lalasmama
11-03-2010, 05:22 PM
La's teacher has a reward box for kids when they have great days. It used to be filled with little doo-dads: pencils, bookmarks, cheap little party favor toys, etc. ... Sounds good to me. La loved it. Now, though, apparently it's switched to licorice. La came bouncing out of class today, thrilled that she's getting candy (licorice) on an almost daily basis. She had two short (6") pieces with her today.
I fully admit to being a bit obsessive about this. La knows candy of any sort--suckers, m&m's, licorice, cupcakes, even tiny tootsie rolls--are a special treat, and that they aren't healthy, and that they don't help kids grow. To put this in prospective to our family life, she is thrilled with a single jelly bean; she refuses soda 90% of the time, because she wants to grow taller than me by the time she's 10, and knows that kids who drink soda and eat candy don't grow as healthy. SO got her a small box of Mike-n-Ikes, and she ate 2 before deciding she was done. In the past, she's had cavities that the dentist said was from too much candy (her birth mother was very free with sugary items, as was I before I had to deal with kid fillings and extra brushings and sugar highs!). Unfortunately, La's attitude goes down the tube when she's given special treats like this; it's seriously like she just can't make her brain work. There's a family history of childhood diabetes, which also plays a role in why I watch the treat intake.
So, here's my problem. Do I ask the teacher to stop giving out the licorice? If so, how do I do this? I'm trying to avoid becoming "that parent"... La has ADHD and can be demanding--she always wants to move to whatever is next, including at school, and gets frustrated when the other kids aren't moving as fast as she is. I've already had to talk with the teacher when the reading teacher told the kids it was fine to say something was fat. So, I have a high-needs student, I've already complained about things... and I really don't want to be "that parent" but I also really don't want La having licorice every school day (or any other gummy or sugary treat!).
What do you think? What would you do? Suck it up? Email the teacher? Get a letter from the dentist or her doctor? I'm really at a serious loss here of what to do!
I fully admit to being a bit obsessive about this. La knows candy of any sort--suckers, m&m's, licorice, cupcakes, even tiny tootsie rolls--are a special treat, and that they aren't healthy, and that they don't help kids grow. To put this in prospective to our family life, she is thrilled with a single jelly bean; she refuses soda 90% of the time, because she wants to grow taller than me by the time she's 10, and knows that kids who drink soda and eat candy don't grow as healthy. SO got her a small box of Mike-n-Ikes, and she ate 2 before deciding she was done. In the past, she's had cavities that the dentist said was from too much candy (her birth mother was very free with sugary items, as was I before I had to deal with kid fillings and extra brushings and sugar highs!). Unfortunately, La's attitude goes down the tube when she's given special treats like this; it's seriously like she just can't make her brain work. There's a family history of childhood diabetes, which also plays a role in why I watch the treat intake.
So, here's my problem. Do I ask the teacher to stop giving out the licorice? If so, how do I do this? I'm trying to avoid becoming "that parent"... La has ADHD and can be demanding--she always wants to move to whatever is next, including at school, and gets frustrated when the other kids aren't moving as fast as she is. I've already had to talk with the teacher when the reading teacher told the kids it was fine to say something was fat. So, I have a high-needs student, I've already complained about things... and I really don't want to be "that parent" but I also really don't want La having licorice every school day (or any other gummy or sugary treat!).
What do you think? What would you do? Suck it up? Email the teacher? Get a letter from the dentist or her doctor? I'm really at a serious loss here of what to do!