The Lunchbox Nazis
May 13th, 2008 by Richard & Joey Marc
I read an article on the weekend “The Lunchbox Nazis”, it was talking about a new health initative implemented into some day care centres which is trying to help combat childhood obesity. But parents are in fury over some of the strategies used in the program with one parent saying “It’s basically a diet they are putting them on and I don’t want my three-year-old children on a diet”
But the program director Colin Bell from Good For Kids, Good For Life defended the initiative saying it was to promote healthy eating - “Our Surveys in the Hunter New England found that, of those children that responded around 18% of pre-school age children were overweight or obese” he said
After reading the article I thought the initiative seems to have it’s heart in the right spot, trying to help educate parents with healthy food options for their children but on the other hand the article stated “The government initative requires childcare staff to conduct lunchbox audits to ensure parents comply with strict food policies”
Interesting strategy I thought but is it really an effective one? Is that going to be realistic and work long term? But parents are outraged as they believe they should be allowed to give their children whatever foods they want. With one mother saying “Recommending healthy food options was one thing, but “lunchbox nazis” limiting a child’s fruit intake was going too far”.
What do you think? Is it a case of Lunchbox Nazis or an initiative caring for our kids?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 10:15 am and is filed under Children's Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Taking a childs lunch especially when it is reasonably healthy such as fruit is not helpful. What does this do to a childs self esteem and trust in staff? Damage. How much better to promote healthy food and encourage children and parents with education and tips for good eating such as the ones I have just read on Joey and Marcs site.