Chocolate milk for lunch?

I don't always take my son's word for it.  He is, after all, 5 and 1/2.  So today was his (our!) very first day of kindergarten.  We sent lunch, but didn't know about snack.  Among the many things he did... and didn't... report out at the end of the big day was that there was chocolate milk available.  Like, you're kidding, right?  And he may be.  And I intend to find out. 

First day and I'm already riled up (surprise!).  Geez.  So is this true, or is he just razzing me...because by now I'm sure he knows how.  I've long wondered about the philosophy behind chocolate milk.  About cow's milk in general, actually, but that's a whole other ball of wax.  Does your school serve chocolate milk?  What gives?

Comments

[amberpearl]

Not sure if I'm in the minority here, but my first thought was "Why?". Why are you surprised chocolate milk is offered? Did you not go to public school as a child? Chocolate milk was offered at school 30 years ago when I was a kindergartener and I am no better or worse for it. I'm not overweight nor do I have a mouth full of fillings from occasionally drinking one tiny carton of chocolate milk with my lunch. I also drank Oj, grape juice, apple juice, plain milk, lemonade, the occasional milkshake, and there was always pitchers of water available next to the salad bar.

I think that if there is an issue with your son's school at all, it's not that they offer chocolate milk, but that they don't offer water. You can't teach him to make good choices when there is no opportunity to make poor choices... the choice has been taken away for him.

My son's middle school offers gatorade/juice cocktails and other unfavorable choices and yet he drinks water because he's been allowed to try the other things without judgement. There's a lot to be said for teaching good eating habits at home and trusting your kids to make choices based on what you've taught them.

[Melissa]

Sure, chocolate milk isn't the healthiest beverage around, but it's not the worst. Cake isn't good for you either, or butter, and, if you really examine it, there are few things that actually pass the 100% good for you test. Life is full of compromises, and as a mother, I've found this to be even more true. Of course, if the school didn't offer chocolate milk, my kids would drink white or juice. But they do, and the kids drink it, and I just consider it into their overall daily sugar intake. I used to micromanage all of these little things: everything they ate, what they wore, what they watched, what they saw, who they talked to--but they weren't learning to be individuals--they were mini-mes and I was an anxious tyrannical woman. You can teach your kids what is best, encourage them to make good choices, but in the end it's their choice (unless we're talking about really dangerous things.) I'd rather worry that my kids are learning their talents and self worth as part of their education than whether or not they drink 1% or chocolate milk.

[LTF]

And now, however many months later, TIME magazine is on it: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1948865,00.html. What about PPS?

[supermom101]

Huh? Doesn't chocolate milk have more sugar than most candy bars? And, since when do I need a science degree or a clinical study to tell me that eating a banana is better for my kid's health than another mammal's milk with added artificial growth hormones and high fructose corn syrup.

Wake up America! Take a look at your child's school lunch menu...water is not offered as a beverage choice but four types of cow's milk is! Wanna know why? Because the federal government sees no nutritional value in water. Wonder who funded that study?

Common sense is not so common. -Voltaire

[Kelly]

Um... Wow. :-|

[Lisa Reedy]

This conversation is ridiculous, those poor 5 kids live under a dictatorship (I mean the post by Marisa). My little boy packs his lunch each day, except for Fridays, then on my lunch hour, I bring him a special treat (McDonalds chicken nuggetts and we eat together). Marisa needs to let her kids be kids. Go find a life Marisa, Chocolate milk is good for kids!!!!!! And Tasty too!!

[Stefanie]

Really? As a teacher of kindergarten children I am in such disbelief of this conversation. Young children are perfectly capable of making good food choices, I see it everyday! The parents that I work with who take the time to teach their children about healthy food, usually have children who eat healthy food. Kids like to do what is right, and usually what mom and dad tell them is what they believe is right. So teach your children and trust their choices. How else will they ever learn to really make choices?

I see too many parents micromanage their young children and you know what I see as a result? Children who cannot manage themselves. Children who do not self regulate. Children who only make good choices when they think someone is watching them!

Please, trust your kids.

[LizardMama]

Well, after all this talk about choc milk I thought I'd give you all a laugh and tell you what they really do with the non-choc milk (son calls it "regular milk")... my 5yo son has been helping the lunch ladies clean lunch trays and the tables (I think he's flirting) and yesterday told me that the machine they use to clean the lunchroom floor RUNS ON REGULAR MILK! Ha! So that's where its all going. He saw it with his own eyes... saw her pour regular milk in the floor cleaning machine. (I think it was floor wax, but he can't be convinced).

[Emily]

Actually, there's been research that shows children who drink chocolate (flavored, in general) milk tend to be healither and have lower BMI's than children who don't drink milk at all.

[anon]

Wow. Just think about how Palin-esque this conversation sounds if you replace the phrase "chocolate milk" with "birth control" or "abortion."

Funny how a sugary beverage can make liberals sound like republicans...