lemonade at school

Nov5Mrs. · February 2013

In the current issue of Parents magazine, there was an article about kids consume too much sugar, and that "treats" at birthday parties, sports events, and parties at school add up. I've always been a little bothered by the fact that my kid's preschool offers them countrytime lemonade that the teachers mix up instead of just plain old water with their daily snack. My kids eat tons of cupcakes, candy, etc at parties, so it's not like they never get treats, but I figure it's an easy way to cut out a little bit of sugar and it's less work for them! .I brought it up to the director of the school and she said that they won't change the policy because the kids look forward to it as a treat, but I'm guessing that most parents wouldn't mind doing away with the lemonade altogether. I'm curious, would you prefer your child be given water or lemonade?

74dragonfly · February 2013

Water. I agree with you. I would get other parents on my side and push the issue. Teaching kids to drink lemonade and get used to sweet drinks and empty calories is a bad idea.

neverblushed · February 2013

My kids' preschool served apple juice or lemonade, and this always sort of irked me. However, I can see why schools do it:

--it's what most kids will drink. There are plenty of kids who will not drink plain water at all, but most kids who drink water will go ahead and drink juice or lemonade if it's offered.

--it's light colored and doesn't stain.

--it's cheap.

--lemonade powder can be bought in bulk and doesn't spoil.

The portions at my school were pretty small, so I didn't worry too much about it even though at home I never served lemonade or juice.

My DS will only drink water and milk. He just doesn't like juice at all. So at school he would ask for water instead, and the preschool never had a problem with this. Maybe just tell your daughter to ask if she can have water instead of juice?

rsd12 · February 2013

I did not mind when my oldest was in preschool, as it was only 2 or three mornings a week. I send in a water bottle filled with water for my boys now to preschool and 1st grade. While it is not required, in school last year water was required. And I liked that rule. They only get water at school.

June2007 · February 2013

I'd prefer water. My kids school strictly enforced water only at school. They weren't even allowed to bring it in their lunch box. If a kid had juice or milk the teacher was supossed to replace it with water. Every room had a water cooler in it and a pitcher of cold water with cups that the kids could help themselves to through out the day and a water fountain outside. As a result my kids prefer water to any other drink. They do love lemonade but it's a sometimes treat.

Leap08 · February 2013

Ugh. Water. I'd actually request that they not serve my child that. Especially Countrytime lemonade. It's full of artificial crap. I'd be less opposed to an occasional glass (not everyday) of actual lemonade. Our school does water with snacks and milk with lunch.

Spin313 · February 2013

That wouldn't fly at DS's preschool, which is pretty strict about snacks. They have a snack calendar and you have to bring the items that are listed on your day. It's always fresh veggies and fruit, and crackers or cheese...once or twice a month it's deli meat. You can bring in water, juice, or milk, but NO sugary drinks like lemonade or fruit punch.

shannm · February 2013

Water. He gets lemonade as a treat and he has been taught that it is "junk food."

ryry1977 · February 2013

I would prefer water for sure. There is no need for lemonade for snacktime at school. That is a regular thing and water is fine.

echowysp2 · February 2013

fredalina:
I would tell the school my daughter can have lemonade on Fridays. A lot of schools/daycares here serve juice because it's a cheap, relatively long shelf life fruit/veggie serving that they're mandated to provide. They also tend to serve fruit from a can or those little plastic cups. Ew!

:::hiding the fruit cups I serve my kids occasionally::::

June2007 · February 2013

smsalat:
June2007:
I'd prefer water. My kids school strictly enforced water only at school. They weren't even allowed to bring it in their lunch box. If a kid had juice or milk the teacher was supossed to replace it with water. Every room had a water cooler in it and a pitcher of cold water with cups that the kids could help themselves to through out the day and a water fountain outside. As a result my kids prefer water to any other drink. They do love lemonade but it's a sometimes treat.
Sorry, but if I was a parent and sent milk to school with my child and they refused to allow her to drink milk I would be PO'ed!!!!  I would have major issues with that one!

I never knew of anyone getting upset about it because it was in the rules for the school. It's not like it was a surprise.

I feel like I need to add that my kids get juice especially oj at home and lemonade when we are out sometimes. We even have it at home occasionally to mix with iced tea. I didn't want to seem like a anti juice crazy because I'm not! I loved our schools policy though, I worked there too, they also only allowed heathly foods so it wasn't like they were just against drinks. Again, parents who went to that school appreciated that sort of thing and knew about it in advance.

KL777 · February 2013

Water

Littlejen22 · February 2013

fredalina:
echowysp2:
fredalina:
I would tell the school my daughter can have lemonade on Fridays.

A lot of schools/daycares here serve juice because it's a cheap, relatively long shelf life fruit/veggie serving that they're mandated to provide. They also tend to serve fruit from a can or those little plastic cups. Ew!

:::hiding the fruit cups I serve my kids occasionally::::
LOL, key word is occasionally. It just isn't a good snack to have every day IMO, with the syrups they have.

Yeah, my kids love fresh fruit but like canned fruit too, occasionally I get them the ones in fruit juice but I now have a new found fear of aluminum cans so that will be a rare treat.

KatieandMark06 · February 2013

I vote for water. I loved that article in Parents magazine. Im very conscious about what my daughter eats. I mean she gets treats from time to time like every other kid but I feel that kids only need water or milk to drink.

lcherian · February 2013

Wow country time lemonade is horrible! I'd definitely rally the other parents. Or maybe you could send something a little better like an organic juice box.

macchiatto · February 2013

Parents take turns bringing the snacks and drinks at my boys' preschool and it's almost always juice boxes or juice pouches. I just live with it rather than making my boys miss out. I figure if they get 6 oz juice 3x/wk it's not a big deal in the long run, since at home they pretty much just drink water or milk. In your situation I'd definitely prefer just water rather than the teachers mixing up lemonade, too. At my preschool, it's actually easier on the teachers to just hand out juice boxes the parents brought rather than filling up water cups for everyone (and less spilling) but if they're going to extra effort to serve something sugary, every day with snack ... I wouldn't be wild about that but if I got push back I wouldn't say too much unless I saw a lot of the other parents minded too.

macchiatto · February 2013

June2007:
smsalat:
June2007:
I'd prefer water. My kids school strictly enforced water only at school. They weren't even allowed to bring it in their lunch box. If a kid had juice or milk the teacher was supossed to replace it with water. Every room had a water cooler in it and a pitcher of cold water with cups that the kids could help themselves to through out the day and a water fountain outside. As a result my kids prefer water to any other drink. They do love lemonade but it's a sometimes treat.
Sorry, but if I was a parent and sent milk to school with my child and they refused to allow her to drink milk I would be PO'ed!!!! I would have major issues with that one!
I never knew of anyone getting upset about it because it was in the rules for the school. It's not like it was a surprise. I feel like I need to add that my kids get juice especially oj at home and lemonade when we are out sometimes. We even have it at home occasionally to mix with iced tea. I didn't want to seem like a anti juice crazy because I'm not! I loved our schools policy though, I worked there too, they also only allowed heathly foods so it wasn't like they were just against drinks. Again, parents who went to that school appreciated that sort of thing and knew about it in advance.

I can understand the juice but I do find it odd they didn't allow milk. What was the reasoning for that one?

Smores730 · February 2013

There's no way I'd let them serve my kid lemonade every day! Our school offers water or water at snack times. I already don't allow DC to give my kids any snack items with Hydro Oils or High Fructose Corn Syrup so I'd have no problems fighting this battle!

jlw2505 · February 2013

The daycare we went to had juice with snack and water or milk the rest of the time and PreK has only milk and water. I am fine with lemonde or juice every so often but not daily. We are a huge water family and my kids actually prefer it. Water has always been an option even when juice was served so I was fine with it as my kids often took the water.

echowysp2 · February 2013

fredalina:
echowysp2:
fredalina:
I would tell the school my daughter can have lemonade on Fridays. A lot of schools/daycares here serve juice because it's a cheap, relatively long shelf life fruit/veggie serving that they're mandated to provide. They also tend to serve fruit from a can or those little plastic cups. Ew!

:::hiding the fruit cups I serve my kids occasionally::::
LOL, key word is occasionally. It just isn't a good snack to have every day IMO, with the syrups they have.

I agree about the syrups. I try to get the ones that use fruit juice. It's crazy how many have artificial sweeteners in them.

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