Take the Candy-Free School Valentine Pledge!
January 31, 2014 | Posted by Stacy under Junk food in school, School parties, Sugar, Valentine's Day |
Valentine’s Day is practically synonymous with pink hearts, red roses and—if you have school-age kids—backpacks stuffed with candy.
I’ve never attached sugary treats to the Valentines that my kids hand out at school. (And thankfully, they’ve never asked me to!). But where we live, I’m in the minority. The sugar stash that came home with my oldest son (then in first grade) last February 14th —I’m talking M&Ms, Hershey’s Hugs, Cupid Corn, Tootsie Pops, Sweethearts, Skittles, Nerds and Smarties—was staggering. Think Halloween, only in February and with a pink and red theme.
What’s the big deal? It’s just a little candy!
Let’s say there are 25 kids in a class, and each one gives out a candy Valentine. That’s 25 pieces, boxes or bags of pure junk. As you can see below, it can add up to a lot of extra calories, saturated fat and sugar, not to mention artificial food dyes (linked to hyperactivity and other behavioral problems):
Candy |
Calories |
Fat |
Saturated Fat |
Carbs |
Sugars |
Hershey’s Hugs (9 pieces) | 210 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 21 |
Valentine M&Ms (20 pieces) | 68 | 3 | 1.8 | 10 | 9 |
Tootsie Pop (1 pop) | 60 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 |
Charms Blow Pop (1 pop) | 60 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 13 |
Cupid Corn (30 pieces | 140 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 27 |
Sweethearts conversation hearts (1 box) | 110 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 27 |
In addition to candy Valentines, some classes have a party with sweet treats like cupcakes, cookies and soda or juice, too. Suddenly, the day has become one enormous sugar binge—and I’m sorry, it doesn’t happen just once a year!!! There’s also Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, 100th Day of School, junk food rewards, PTA events, bake sales and much more. (See: Rant of the Day: Please Stop Feeding My Kids Junk Food at School!).
Last week, my twins’ Kindergarten teacher sent home a not-so-subtle note to the parents asking for their help in keeping candy out of the classroom on Valentine’s Day. In bold caps, it read “NO CANDY!”. (LOVE her!!!). But I don’t expect the same to happen in my second grader’s classroom. So I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’ve approached his teacher and our school principal with the idea of a candy-free Valentine’s Day–and you can, too.
Take the Candy-Free School Valentine Pledge!
Would you like to help keep Valentine’s candy out of school this year? Take the Candy-free School Valentine Pledge–and encourage other parents, your child’s teacher, your school principal and/or your PTA to join you!
I, _____________________________, pledge to do my part in keeping candy out of the classroom this Valentine’s Day.
If you’re a parent, here’s what you can do:
- Send a candy-free Valentine to school with your child
- Talk to other parents, your child’s teacher and/or your school principal about having a candy-free school Valentine’s Day
- Ask to distribute a list of candy-free Valentine ideas to parents and teachers
- Share the Candy-free School Valentine Pledge at school and on social media
If you’re a teacher or school administrator, here’s what you can do:
- Encourage students and parents to send candy-free Valentines to school
- Distribute a list of candy-free Valentine ideas to parents and teachers
- Share the Candy-free School Valentine Pledge at school and on social media
Sample email to the school
I still get nervous before talking to parents, teachers and school administrators about cutting back on sugary junk. I like doing it by email so I don’t catch them off guard. I always keep it positive and professional, and am careful not to criticize. You can use this sample email as a guide:
Dear TEACHER, PRINCIPAL OR PTA PRESIDENT,
I recently heard about an elementary classroom going “candy free” for Valentine’s Day. I’m wondering if you would consider doing the same in our [classroom or school]. It sounds like a great way to minimize the empty calories, sugar and artificial colors that most kids are already overconsuming and that can compromise their health and ability to learn.
If you’re agreeable, I’d like to offer to help spearhead the effort by drafting an email to parents with a list of non-candy Valentine alternatives. Taking the Candy-free School Valentine Pledge as a [classroom or school] could be a fun way to teach kids the importance of being healthy.
Thank you for your consideration–and for all that you do for our kids!
Sincerely,
ONE HEALTHY MOM
Please help spread the word!
Tell other parents, teachers and school administrators about the pledge and share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and anywhere else you can think of! Let’s start a movement to get as many families, classrooms and schools on board as possible. Together, we can make our schools healthier…one candy-free Valentine at a time!
For a list of candy-free Valentine ideas, see 12 Best DIY Candy-free Valentines.
Big thanks to School Bites reader Clara Mitchell of The Parent Co. for inspiring the pledge and to Kia Robertson of Today I Ate a Rainbow for designing the pledge form!
Related stories:
4 Healthy Valentine’s Day Theme Parties for School (& Home!)
Healthy Valentine’s Treats: 18 Fresh Food Ideas for the School Party
Why Candy Valentines Don’t Belong in School (and What You Can Do About Them)
A Special Valentine’s Treat: Whole-Wheat Oreos (Recipe)
Fun Valentine’s Dinner Idea: Make-Your-Own Heart-Shaped Pizzas
Why I’m So Passionate About Improving School Food (and a Plea to All Naysayers)
This is a great idea. I, too, am fed up with the endless parade of “holidays” that have become little more than candy eating occasions — especially in the schools. Thank you for taking the time to create the “What’s the big deal” chart. I am not sure that many people realize how a “little candy” adds up so quickly. I’ll be taking and sharing the pledge.
Thanks so much, Lexie! Really happy to have connected with you–I feel like you are a kindred spirit. I appreciate you coming by!
Great idea and hope it goes viral!
Thanks, Casey!! As always, I really appreciate your support. 🙂
[…] you agree, I hope you’ll check out this post from School Bites, which urges parents to avoid buying candy valentines this year–and to spread the word to […]
Our school system’s Wellness Policy mandates that parties at school are food free. The original reason we came up with a food-free celebration policy (about 10 years ago) was because of growing concern about food allergies. Then, in 2006 when the federal government mandated that schools have a Wellness Policy on file, we continued with the food-free celebrations requirement because of allergies AND our concern about poor nutrition. You should check with your Wellness Committee (call superintendent’s office for the contact person), because your school system might have a similar policy that’s simply not being followed. If it does not, consider joining the committee as a parent volunteer or speak to committee members to voice your concern. I sure hope this helps!!
Thank you, Liz! Believe it or not, our district doesn’t have a wellness committee or anyone responsible for communicating and implementing the wellness policy. Hopefully that will be changing by the end of the school year. We have an outdated and ineffective policy that was written in 2006, and I’m on the policy committee that is working on revising it according to the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010–but the district seems to resist creating any junk food restrictions that would upset teachers and parents. Don’t even get me started on that! Sounds like your school system is way ahead of the game on wellness–maybe I should consider relocating? Ha! Thanks again and I always love getting feedback/advice, so keep it coming!
Love this post! We just got a letter from my 4 year old’s teacher about Valentine’s Day, no mention about not bringing candy. We have been doing candy free holidays for awhile now and I don’t think my young children know any different. All of the candy they receive gets tossed or passed on to my husbands work. Thanks for posting the e-mail template, as I too, have hesitated from reaching out to schools, but that will be my next step. Thanks for all you do!
Thank you so much, Amy! I wish you luck in keeping candy out of the classroom. Love all the healthy eating tips on your blog!!!
Sending to my classroom teacher now. THANKS!
GOOD LUCK! Thanks for stopping by my blog. 🙂
[…] a Jamie Oliver award winning blog, created a pledge and details it on the blog post, Take the 2014 Candy-free School Valentine Pledge! The blog comes with a pledge, a document to sign, and a sample letter you can share with parents, […]
[…] stay at home and make Valentines. If you’re on board with skipping the candy this year (see Take the 2014 Candy-free School Valentine Pledge), you may be wondering what to do instead. While I’m all for simple construction paper […]
How did it go? Did the teachers and families go for it?