Michelle Obama: "We Can't Just Leave It Up To The Parents"

[whatdidyousay!]

I think that homeless kids do go to public school and they are entitle to get free lunch so it had been for many years.

I am talking about the homeless kids that do not go to school and have to sell themselves for sex. I knew some girls and they ended up on the streets in California when they got older. I read some years ago that there were a lot of deaf kids on the streets too. I mean kids that live alone on the street with no parents.

 

[shel90]

I am talking about the homeless kids that do not go to school and have to sell themselves for sex. I knew some girls and they ended up on the streets in California when they got older. I read some years ago that there were a lot of deaf kids on the streets too. I mean kids that live alone on the street with no parents.

I am sure the homeless issues are addressed but this is about making schools responsible for providing healthy foods during the school hours. That I totally agree with.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I am sure the homeless issues are addressed but this is about making schools responsible for providing healthy foods during the school hours. That I totally agree with.

I am more concerned with the homeless people that have NO FOOD to eat.
I called the White House and asked someone how they were going to help people that became homeless because they lost their home and are living in tents city in California. I ask why not clean up the trailers that were brought for New Orleans and let the people live in them. The woman at the White House told me that the trailers were for emergencies only! She did not think it was an emergency that family with babies were living in tents because they lost their homes! That is the White House!

 

[jenniifer]

I think I, and most people, can handle their kid's diet, and I don't appreciate the government interfering in my life...but someone has the get the soda and junk food companies and their vending machines out of the schools. Whatever happened to just milk or juice?

 

[deafbajagal]

I think I, and most people, can handle their kid's diet, and I don't appreciate the government interfering in my life...but someone has the get the soda and junk food companies and their vending machines out of the schools. Whatever happened to just milk or juice?

Exactly.

Think George Orwell's 1984. SCARY.

 

[Reba]

I am more concerned with the homeless people that have NO FOOD to eat.
I called the White House and asked someone how they were going to help people that became homeless because they lost their home and are living in tents city in California. I ask why not clean up the trailers that were brought for New Orleans and let the people live in them. The woman at the White House told me that the trailers were for emergencies only! She did not think it was an emergency that family with babies were living in tents because they lost their homes! That is the White House!

Maybe the White House thinks that people in tents are camping on vacation, not living in crisis. *sarcasm*

 

[TWA]

I think I, and most people, can handle their kid's diet, and I don't appreciate the government interfering in my life...but someone has the get the soda and junk food companies and their vending machines out of the schools. Whatever happened to just milk or juice?

Actually, most parents CAN'T manage their children's diets and they allow them to eat just as much junk food at home as they do at school. Kids are not little obese butterballs simply because of vending machines. Child obesity is a major problem and if you think our nation's healthcare system is taxed already, just wait till these kids get older and their bodies start to really shut down. You know who's going to end up paying for that? YOU AND ME.

That's why this is definitely the business of the Federal Government. Parents have proven to be quite irresponsible in managing their children's health, and it's time for something to be done.

 

[Banjo]

If you don't like having the government butting in your business... get off your butt and start taking care of your children.

It shouldn't be the government's job to take care of the children, but they aren't being given much of a choice these days.

 

[TWA]

If you don't like having the government butting in your business... get off your butt and start taking care of your children.

It shouldn't be the government's job to take care of the children, but they aren't being given much of a choice these days.

 

[jillio]

Kinda curious, back in my day, in elementary school, I bring a dime a day for lunch. Wonder what the cost of lunch is today?

Yiz

Comisserate to the cost of raw food supplies today. Everything has increased in price.

 

[jillio]

actually, most parents can't manage their children's diets and they allow them to eat just as much junk food at home as they do at school. Kids are not little obese butterballs simply because of vending machines. Child obesity is a major problem and if you think our nation's healthcare system is taxed already, just wait till these kids get older and their bodies start to really shut down. You know who's going to end up paying for that? You and me.

That's why this is definitely the business of the federal government. Parents have proven to be quite irresponsible in managing their children's health, and it's time for something to be done.

+1. Childhood obesity has steadily gotten worse over the last decade and then some. Parents aren't doing their part, or we would not see the steady increase even though everyone has been made aware of the problem and the effects it has on health.

 

[jillio]

I am talking about the homeless kids that do not go to school and have to sell themselves for sex. I knew some girls and they ended up on the streets in California when they got older. I read some years ago that there were a lot of deaf kids on the streets too. I mean kids that live alone on the street with no parents.

That is a completely different issue. Those kids are generally running from an abusive home environment.

 

[jillio]

I am more concerned with the homeless people that have NO FOOD to eat.
I called the White House and asked someone how they were going to help people that became homeless because they lost their home and are living in tents city in California. I ask why not clean up the trailers that were brought for New Orleans and let the people live in them. The woman at the White House told me that the trailers were for emergencies only! She did not think it was an emergency that family with babies were living in tents because they lost their homes! That is the White House!

There are several programs that address the issues of homelessness. Shelters, food pantries, soup kitchens, etc. That is a different problem.

 

[jillio]

if you don't like having the government butting in your business... Get off your butt and start taking care of your children.

It shouldn't be the government's job to take care of the children, but they aren't being given much of a choice these days.

+1

 

[saywhatkid]

A lot of school districts use vending machines to generate funds. They also get financial incentives to sell products, such as Pepsi vs Coca Cola. If you put Pepsi machines in, the company pays a bit of a sponsorship fee to the school for selling their products. Somehow, I don't think they would need to empty the change box very often if they sold fruits and tomato juices, instead of chips, candy, and soda.

 

[jillio]

A lot of school districts use vending machines to generate funds. They also get financial incentives to sell products, such as Pepsi vs Coca Cola. If you put Pepsi machines in, the company pays a bit of a sponsorship fee to the school for selling their products. Somehow, I don't think they would need to empty the change box very often if they sold fruits and tomato juices, instead of chips, candy, and soda.

And generally those funds are used to support programs that would have to be dropped.

 

[KristinaB]

I know in the public school my kids went to for a short time in Missouri had vending machines in the middle school and high school. They all had granola bars, peanuts and raisins, the drinks were either water or fruit juice. No sodas at all.

The lunch fare in elementary was so bad that I sent lunch for my kids. When they moved to the middle school, they had a choice of the meal of the day, or the salad bar. My daughter still had me pack a lunch and son had the salad everyday. The school would not pay attention to the dietary restrictions my daughter had and said that her doctor and I were both wrong. She was only allowed so much in diary products and I monitored her intake of those at home and she wasn't allowed to have them at school. they still would giver her 2 cartons of milk on her lunch tray. (She was required to take a tray and put her lunch-box on it and go through the line with the rest of her class.) She has such medical issues that that played into why I removed her from the school system. She is healthier at home. Son is my problem. He eats too much and I can't get him to stop. I will deal with it and maybe the doctor will get through to him.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I think I, and most people, can handle their kid's diet, and I don't appreciate the government interfering in my life...but someone has the get the soda and junk food companies and their vending machines out of the schools. Whatever happened to just milk or juice?

Exactly.

Think George Orwell's 1984. SCARY.

If you don't like having the government butting in your business... get off your butt and start taking care of your children.

It shouldn't be the government's job to take care of the children, but they aren't being given much of a choice these days.

I agree with the three people here. I don't like the Government telling me what I should or should not feed my niece and nephew. At the same time, I also believe that it's the families' (be it parents, grandparents, aunts', ect...whoever is involved in that child's life) responsiblity to see that children get good wholesome meals and also put down their electronics, and, go outside and exercise (read: play). I can remember as a child, my parents kicked our butts outside after lunch in the summer time, and basically said..."I don't wanna see you until I call you for dinner..." My sister and I played in the yard or were with friends during the day. When it was time for dinner, my parents called us home, and, we were in by dark. It's just how it was. I know times are different now, and, crime prevents much of the way kids can spend their time, but certainly, they can get exercise some how; some way. It's the parents job to make it happen!

 

[jenniifer]

Actually, most parents CAN'T manage their children's diets and they allow them to eat just as much junk food at home as they do at school. Kids are not little obese butterballs simply because of vending machines. Child obesity is a major problem and if you think our nation's healthcare system is taxed already, just wait till these kids get older and their bodies start to really shut down. You know who's going to end up paying for that? YOU AND ME.

That's why this is definitely the business of the Federal Government. Parents have proven to be quite irresponsible in managing their children's health, and it's time for something to be done.

In a perfect world, the government interfering to give those who can't or won't feed their kids properly a little help would be nice...however, where does it stop?? It is the CONTROL that makes me nervous. Today they want to control what the school cafeteria offers, tomorrow they bust down your door at dinner time and take you away because you are serving spaghettios. And does it matter anyway, will it work? When I get stuck behind someone paying with food stamps at the grocery store, I can't help but notice all the CRAP most of them buy. The bottom line is, people don't care. The government can't change that, no matter how much "help" they offer. Most people see it as their constitutional right to eat whatever they want, and to feed their kids whatever they want as well.

A huge part of the problem is today's lifestyle, 2 working parents and no time or energy for cooking good meals. Easier to just stop at McDonalds on the way home. Easier when you are exhausted from working all day to just shove a cookie in a whining kids mouth and yell at them to go watch tv. Because of the financial needs of the average family, the 2 parent working home is here to stay. The way I see it, the only thing that will work is to prepare our children from a young age to take responsibility for their own health and choices, and hope it sticks. The government isn't going to feed them until they die, they are going to grow up constantly being given choices, and they need the information to make the right choices. Having the government make those choices is not going to help. What might help is more nutrition education, and it needs to be taught daily, right up there with English and history. And instead of a gym class where we force kids to play competitive sports (whether they like sports or not) why not instead make gym class a daily EXERCISE class? If they want to play sports let them join the teams in their towns or play on the school teams after school.
If we start them out as young as possible with nutrition education and daily exercise, it could be very helpful towards building good habits for life. It's just common sense.

 

[jillio]

People on food stamps buy crap because it is cheaper and goes farther than good, healthy, fresh foods.