Q-Line
There is a movement afoot that aims to ban flavored milk at area public schools. Some say it’s bad for young kids.
So, this week’s Q-line question asks: Do you think flavored milk should be banned, or do you think there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to childhood nutrition on campus?
“My son is a baseball player at Samohi and chocolate milk is a staple of his recovery. Eight ounces of chocolate and milk seems to do the trick. Moderation is the key, and everything in moderation, including moderation.”
“Some years ago, I was volunteering in kindergarten at a grade school in Culver City and I happened to notice during the lunch hour that a number of children, maybe half, weren’t taking the milk to put on their trays as they were going through the line. The ones that took the milk weren’t drinking it. I’d go to the trash can and pick up unopened cartons of milk and many more that were opened but nearly full. I was concerned about this because I had read articles by pediatric orthopedists that expressed dire concern about the lack of calcium in the diets of the youth of today. They said it would result in premature bone loss because the best layers of bone are laid down during childhood and adolescence. I bought a bottle of strawberry syrup that contained almost no strawberry, but it had color and flavor, and I invited the children that I knew to partake in the strawberry milk. There was a run on it, and soon that bottle was gone. As the days and weeks went by, I was buying more and more bottles of strawberry syrup. This went on for three years. The consumption of milk rose dramatically; the children would not only take the milk, but drink the milk. I did my unscientific sampling of the cartons in the trash can and they were almost all white milk with a pink rim around the edge, and they were empty or nearly empty. This went on for about three years and it was amazing to see what it did. I also let the kids put it in, but I was clear the milk had to be pink, not red — therefore limiting the amount they could put in. It was really something. As a nurse and former dental assistant, I’m very concerned about the fact that kids today aren’t getting enough calcium. I also read where pediatric orthopedists and pediatric dentists would rather have children drink flavored milk with sugar than no milk at all. As many parents and others are well aware, children drink a lot of juice, which is nearly all flavored with a lot of sugar. The calorie count is probably nearly the same as milk, but certainly there is no calcium in these juices. So, I do think this is a whole lot of something about a whole lot of nothing. Having healthy, delicious, non-processed food available for the kids would be far more meaningful than taking away flavored milk. And, by the way, the chocolate milk does not taste like chocolate, it just tastes brown. While the kids may think they want it, they don’t drink it because it’s pretty nasty. But the strawberry was a real winner. The only reason I stopped with the strawberry syrup was because the principal told me, according to the rules and regulations enforced by the federal government, no school getting federal assistance for their school lunches could add anything or delete anything from these lunches. She was also concerned about the fact that someone might have a strawberry allergy, and then I explained to her that there is no strawberry in strawberry syrup — it’s merely flavoring, color and sugar.”
“If you understood how egotistically stupid people involved with education are, you would find this question absolutely hilarious. This three-year, living-in-America limey carpetbagger is going to infect us with British it-takes-a-village socialism to ban chocolate milk. Who would support this kind of leftist, big sister idiocy? Well how about her companion socialist on the school board? Nothing is more important in this school district than banning chocolate milk — even furlough days, overspending, very small fiscal reserve, incompetent leadership and misappropriation of moneys toward personal advancement. Today: banning chocolate milk. Tomorrow: reduction of toilet paper use. And then, an educational führer to oversee correct diet and thinking.”
“Yes, I think that flavored milk should be banned because I have a child that went to Grant Elementary, and he never took flavored milk. I’ve been watching the blogs about the whole school system so, yes, there are bigger fish to fry, but you have to start somewhere. I do think chocolate milk should be banned for childhood nutrition because there’s no point in extra sugar.”
“I no longer have children in school, but I firmly believe it is the responsibility of parents to guide and instruct their children as to what they may and may not eat and drink at home, in school and elsewhere. If the schools offer chocolate milk, tell your child not to drink the chocolate milk. The answer is not to make a knee jerk decision based on reality show hysteria, use this as a learning opportunity to teach your child what he or she can't have in and out of the home. Banning flavored milk is not the solution nor is it the reason children are obese or diabetic. If the school system bans flavored milk or any other food item sold in schools, the school district must also ban parents from sending similar items to school in their child's lunch box, to classrooms and fundraisers. Oh how I miss the days of personal responsibility!”
“Chocolate milk is easy to stop providing to SMMUSD. It is loaded with sugar (as much as soda pop). Children should not get hooked on sugar from our school cafeterias. Yes, there are bigger fish to fry. But, why not handle a simple no-brainer issue and ban the sugar-ridden chocolate milk from our schools.”
“Let's offer 1 percent milk to our children and be happy that they are getting the vitamin D and calcium that is needed and found in any type of milk. Yes, there is extra sugar, so get off the couch playing video games and go out for a walk, scooter, or bike ride. Honestly, we are facing a huge budget crisis again so let our wonderful educators educate our children in the appropriate areas and for once hold the parents responsible for actually parenting their children. It’s really easy folks, if you don't want your child(ren) drinking flavored milk, either don't give them the money, or better yet, talk to your child about it.”
