“Luc, Luuuuuc!” That sweaty, hysterical mother on that bike, that's me. In my hand a lunchbox and a bottle of drink. The packed lunch of my son, who is already in high school. When I finally overtake him on the way, I also get to hear that the gentleman is having lunch at school today. Why was my hubby making sandwiches at 7 o'clock again? Indeed:because we, like many parents with us, want our children to get enough healthy in a day. And that means… Bammies spread by us with some fruit or snack vegetables. Instead of a visit to the cafeteria for a ball sandwich or emptying one of those candy vending machines full of snickers at school.
Getting your children to eat healthy snacks can be a challenge in primary school, but in secondary school, the 'control' you have as a parent seems to have completely come to an end. I find it quite difficult myself and so I make frantic attempts to tempt my adolescent into something healthy. Even if that sometimes means sloshing armpits from cycling 😉 .
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Just this week there was an article in the newspaper about the Tilburg primary school Don Sarto, which obliges the children to drink only water at school. Other packs of drinks or lemonade in the bottle are not allowed in. In October 2015 we already wrote about a daycare center which, in that sense, is already involved in the upbringing. Healthy eating and drinking at school has been a hot topic for years. I'm going to tell you a bit more about how things are going with us and how we as parents stand in this. It would be great if you let us know in a comment how you do this!
Lotte is in primary school and went to group 5. Luc is now in the 2nd grade at secondary school!
Group 5 is superstructure, so Lotte belongs from now on 'with the bigger ones'. Luc is in a class full of teenagers who are exploring their own identity and 'hanging' enormously on the opinion of others.
They both get 2 sandwiches, they really don't want more. In addition, fruit or snack vegetables for the short breaks and a cup of water. They choose what they want the night before. An apple or, for example, bell pepper or carrots. This has not always been the case, however. We also gave Luc gingerbread and orange juice at primary school, but luckily we were able to get rid of that again.
Read also :Not eating sugar is a challenge in itself!
I am curious how this will go with Lotte, because especially in the higher classes at primary school I notice that it is difficult to keep the healthy pattern in it because of other kids in the class. If others are given cookies or a candy, it is rather difficult to keep on giving only healthy stuff.
By the way, they are spoiled with us 😉 . They don't want an apple whole in the bag, so it has to be cut into pieces. The same goes for snack vegetables. Normally we are cutting like crazy, but we were allowed to try AH's snack vegetables and it is already ready. Saves me and my hubby another snooze with the alarm, haha.
Unfortunately, there are no rules with us. Except that the question is asked to keep a birthday treat as small and healthy as possible. A question that many parents do not answer. Bummer!
The bad thing is that Lotte is already asking me if she can treat chips with her birthday (it will only be that time in 10 months 😉 ). She also sees other children treating chips. And well… treat yourself to chips and you will suddenly become popular of course. In high school there are almost no rules anymore. An advantage… there are no more treats here!
There is really a lot of difference with us. Luc drinks more than enough, even during the day. So water then. And in the evening he is a huge tea drinker, although he prefers cola, but we prefer not to see that 😛 . Three cups of tea go into him just like that. So no coke on weekdays.
Lotte, on the other hand, is a real problem drinker. She likes water itself, but I don't think she likes that aftertaste from the bottle. In addition, she is almost never thirsty. Very annoying because it remains a recurring issue. The full drinking bottle just comes home with you, so bummed!
Do you also have a child who does not like bottled water? Then Wallie the whale from AH might be a godsend to take to school. Packs of natural mineral water. Not only tasty and healthy, but it also looks nice. And that it looks nice, that is already half the profit!
With Luc I was able to keep up with the healthy treats up to and including group 7. Fortunately, he always liked my skewers with all kinds of trimmings, so that went well. In group 8 I couldn't get out of the chips anymore 😉 , but since that was his last year I stroked my heart, haha. Lotte is already starting to whine. I just check with other mothers what they are doing. I'd rather just make an appointment about it in the class app. Everyone healthy, hoppa! No more whining. Yet there are always parents who would rather treat something easy that is less healthy. Somehow I understand that, but I'm not very happy with it.
By the way, do you want some inspiration regarding healthy treats? You can find a lot about it on the internet, such as these nice examples of treats with fruit and treats with savory. AH also has nice ideas such as mushrooms from egg and tomato 😉. The latter will certainly pass the inspection here!
We don't have these kinds of rules. Doesn't seem like it to me to be honest. Does my daughter have to tell someone else that she can't have sweets, but can have a piece of paprika? That's really going too far for me. At home I'm in charge and we try to be as healthy as possible. But every now and then there is also something delicious. On another they are lucky if things go differently there 😉 .
If my kids get the chance, they have chips for breakfast. Not that they don't like healthy food. In that regard, we are actually still fried:they have a broad flavor and are really no pits. Yet they invariably seem to go for fat, sweet and unhealthy when given the choice. Recognizable? I also notice in myself that it grabs so easily. You open a bag and start sniffing. For the healthy stuff I always have to cut a few things in the kitchen first. And if I put it down, they'll eat it. Good to know that you can now also snitch this by opening a simple bag from Albert Heijn 😉 . I do let the kids make their own choice with regard to which snack vegetables they want. Lotte has chosen banana and peppers for tomorrow. The celery… she's not very excited about that, unfortunately.
We can't just blame our kids. There's a whole marketing world out there trying to seduce their brains. Unhealthy products invariably come in colorful packages, which immediately catch the eye on a full shelf. A simple bottle of water can hardly compete with such colourful, festive packaging. Fortunately, since 2017 there has been a ban on unhealthy food for children's heroes. That makes a difference again.
Personally, I think that children should also be allowed something tasty during their time, but I prefer to 'standardize' with healthy food. The treats are then for moments that arise spontaneously in between. What do you think?
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