bitter". He sounds like a wonderful teacher and a wise person who would be an asset to any school, and I know there are many others like him out there who actually like kids and their parents and are able to deal with their concerns respectfully. My point is, the OP was genuinely worried about the influence a teacher is having over her child on a specific topic, that of healthy eating habits, and possibly is concerned that the child is now overly anxious (or becoming "faddy") around food issues- never a good thing in a five year old girl. I have one myself and have had serious problems with other adults in her life interfering/passing comment. Healthy eating-self esteem-body image- these aren't trivial topics..I just got snippy because it felt like all these teachers were wading in and once again in defense of an "unknown" colleague instead of addressing the OP's concerns. One even went so far as to suggest the child was "fibbing"! Well...there's plenty of teachers who tell fibs too! Oops here I go again. Sorry

byhookorbycrook

Unless you can back up allegations, please don't make them. "Lots of teachers tell fibs" is an insult to the teaching profession and not helpful in the context of this thread.

chicamom

<snip>

spurious

chicamom wrote: »

<snip>

Previous post edited because of sweeping generalisations, ignoring mod instruction and insults to other members.

Please don't post here again unless you can do so civilly.

spurious

chicamom

A spurious decision!

E.T.

Any update on this OP?

juneg

I havent read all the posts so apologies if it has been said before.

In school we see
an increasing number of very overweight children
more children developing diabetes
some lunchboxes containing an overload of fatty sugary foods or drinks

goat2

you are a lucky person to have a teacher like this, she is interested in their health as well as education, and anyway it is all education,
i wish that when mine were going that i had someone like that teacher, because one of mine loved everything that was bad, those old frosties, cocopops, and such likes, things i think are trash,
i am sure she is asking a few what they had and just leaving them know that they are not good for them,
anyway those things make them hyper and maybe it can be hard for some children to sit when they are full of energy from sugar,
dont take it personal, i think that she is just addressing the whole classroom,
i bet that you know some children in your own childs class, who go home day after day to sausages chips, chicken nuggets, and burgers and such likes and the drink of choice could be coke,
because i do know that mine went to school with children who did not know how to peel a boiled potato, simply the only potato they got was chips,

summer breezer

I agree great to have a teacher who is so health conscious and a good role model.