When in doubt of who to invite to the child's birthday, many parents choose to make a birthday lunch at school and thus solve at a stroke the theme of class friends, although later there is some other more familiar celebration.
The idea is not bad, however, there are some "buts" because birthday lunches at school are usually too many and unhealthy. In some schools they choose to meet several fathers and mothers to celebrate the birthday together, and in others they indicate what kind of food they can or cannot take, but there may also be some freedom in the organization of these lunches.
It is usual that there is practically every week a birthday, especially considering that many classrooms are above the recommended ratio (in some places in a couple of years we have gone from 20 or 25 students in Infant and Primary to 30 students) and that many children who turn years in summer advance or delay it to be able to celebrate it during the school year.
If these birthdays did not involve too significant changes in the children's healthy lunch, nothing would happen. Nor do I talk about the invitation being based on fruit and water. But suddenly eliminate all that is supposed to be a healthy lunch and that this is made up of pastries and industrial juices plus goodies, it does not seem appropriate (I repeat, it is not a day or two, there are many throughout the course).
A variant of this theme of lunch is that of the bag of goodies as a gift for children. We discussed this topic with my three-year-old daughter's teacher (there are many alternatives to candy bags and unhealthy lunches), and she commented on it at one of the fathers and mothers meetings.
More was chosen for sweets or homemade preparations (this has later become restricted, opting for industrial foods for food safety issues), and goodies as something less recommended. Sometimes it was fulfilled, although we have also seen "cooking workshops" prepared by parents in the school that were based on sweets and industrial sweets.
Finally, one of the classes has chosen to make a birthday day at the end of the month for all those children who meet during that period. A good way to minimize the inconvenience of these "tax" lunches.
The school as a healthy environment
That our children acquire healthy lifestyle habits is a task that begins primarily in the family. But they spend many hours in school, and this should be an environment that also promotes those habits. This is done transversally in many areas and in specific subjects such as Psychomotor.
But let's not forget that "leading by example" is important, in this case with the school routine. And the message that comes to children when they hear that the fruit is good or that you don't have to eat a lot of buns and then this kind of unhealthy lunches or workshops is allowed, is quite confusing, it is incoherent.
And the school should row all of it in the same direction, in the dining room, in the classes, in the food found in the canteen (for the elderly)… From school you can help prevent obesity, and it is not a homework
The fruit day is of little use at school if other aspects are not taken care of later. Although, as emerged in the interesting comments following the previous post, it is perhaps the only way to ensure that children eat fruit at least once a week. Teachers say that bringing those healthy foods for lunch is practically anecdotal among children.
We as parents make many mistakes but try to keep coherence in the way of educating our daughters. That is why we do not celebrate the birthday of the kids with lunches at school, nor of course we carry sweets for the children. If we wanted to take a little detail to the partners, they have been puzzles, notebooks or paintings ...
I believe that, just as I do not like to be told what my daughters have to have lunch, I am not going to impose on the other children the lunch that I think is convenient. In a particular party, outside of school, we will see who is coming or who is not coming, and since they are more sporadic birthdays, we allow ourselves a whim. As something exceptional. And the bags of sweets (those that give us in other birthday, in those of my daughters there are not) last us several weeks.
But, going back to school, then there is the question that many children can't eat everything, so in the case that this type of lunch is going to be done, you have to be very clear, asking the teacher or the rest of the parents, if there are any children with any special restrictions. We must know if there are allergic or intolerant children, or if their religion prevents them from taking certain foods ... and take it into account.
Definitely, Birthday lunches at school are too many and unhealthy. In different schools, the issue is resolved in a different way, but in many it is left to the free will of families, falling into customs that are not to everyone's liking and, above all, that are not good for children.
Photos | Dragozov and Shardayyy on Flickr In Babies and more | Children's birthdays are expensive, Birthday parties of one to three years, Ball parks or canned children's leisure
