Cupcakes banned at school holiday parties

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Dec 21st 2007 8:00AM

Categories: Healthy Kids, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

The American public ban on smoking has been one of the most successful citizen-led public health campaigns of all time. Think a similar-type ban on cupcakes might catch on?

There's a growing movement out there, spurred by a law requiring schools to alter the nutrition of its students, to help kids eat cleaner, healthier diets. The latest manifestation of this obesity panic comes in the form of a cupcake ban in some Chicago schools. That's right. There will be no cupcakes at a handful of holiday parties across the Chicago region. Parents are asked, instead, to bring veggie trays in lieu of sweets and water rather than juice boxes.

I like this idea. Some don't.

"To believe that denying a couple of cupcakes during the Holiday season is going to make a difference in a child's overall nutrition is idiotic," writes the author of this editorial. "The Holidays are a time for celebration. And for generations of American kids, that celebration has taken the form of treats at school, shared in a true spirit of Christmas, with their friends and classmates."

Banning cupcakes only destroys the notion that holidays are special, says this man. What do you say?

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

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Comments (105)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)

matt 2-26-2008 @ 8:42AM

A battle rages today in schools from New York to California. It's not about history or student rights. No, at the center of the fight is a little icing-covered treat that generations of kids have brought to school to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays. It seems that the cupcake is no longer wanted.

School districts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California have banned cupcakes and other sweets at school parties. At some schools, kids are encouraged to bring in plates of carrots, apples, celery--and even (reportedly) cauliflower and broccoli--instead. Other schools ban all food from home.

Cookies, cakes, and cupcakes have fallen victim to the nationwide movement to keep unhealthy foods out of schools. Worried about rising rates of childhood obesity, a growing number of schools have removed soft drinks and candy from vending machines. School cafeterias have cut sugar and fats from lunch menus. For many, the cupcake ban is a sweet move. For others, however, it sours a beloved school tradition.

PRO: SWEET MOVIE

Supporters of the ban say schools have a responsibility to teach students by example. "School is ... the place where kids are taught how to eat healthy," Carol Beebe, executive director of the New York School Nutrition Association, told The Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y.

Dan Gerardi, agrees. He's the superintendent of New Jersey's Caldwell--West Caldwell school district. Starting this year, the district's students aren't allowed to bring cupcakes for parties. Gerardi says he believes the ban will help combat student obesity.

Grace Alexander, a junior at Herricks High School in Hyde Park, N.Y., supports her school district's ban. "We must realize that the times have changed," she told Current Events. "The idea of children plus sugar equals happiness is long over."

Nancy Shivers, a PTA member on Long Island, in New York, also supports banning sweets. "We all grew up having cupcakes for birthdays, and it's a shame it came down to [a ban]. On the other side, if we're going to be responsible [about nutrition], we really need to start in schools," she told New York's Newsday.

CON: SOUR CAKES

Critics say the cupcake ban is too much. Joseph Hickey, a school principal in West Babylon, N.Y., opposes banning sweets for parties. "I can't tell students not to eat birthday cake but to eat a vegetable platter for their birthdays. That would be mean," he told Current Events. Hickey will continue to allow birthday cakes and cookies "in moderation."

"Stop the great cupcake crackdown," trumpeted a Newsday editorial. "Birthdays are little milestones that deserve to be recognized, and our culture celebrates special occasions with special foods.... Telling children that eating well is about deprivation is teaching the wrong lesson. Let them eat cupcakes."

In 2005, the Texas legislature passed the Safe Cupcake Amendment to stop schools from banning sweets at birthday parties. Michael Benjamin, a New York state assemblyman, wants to do the same. He is sponsoring a bill that would make the cupcake New York's official snack. He hopes that will stop schools from banning the little treat.

Cupcake supporters even got the thumbs-up (sort of) from a politician. On the Late Show With David Letterman, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton listed her top 10 campaign promises. Number nine: "Each year on my birthday, everyone gets a cupcake."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Should schools ban sweet treats, such as cupcakes? Let us know at edce@weeklyreader.com.

Get Talking

Ask students: Do you remember taking cupcakes to school on your birthday? Why might some schools now be banning cupcakes and other sweet treats from celebrations? Do you think schools have a primary responsibility to encourage healthful habits, including eating healthy food? Why or why not?

Notes Behind the News

* Schools are rightly concerned about obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that since the 1970s, the number of overweight and obese adults and children has increased sharply. In 1980, 15 percent of adults were considered obese. By 2004, that number had jumped to 32.9 percent. During the same period, the percentage of overweight kids ages 6 to 11 increased from 6.5 percent to 18.8 percent. Among kids ages 12 to 19, the number of those overweight rose from 5 percent to 17.4 percent. Read more about obesity rates at www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity.

* Cupcakes for school birthday parties have been a tradition for almost 100 years, but birthday parties for kids in Western nations are a relatively new development, says William J. Doherty, a professor at the University of Minnesota. In ancient times, only emperors, kings, and high-ranking church officials celebrated birthdays, Doherty says. Children's parties appeared in the 1800s in Germany. The tradition then "spread to the upper crust in the United States as formal affairs to teach children how to behave at social events," Doherty wrote in Newsday. "It was well into the 20th century before child-centered birthday parties became common for most American children."

Doing More

Have students poll their schoolmates. How many would support a cupcake ban? How many think such a ban would reduce obesity? How many think a cupcake ban would do nothing to improve student health?

Heidi 12-21-2007 @ 10:47AM

No wonder I hate public schools and would rather home school children if I couldn't afford private school rather than send them to public school. This is immensely offensive. A daily diet of junk food is bad...but lets not ban goodies on special occasions. At the private school I attended when I grew up all students brought their own lunches and certain items like soda, cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol were banned at all times and it was rare that anyone wanted those things much less got away with bringing them to school. Trading lunches was not allowed. I find all parents who would allow the government to determine what their children eat instead of getting off of their lazy butts to make a lunch and/or teach the kids how to make their lunches is obsurd. If you care about what your child eats, you make their lunches. Stop abdicating your responsibilites and allowing the government to take over the raising of your children! I wouldn't hesitate to tell the government to go to hell if they tried to teach my kid sex education, tell me what to feed them, or tell me they have to have a flu shot and dictate their health care. If the kids are mine, I make the decisions. I wouldn't send them to be brain washed at a public school.

mulberry204 12-24-2007 @ 3:02PM

"wouldn't send them to be brain washed at a public school. "
As a teacher, I am just curious. What brain washing are you suggesting that we are guilty of?

Cara 12-24-2007 @ 3:23PM

So because someone wants to teach your child about sex education, you think that is brainwashing? I agree with you that the schools shouldn't be able to ban treats during holidays and special occasions, but I think you take it a little too far when you say "brainwashing". I went to private school for most of my time in school and then had to go to public school for high school, there really isn't that much difference between the two (just asked the kids who went to the private high school and were into more drugs than the public school kids). Sex education is something kids need to be taught in order to keep kids from having kids! If you think homeschooling children or sending them to private school is going to keep kids from having sex, think again. Wouldn't you rather they be having sex and be informed than having sex and not being safe?

homemaker 12-24-2007 @ 7:08PM

Heidi,
I completely agree with you, and that is why I DO homeschool my children. The ones that are doing the "brainwashing" may be so young that they do not realize that they ARE brainwashing their students. Others like the control and influence that they exert over their students. Some believe that OUR children actually BELONG to them and parents be damned...To each his own opinion, but as for me and my family, my kids are going to grow up and learn in a safe and wholesome place and that can be found only in my home. Merry Christmas!

Literatus 12-24-2007 @ 7:52PM

Mulberry, you asked what brainwashing she was referring to. I have to say, if you have to ask, perhaps you'll never know. But I'll make it simple. ALL education -- be it by a school or the parents -- is indoctrination; you indoctrinate the children with one set of values and principles or another. This isn't bad, of course, if you're instilling them with truth. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case nowadays.

Now, I'm going to ask you to be truly open-minded (as opposed to the faux open-mindedness of the left). Believe it or not, not everyone subscribes to the suppositions of our age. Yes, I and many others do not accept the validity of sex education, but that is the very tip of the iceberg. We don't want our kids being brainwashed into believing that the world is ending because of mythical anthropogenic global warming. We don't believe that multiculturalism, feminism, radical environmentalism or any other "isms" of the left are good things; thus, we don't want our children inculcated with them. Most significantly, we don't want them imbued with the humanism, moral relativism, nominalism and secularism (I know I was a bit redundant, as those philosophies are related) that prevail nowadays.

There is no such thing as "value neutral" education because everything involves values, even if they're just implicit. If you often talk about the perils of "global warming" but never about those of abortion, a message is sent that the former dwarfs the latter in importance. If you teach more about Martin Luther King than George Washington, the same message is sent. You should be able to understand these principles.

If you don't, it's only because you confuse your values with external reality. You should remember that a value is a value, whether it's accepted by the masses or not. And the philosophies I mentioned and their inherent values have not been accepted in every time and place, and may not be in the future (yes, hard to believe, but things can change radically). By the way, C.S. Lewis had something relevant to say about this:

"Their skepticism about values lies only on the surface; it's for use on other people's values. As far as the values current in their own set go, their not nearly skeptical enough."

I don't expect to convert you into a traditionalist, but hopefully you'll at least recognize that you are advocating a world view and its attendant values. It's today's fashionable world view, so at least you're going with the flow. I myself am more of a rebel.

rhiannon 12-22-2007 @ 10:31PM

as a teacher at a k-8 charter school, i can relate to the big cupcake debate. some may say, it's no big deal and wont ruin a child's health because its only during the holidays. the issue is that its NOT only during chirstmas, but all the holidays and then there are children's birthdays. the children and often their parents bring in cupcakes and all manner of sweets, essentially turning the learning environment we work hard to build into a sugar fueled party zone at some point each week. the girls are the worst, parading around in tiaras (even the older, middle school girls) using that sixth sense...of entitlement. dont get me wrong, i love teaching (i teach art) and i love kids, but birthdays and sugar seem to bring out the worst in them. sad sad sad. sickening even. worst part is, i supposedly work in a "green" healthy school.

Vince 12-24-2007 @ 3:01PM

It's amazing to see all of the gramatical errors in a teachers wriiting.

kahikaiwa 12-24-2007 @ 2:40PM

I don't have a problem with cupcakes. Our schools also ask the parents to bring in veggies and other healthy snacks too! My goodness what is this world coming to when our kids can't have cupcakes once in while! I have to say that I don't agree with the tiaras though. Our school doesn't allow it to go that far! Its to bad that some people see fit to ruin things for our children a little more every year.

kris 12-24-2007 @ 2:40PM

I love cupcakes. they are my weakness. But it's not only once in a while. There are 30 kids in a class, 10 months in a school year. Then there are holidays and special occasions. Do the math people. My children are allowed sweets but I make their lunches, sometimes healthy, sometimes not. But when my child comes home not hungry for what I've cooked and a half eaten lunch because he had cookies and cupcakes instead, I am livid. There are other options to give the kids. Just as we are responsible for giving our children good lunches, we are also responsible for setting an example. And telling out TEACHERS that we don't care enough about them and giving little Bobby with sugar issues, some MORE sugar... well, we are doing every child in that classroom a disservice. Not only does little Bobby have a bad day, but now he's disrupted the ENTIRE class over and over and the kids learn a portion of what they should have. How do I know??? My son is the little Bobby. He can't have sugar in school because he disrupts the class and can't sit still nor shut his mouth. I have 5 kids ages 20 to 7. I've learned the hard way. But I will give out pencils or trinkets instead of candy or cupcakes because I don't want MY child disrupting YOUR child while he/she is learning. I am not only taking care of my kid, I'm taking care of yours. NO CUPCAKES, CANDY,ETC IN THE CLASSROOM PLEASE.

mulberry204 12-24-2007 @ 2:50PM

When I taught, we didn't allow any treats because of the potential for razor blades, etc. to be hidden in the cupcakes/food. Parents could only bring treats in that were in unopened bags.

Wil W 12-24-2007 @ 2:51PM

Banning cupcakes is nothing new. My children attend the Half Hollow School District on Long Island, and they banned cupcakes ever since my kids started there 3 years ago. Its ridiculus. Just like the Ban on Peanut products. Because my like like peanut butter, they get segregated from the rest of the class. Its not fair to make the peanut allergic kids sit at a separate table, but it is fair to make kids who like peanut sit alone. School districts simply continue to set the wrong example for our children by always taking the easy way out. Its easier to ban everything than it is to develop and monitor a policy that makes sense and makes almost everyone happy.

Rebecca 12-24-2007 @ 7:28PM

I beg to differ on your view of "peanut butter segregation". You may find it unfair because your kids have to sit away from the general population to enjoy their peanut products, but for the people who have peanut allergies, it could be a matter of life and death for them. I myself have a peanut allergy, but it had never been severe until recently. Kids don't understand that just a smudge of peanut butter can be deadly for someone who has an allergy.

Jane 12-24-2007 @ 7:38PM

What you are failing to realize with the peanut allergic kids is that it's not just nuts that are contaminated. My daughter is allergic to nuts. We have to read every single label on every food product. Many are processed on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts. Most frostings that come prepared at the grocery stores are on shared equipment. Having that one cupcake on any holiday or other day could kill my child. Also, my daughter is so sensitive that even if her classmates ate nuts and then shared toys with her, that could cause a serious allergic reaction. I am all for any kind of ban of foods that are unsafe for any child.

DL 12-24-2007 @ 3:01PM

Our school doesn't allow cupcakes, or anything homemade. Store bought items cannot have 'sugar' listed as the first ingredient. I guess alot of things don't make sense here; my fourth grader doesn't get recess either.

Madison County, AL

CJ199 12-24-2007 @ 3:10PM

At my children's school they are not allowed as of last year to bring in candy or sweets for their birthdays or special occasions becuase of so many children are on restricted diets or have behavioral problems due to much sugar. Some times parents disregard it and allow their child to bring in store bought sugary items but over all they bring in healthy items. I think it's silly to ban cupcakes altogether. Once in a while children that don't have diet restricts need to have the occasional sweet otherwise they binge out on them. Everything in moderation people.

Steph 12-24-2007 @ 2:58PM

Teachers aren't allowed to give out sugar to kids and are only allowed to have two or three parties a year. Where I work kids aren't allowed to bring stuff for their birthdays and most of the kids wonder where there next meal is coming from. You want to curtain the sweets, don't let kids bring them in for there birthdays. But two times a year on a holiday isn't going to ruin them, it may be the only time they get any.

CDQ 12-28-2007 @ 10:49PM

I have been named "Class Baker" for my homeroom. I think that sometimes we need little treats every once and a while, especially during exams in December. A cupcake, or cookie, will not make you fat. With that said, kids should reduce their sweet intake. Instead of banning cupcakes, I think that they should make them in healthier more low fat way. When baking cupcakes, I use lower fat butter and brown sugar and no one can tell the difference.

DL 12-24-2007 @ 3:43PM

Does anyone have thoughts on why the elementary school would "ban" sugar and sweets, yet have pop/soda machines in the high school???!!?

Rebecca 12-24-2007 @ 3:39PM

In response to Heidi's brainwashing comment, I'm glad that I was "brainwashed" at the public school I attended! At least they "brainwashed" me well enough that I can spell absurd!