"Big Mother" knows what you had for lunch

[SoCalDem]

No more lying to Mom about thatnutritious lunch you had in school today :)







AP - Mon Feb 20, 1:12 PM ET This photograph shows part of a new automated system
that Pearland School district has begun using in its cafeterias in Pearland, Texas.
This system enables parents to track their children's eating and spending habits
and also allows them to place restrictions on certain purchases.
A student punches in a identification number on a key pad and
their personal information appears on the touch screen.
(AP Photo/Jessica Kourkounis)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/diet_cafeteria_monitorBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

Computer Lets Parents Track Kids' Eating By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer
Mon Feb 20, 10:22 PM ET



5 HOUSTON - A student slides a tray toward the cafeteria cash register with a healthy selection:
a pint of milk, green beans, whipped sweet potatoes and chicken nuggets — baked, not fried. But then he adds a fudge brownie.


When he punches in his code for the prepaid account his parents set up, a warning sounds: "This student has a food restriction." Back goes the brownie as the cashier reminds him that his parents have declared all desserts off-limits.

This could be a common occurrence at Houston schools when the district becomes one of the largest in the nation with a cafeteria automation system that lets parents dictate — and track — what their kids get.

snip

[Nitrogenica]

1. Billy's spending way too much on crappy soybean burgers

and soggy pizza slices..

[Mythsaje]

2. Yeah, by God...

wouldn't want those poor kids to gain any illusions of independence, now would we?

[SoCalDem]

3. Just wait until they install the floor scale at the check out

weigh too much?? NO brownie for YOU!

[Mythsaje]

4. Brownie Nazi! n/t

[SoCalDem]

25. Working link to story

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/116810

[TomInTib]

6. Did you see Litttle Timmy Russert tonight?....

Cradle to grave.

[davidinalameda]

5. and what's gonna stop that kid from getting someone to buy his brownie

for him

kids have been finding ways to get alcohol and drugs for years, why not chocolate as well

:rofl:

[CoffeeCat]

7. I'm looking at the picture, and it says that this student...

...had a 2-pack of Pop Tarts and popcorn for lunch.

Yes, I understand this is a privacy issue. However, there seems to be an equally important issue.

Why are our schools serving Pop Tarts and popcorn to students for lunch?

We wonder why children are unhealthy--and getting lifestyle diseases early?

I don't mean to sound like "Big Mother", but come on. Public schools should offer healthy choices, and they shouldn't be offering high-fat, high-sugar food with little or no nutritional value.

[SoCalDem]

8. Exactly.. School lunches should be about nutrition

NOT snacks..

What about an apple, or an orange or a yogurt pop for dessert.. Why even HAVE brownies..?

[lostnfound]

10. I agree. And what a great way to make kids hostile towards parents

"all the other kids get to eat brownies..."

On a daily basis, the kid will be reminded that his parents don't trust him, that they are "unfair", that he can get by with cheating the system by getting someone else to buy it, that he can't be (and won't be) trusted to make decisions.

I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. But let's not change the menu

Let's get Mom to get on him for what he eats. :sarcasm:

[FreedomAngel82]

14. Or how about making personal choices?

I had a friend in high school once who tried gaining weight and she never did. She wanted to be apart of the blood drive that the school had every year since she was now able to but she weighed a couple of pounds under weight and so she tried gaining by eating fatty stuff but she never did. People's bodies weigh differently and by the time you're in high school your'e supposed to be able to make your own informed decisions on eating. What, are you going to hold their hand when they're at their jobs and going to lunch too? I think during elementary and junior high is when you should be teaching kids about making informed decisions about their eating habits and learning what their bodies can and can't control and what makes them weigh more etc.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I agree

That is absolutely ridiculous.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Pop Tarts aren't that bad

Depending on what they are filled with, they are somewhere between an apple and a chocolate bar on the health scale. Not too high in fat but lots of sugar. The problem isn't a 2 pack of pop-tarts, the problem is a 2 pack of pop-tarts and cookies and potato chips and fried chicken or pizza all in one day.

But most kids in elementary school don't really understand the concept of moderation which is why it is probably a good idea to keep the junk food out for the most part.

However, I think that once kids get to middle school and certainly high school, they need to be trusted to regulate their own diets.

[rwheeler31]

9. This is disgusting.

Kids grow and learn.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. So there's no such thing as privacy or personal responsibility?

What's going to happen when these kids get in the real world and grow up? They'll have temptations to go after junk food and they could crave it and get addicted and start eating that and forget about being healthy. Why not teach kids how to make good decisions about their eating habits according to their bodies and get them into exercising and liking it? If you don't like doing that than you're not going to do it and be very lazy at least in my personal experiences.

[SoCalDem]

16. Looking at the menu (a pdf file)

Looks like most of the food they serve is not very nutritious.. at least at the elementary school


http://www.pearlandisd.org/foodserv/elementary.pdf

[Hippo_Tron]

21. It could be worse but it definately could be better

I know that it's hard to get kids to eat healthy food, but there's far too much mexican and pizza on this menu. Hamburgers aren't inherently unhealthy but it depends on how they are prepared and what you put on them and my guess is that they are probably pretty greasy.

Once or even twice a week is fine for stuff like pizza or mexican. I remember in elementary school always looking forward to pizza day and grilled cheese day (another food that wouldn't be so bad if they didn't soak the bread in fake butter). But the rest of the days there was usually something reasonably healthy (baked chicken, roast beef and mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, etc) and if not I would just get a cold-cut sandwhich.

My point is that we don't need to be eliminating fatty foods altogether, we just need to let kids have them in moderation. Kids have faster metabolisms than adults do and they don't gain weight as easily. To basically repeat what I said above, that fudge brownie with lunch every day isn't the problem. It's that in addition to the fudge brownie, he will probably have potato chips, cookies, and kool-aid as an after school snack.

[SoCalDem]

30. Sloppy Joes was about the least nutritious thing we ever got

evrything was made from scratch..on site..even the bread & rolls.. I can;t believe the crap that's served these days

[Hippo_Tron]

17. My favorite is that this will cost the school district $5.3 million

How about putting $5.3 million into our classrooms so that we can teach kids about diabetes and heart disease and healthy lifestyle choices.

[SoCalDem]

18. Let's see who's selling the 'sytem' to them

This sounds like a Bill Bennett/Neil Bush style "educational program"

[Hippo_Tron]

23. BINGO

Remember, a food service corporation is getting $5.3 million for this while kids are having to share textbooks.

[SoCalDem]

29. Primero Food Service Solutions, developed by Houston-based (USA-Pakistan)

developed by Houston-based Cybersoft Technologies

Look at their webpage.. USA-Pakistan..

Good grief..outsourcing lunch :)

http://www.cybersoft-tech.com/aboutus.htm

[seabeyond]

19. my son is 10 yrs old. these kids arent even getting this yet

when we went to school we paid for a hot lunch at a set price. now parents puts money on accounts. the kids are young. give everyone a f*in break. between the social issues, adjusting to new schools, going from room to room for classes, new teachers in each room, the academic pressures, and the damn tak tests.....

i dont know about this machine and whether it is a waste of money, but i do know this whole cafteria thing has come up in our family as my son has blown thru his money. next week i have to go into cafteria to figure out how the system works.

how about if the schools for these young kids were just a simple walk thru for a hot lunch instead of 9, 10, 11 year olds given this responsiblity just yet, not to mention the opportunity to buy a bunch of junk for lunch. my kids are about as good as a kid is going ot get, but.... they are just kids after all, looking at all htese extra things like brownies and slushies ect....

[SoCalDem]

20. In elementary schools they should have a set lunch

a healthy one.. Let them have their snacks at home.. Look at the pdf file for the menu..

it's mostly high carb junk-ish food anyway..

[seabeyond]

22. my son is 5th grade, that is no longer elementary.

yes it is mostly junk, so these kids that are now no longer elementary though in past years they would have been, are now being given all these options. it is a whole new learning thing going on for them along with all the other "new" they are getting stepping into a middle school early. the up side for us is i have enforced moderation and not depriving kids of junk, but that they get it in certain circumstances. color me surprised my son disobeyed me and now i have to deal with cafteria and put on restrictions.

[SoCalDem]

24. I HATE the "new" system

We had k-6

7-8-9 junior high

10-11-12 senior high

It groups kids together better that way, and spares a 13 yr old from being preyed upon by an 18 yr old:scared:

[seabeyond]

26. this is interesting and new. k-4. then 5-8 but 5,6 one side of school

7,8 on the other side of school. then highschool 9-12. interesting. and challenges for the young ones. my son is intellectual and mature so this is the up side with this system.... it fits his academic needs

[Hippo_Tron]

27. What if a kid doesn't like the set lunch?

Remember, kids tend to be picky eaters. If they don't like their lunch they won't eat it and won't be able to concentrate during class because they are hungry. They should at least have a few options so that they find something that they like.

I think for a fraction of that $5.3 million we could serve our kids some healthy and tasty things like a turky sandwhich and a bowl of soup.

[seabeyond]

28. my youngest is elementary they have a choice of 2 or 3

main courses. but...... when we were a kid we didnt get a choice. and we were expected to eat it. that was how i was raised. the end, lol lol. another school the boys went to there was no choice so twice a week i would pack a lunch and pick the two days that my oldest didnt like the lunches