Wish I'd said this!!!

Sharpe, good comments. Forty years ago as kids we walked to school and played outside until forced by our parents to go inside. These days parents are afraid to let kids out of sight for even a moment for fear they'll be kidnapped or killed. I wonder if the number of attacks on children has actually increased or it is the awareness of such attacks that has increased. I grew up in east NY. We learned as kids that yes, there really were monsters out there that would kill you, but we also learned to be street smart and fight when we had to and run when we needed to. I'm not saying that we should go back to that, but I think this fear of letting kids out of sight is part of the problem when it comes to children being so sedentery and unhealthy. That and video games.

As for chocolate milk - please let the kids be kids while they can. They can punch a timeclock and exercise at the gym the rest of their lives.

I'd like to add onto what Sharpe said:

Parents - quit buying your kids junk for their lunch boxes - I've seen an elementary school kid with not one, but two of those Lunchable meals, and he was a BIIIIG boy! It really hit home one time when my 4th grade son came home and demostrated what happened when a Mentos was put into a Coke. I asked him if his class did this in science, and he said that one of the kids at lunch had the candy & soda - for lunch! OMG!

As far as schools limiting offerings in food like only offering low fat milk or baken, not fried foods, and now non-flavored milk. It should be the choice of parents, not the schools' choice. My own kid is skinny, skinny, skinny, but that's how he is - he was born skinny and long! But he also, on his own, chooses healthy foods. Sushi is his favorite food. Doesn't like chicken McNuggets. Today's lunch that he made himself was a triple layer sandwich - peanut butter - and, um, okay, on second thought, perhaps not that healthy - fluff and chocolate peanut butter - on whole wheat, with chocolate milk and sunflower seeds as sides.

His doctor had said when he was young that my kid should eat a happy meal once in while - once in a while will not hurt a kid. But constant eating of fast/junky food - not good. Balanced meals are key.

Sharpe, I wholeheartedly agree. It's lazy kids and above all lazy parents. Nutrition is not rocket science; it's largely common science. Moderation and exercise are the key. One choc milk a day is not going to make anyone fat. Add a candy bar, potato chips and other junk food, and you're in trouble. Stay away from the white stuff (white flour, white sugar) as much as possible, eat in moderation, and EXERCISE, in other words, limit your kids' TV and computer time. Who is this Oliver anyhow. I bet he does not have a degree in nutrition or anything related. He's nothing but creating publicity for himself with his hype. Let him go back to the other side of the pond. If he wants to help make people slim, there's plenty to do in the UK.

Sharpe, I agree that the biggest problem is not with what exactly is served in schools but with the imbalance between exercise and consumption. However, as evidenced by the comments on this page, if parents can't find a way for their children to get the calcium they need without flavored milk, how can they be expected to go so far as to provide opportunities for adequate exercise for their kids?

Parents who support flavored milks in school with the argument that children wouldn't otherwise get the calcium they need should consider the nutrition they provide for their children outside of school.

They served a mix at my grade school. Sometimes regular, sometimes chocolate. It was a 'treat' when they had chocolate milk, usually on a Friday or on Pizza day or something.

Also, we didn't have a choice. It was water or milk.

High School had vending machines, but most kids still took the milk/juice/water because it was either free or cheap. What kind of allowances are kids on these days that they can buy sodas for lunch all the time? They should be saving that money for cigarettes and beer like normal kids. =P

The Food Cops need to get out and stop telling us what to eat. Parents should be the ONLY ones who decide what their kids eat and drink, Not the Food Cops, not the Special Interest Groups.

Or Schools! I understand schools can't be giving kids chocolate in place of protein (whatever) but it is NOT their job to slim our kids out. It is NOT their job to parent. Where is the personal responsibility?! People need to pay attention to their kids, take them to parks and other recreational facilities. Spend time with their kids OFF of the tv and videogames. It is not rocket science

I love how they do away with Physical Education class for most students and then try and blame the 8 oz. carton of chocaolate milk for the rise in obesity. I can only wonder how such moronic people gained control of our education system.

Couldn't agree more. Why is it that the problems with kids are always the fault of someone else? Schools usually portion their foods reasonably. This doesn't stop the kid from consuming way to much when they get home. My kid is overweight not because he ate 15 tacos for dinner last night, it's because he had 12 ounces of chocolate milk.

Schools are there to "help" educate your kids and they have to eat. When I was in school, over 30 years ago, there was always white and chocolate milk and there was usually only one "fat" kid in the school. Why? It was that same reason as Sharpe said above, the kids were outside playing. They weren't playing video games or on social media or texting every 10 seconds. They got out of their house and away from their parents.

Now we have a society where the kids get a ride everywhere they go and then sit on their butts when they get there. Ever try to text and walk, not easy to do. Used to be a time when you walked or rode a bike to get where you were going. Now they ask for a ride two blocks away.

Virtual reality is replacing reality. Sit for hours and play baseball on the Xbox but never so much as play catch for real. Chat with a name on a computer screen and call them a friend instead of interacting with live humans where you may just have to get off your butt.

Milk, it does a body good unless you put a tablespoon of Quick in it. Then it is poison.

Stop coddling your kids and giving them everything they want. Houses are now restaurants with the kids being served something other than what was cooked for dinner because they don't like it. Half the time they have never tried it yet they don't like it. But they have associated the fact that as long as they tell you they don't like it you won't make them eat it.

We have redefined Freedom of Choice. The government has turned the tables so your kids have more power than the parents. The parents, apparently, aren't the reason these kids are obese, bullying, disrespectful etc.......this must be the fault of the schools or some other outside entity.

All the garbage on TV turning kids into control freaks. Taking away their imagination and virtually robbing them of the few years they get to be a kid. What is the major issue at this time, chocolate milk.

When a child is born we cut the cord, why are so many people reattaching it?

Jumping down from my soapbox which is actually a chocolate milk crate.

Schools are quick to remove chocolate milk and lunches from home, and yet continue to cut gym class! Hmmmmmmmmm!

One meal a day is not going to make a difference to kids. If schools want to be productive, put them back in gym class and give them recess.

Heaven forbid that these do-gooders listen to what the experts have said: to leave the chocolate milk in the schools so the kids will get their calcium and protein.

IF they were really concerned about nutrition in the schools, they would be busy lobbying for the schools to stop serving the junk they now serve in the cafeterias and go back to what they served 30-40 years ago-real food! None of the processed, fat & sodium loaded junk they feed the kids now.

My 5 kids (2 adults now) have all brought/bring lunch from home and always have the option of buying milk or juice at school, and they rarely choose the chocolate milk. It's just a matter of PARENTS educating their own kids from day one as to what is healthy "food" and what is a treat.

Sharpe in DC...The problem isn't food. It's the attitude that there are no limits to what parents and kids can have. That's part of the disease of affluenza. Parents today so fear the word "NO" that their kids now believe the sky's the limit and too much still isn't enough.

They'd rather shove drugs down their kids to make them "behave" then face the realities that they don't want children as much as they want militarized trophy kids.

I love how they do away with Physical Education class for most students and then try and blame the 8 oz. carton of chocaolate milk for the rise in obesity. I can only wonder how such moronic people gained control of our education system.

Couldn't agree more, Texan! And on top of that - most schools have put so many restrictions on what kids can do at recess that the kids aren't even allowed to run around and have fun - because they MIGHT get hurt.

I don't remember there being NEARLY as many overweight children when I was young. That's because we had phys. ed. every day, all the way through high school; were allowed to run and play at recess; and were outside playing every day that the weather allowed (and some days when it didn't). Until someone does a study that compares obese and non-obese kids that are eating exactly the same things, and have the same amount of exercise, and shows that the one container of chocolate milk per day is the only difference, I'll look at other things as being the course of obesity.

Browns Backer, Amen. (still laughing about the "poison")

Yep Texan. I have to leave the USA so I can educate my kid without him becoming a fat arse now that you need a teaching degree to home school children (check out the California Law)

We had 2-hours of PE a day. We were made to run 2-miles and after you could shoot Bball or tennis. Now it is how soon can i play golf on my iphone.

I don't remember there being NEARLY as many overweight children when I was young. That's because we had phys. ed. every day, all the way through high school; were allowed to run and play at recess; and were outside playing every day that the weather allowed (and some days when it didn't).

But Phys Ed will make my husky broodlings feel bad about themselves, and they might even be bullied!

I agree that parents are responsible for their children's diet. However, cutting chocolate milk from the school menu is far from an infringement on that responsiblity. If it's so important for parents to provide their children with chocolate milk, they can easily serve it at home. I see no benefit in schools setting unhealthy examples. While school menues need an overhaul in general, I'm glad they're starting somewhere. To go full circle, the need to address sugar intake in the lunchroom would not be necessary if parents TOOK responsiblity for their children's diets and activity level.

The lady with six kids who refused to drink white milk would have cracked me up if we weren't talking about children's health. If you let the first five get away with it, how in the world do you expect the sixth one to state they prefer it? She's deluded herself into thinking that their milk choice has nothing to do with her, which I suspect happens in a lot of households with overweight children.

It is sedentary lifestyles that are most suspect in this case. Kids eat more because of their natural need to grow and develop. But if playtime isn't more than a computer screen, well, the battle is lost.

Stop stuffing their pie-holes, while at the same time, getting them out of the house to play and to socialize with other kids.

Weight loss is like birth control, you simply close a different orifice.

Listen to what you people are saying; you really want our children to engage in contact sports, foot racing ( there will be a winner, it could mentally cripple a slow person),. swimming (they could drown), baseball ( look how dangerous a bat is, it could breed a hostile person), basketball, ( you could get knocked on the ground,how awful); and worst of all ,that barbaric sport football, ( many groups want it outlawed, and children removed from parents who allow such a thing )

I am not even going to get into boxing and wrestling, school boards should be replaced that allow this terrible thing !

Welcome to a happy, safe, controlled, America, they will all make good little workers for our wonderful rulers !

Wow. Some really good points here! I agree the school should not be the ones solely responsible for managing the kids diets. Everything regarding the kids starts with the PARENTS! They are the ones who need to be held responsible here. To often nowadays the parents are the last ones held responsible in all aspects of the kids lives. Its also sad to see the amount of sugary and processed foods that are out there and marketed to kids nowadays as primary food not side dishes or special treats. Sharpe made a great point about the balance of exercise. This is the main problem with kids today, don't get out and do anything, again the parents fault - though many schools have cut recess and gym time. Now I do agree the school should do good and make sure the meals it offers are good for the kids, don't need to give them a bunch of high fat or sugary foods (saw an episode of Food Revolution with Jamie Oliver and wow, the crap they fed the kids was horrible, what was even worse were the retarded state guidelines and the laziness and complaining of the cook staff when it came to making the meals that were more healthy and required a little more work). As far as this milk goes, get rid of the strawberry it is clearly bad, but if needed keep the choc and do what some other schools did switch to natural sugar or try to find away to keep flavor but reduce the sugar some more, I'm sure it can be done. Also just limit some choices and you might be surprised. Certainly no vending machines in the school or that can be accessed during lunch. Again more healthy food at school is a great start but more over it is time we continue to hold the parents more responsible. Stop looking for others to blame. We as a society too need to better learn to control ourselves and push for more healthy choices in our day to day lives.

I haven't read this entire post...but when I was in elementary school, we had to drink white milk every day but Fridays. On Friday, we could drink chocolate or strawberry milk if we wanted to. This could be an option so kids can still enjoy their milk. I knew I always looked forward to the treat at the end of the week.

But chocolate milk making kids obese?? No way...kids going home to sit on their butts for hours can't be the problem. It's the 200ish calorie milk!!

Good idea, Kittin. Like the medium there.

I do agree, however, i had a severe milk allergy growing up and am still lactose intolerant, so i disagree with taking chocolate milk out of the cafeteria. The Cocoa breaks down the lactose in the milk making it easier to digest, and yes even i on the rare occasion could drink chocolate milk, but now i like soy milk don't have to worry about feeling gross!! But i think the schools should offer alternatives like water or juice to kids who may not be able to drink milk, i know a lot of schools don't, mine didn't!!

How does one even imagine that it is okay to dictate to others what they can eat and drink?

It is ridiciculous moments like this that give liberals such a bad name, dictating socialist ideas about what you are allowed to feed your own children.

As it stands, if you even put a non-accepted food item into a bagged lunch, the child could be sent home. In another state, they are actually trying to outlaw bagged lunches.

I have a great idea, how about you take your nose out of my business. It isn't welcome there.

I LOVE that the nutrition police are so worried about chocolate milk.

The government subsidized breakfasts consist of FRUITLOOPS---ICED POP TARTS---ULTRA SWEET APPLE JUICE----and WHITE MILK

This translates into crunchy sugar---liquid sugar----and toasted sugar

What an ignorant bunch of people------and Yes I DO work in the school district and see these breakfasts daily.

I guess the healthy fruit is in the pop tarts

You are right, the problem is with all of the food schools serve, but the school systems are so stubburn that the only thing they are willing to concede is the chocolate milk. The ignorant bunch of people is the school system and the parents that are ok with feeding their kids crap (not to mention the USDA who writes the guidelines for the food), not those that are trying to make things better.

I don't remember there being NEARLY as many overweight children when I was young.

There weren't - at least not in my 70s-era grade school classes. I could scan the class pictures from each year to prove it. There wasn't even always a token fat kid in my class from K through 6. Now I hear that about 30% of kids are overweight. Most of the stuff we ate back then would make you cringe - but we played outside until we HAD to come home. Therein, surely, lies the difference.

lexiwords,

I agree. The whole approach to nutrition in this country is messed up. As is portion size.

And then look at the lunches, heavy in simple starches, highly processed. I understand the logistics of using fresh foods, but it is really necessary to provide adequate nutrition and promote good dietary practices throughout life. Much of the problem with portion size is that we don't get the needed nutrients from the high carb, high processed foods that dominate our diets. So we crave more to get adequate amounts of these nutrients.

and don't forget to line the hallways with soda and snack machines....

Pot is already easily available to kids. Pot's easier for them to get ahold of than alcohol. Legalizing and regulating pot for adult use is more likely to make it MORE difficult for kids to get ahold of -- alcohol is legal and regulated for adult use.

Mark stated: "Legalizing and regulating pot for adult use is more likely to make it MORE difficult for kids to get ahold of -- alcohol is legal and regulated for adult use."

Pot and alcohol, just like cigarettes may be regulated, but in all of my 55 years never seen it stop kids from getting their hands on any of it. So legalizing and regulating it will stop it how?

Plus this is about chocolate milk.

Plus - yeah, I had access to all sorts of hard stuff before the age of 5, legalizing it wont change much

I'd worry more about the breakfasts consisting of fruit loops (crunchy sugar),

pop tarts (toasted sugar), ultra sweet apple juice (liquid sugar), and white milk.

Great one Randall. LOL

:>)

You may joke Randall, but it really not a joke to see the kids walking through the high school halls sucking on giant cans of "Monster" energy drink and a bag of hot Cheetos as their breakfast at 10:30 in the morning. It's no wonder they can't concentrate.

But, Mikey, it's the parents responsibility to decide what kids eat!! Not the schools!! Obviously they had to get it from somewhere!

LS,

you are totally incorrect. The law places the same legal burden upon schools as parents while they have responsibility of the child.

This is nothing more than a cost cutting measure for the schools. "Free" lunches get a carton of milk...no reason to pay 3 cents more a box for the choco.

LS - While I agree with you, it was a long time ago when parents decided that they wanted nothing to do with their child's lunch and most activities and wanted the daycare I mean school to do it.

If the parents don't like what the schools are doing with food and beverages, then don't rely on the schools, TAKE CARE OF IT YOUR SELF.

But most of society is too frickin lazy to actually even care what happens at their child's school with education let alone nutrition.

MikeyMike: I agree with you 100%, HS kids shouldn't need energy drinks at school (and arguably, ever). So stop selling Monster at school. Don't allow it to be brought in from outside (I'm sure that'll go over well).

But we're talking about chocolate milk here. I'd rather see EVERY child in school drinking chocolate milk, and know they're at least getting that much milk in their diets.

LS,

you are totally incorrect. The law places the same legal burden upon schools as parents while they have responsibility of the child.

Mark, schools can offer veggies and white milk and nothing fried and salads to their hearts content. This does not mean the kids will eat it!! How can a school force them to? They can't! The kids will just throw it out.

Schools in our county don't have vending machines. So, if they bring energy drinks and chips, it's from home!! Therefore, the parents are deciding that it's ok for the kids to have this stuff.

And, Randall, I agree. I'd much rather see them drinking chocolate milk than an energy drink!

Just what we need, with school districts already strapped for money, they need to spend money on lawsuits?? Schools need to serve nutritious meals, but let's not go nuts. (oops, I guess they can't serve nuts either) One chocolate milk is not going to make a kid fat and chocolate is actually good for you. Better to teach parents and kids what good nutrition is and the importance of exercise. Also, they should have P.E. in all grades.

OK, your comment "chocolate is actually good for you" ruined the whole post for me. You must know soooo much about nutrition (dark chocolate in small amounts has health benefits, not the processed crap they put in milk). It is people like you who do not understand nutrition that teach kids today to eat the way they do, it is truly an epidemic.

When I was growing up, I had no choice. It was regular milk with dinner, period! No chocolate, and guess what? I made the same choice at school. My mom did not feed us processed crap (no hamburger helper, kraft mac and cheese was a rare treat) and today I make healthy choices. It starts at home! Those of you who say your kids would not drink milk without chocolate in it need to look at what you are teaching your kids at home. My stepson was the same way, because my husband let him be. A few months cooking real food for him and I had the kid eating asparagus!

Pick up a jar of Ovaltine. Whether it's "real" chocolate or not, it's good and good for you.

The Beev...In a matter of less than a decade, public education won't exist as we know it today. Computers make it far easier for kids to take their classes right at home where McMommies and McDaddies can pay more attention to what McAdorables are eating.

Parents are working on a schematic of misplaced priorities today. Kids don't need to live in 5-bedroom McMansions to be happy while their parents are a vapor that rises in the wee hours of the morning and dissipates until they settle back over their homesteads in late evening too tired to pay attention to their brood.

Those of you who say your kids would not drink milk without chocolate in it need to look at what you are teaching your kids at home

This very thought that parents actually say this blows my mind. What do you mean they WON'T drink it unless it is chocolate? Tell your little monster 'too bad' and make him sit there until he drinks it.

It's not really that hard people. Let your husky brood throw a fatty fit all day if that is what it takes, they will eventually want something to drink with their KFC.... and trust me they will probably choose plain milk if the only other option is water.

Who's buying the groceries anyway? Your kid definitely isn't.

The Beev...In a matter of less than a decade, public education won't exist as we know it today. Computers make it far easier for kids to take their classes right at home where McMommies and McDaddies can pay more attention to what McAdorables are eating.

Parents are working on a schematic of misplaced priorities today. Kids don't need to live in 5-bedroom McMansions to be happy while their parents are a vapor that rises in the wee hours of the morning and dissipates until they settle back over their homesteads in late evening too tired to pay attention to their brood.

How is it government intrusion if a school decides what or what not to serve on its own?

They can decide all they like, but they also want to ban sack lunches, and charge for theirs. If they wish to dictate what will be consumed, they should also get the pleasure of paying for it.

Cause we pay taxes to the school district, a government body; they also have elected officials, so that makes them government. They need to re-instate PE and playtime at recess in schools.

Our tax money funds these schools. That's kinda how I see it too. School has become so f'ed up in the past 10-15 years it's not even funny. People say technology is good, but it's caused every bit of this. Kids can't write their name, can't give change unless a machine tells them how. But they can text 100 words a minute and shoot the sh!t with their buddies on facebook.

Absolutely, Jeremy! Cursive writing is not even taught! How are they going to sign contacts, checks, etc???

Doesn't matter, they may not even know how to spell their name either.

Checks? Kids now may not even know what a check is. Those are antiques. If places would do the math on "processing fees" they pay on debit cards, more checks would be accepted.

LS...This is also the reason most colleges are complaining they have to offer remedial courses these kids somehow missed in elementary and high school classes.

There's only one real way to insure that kids are learning and it isn't in public schools. Most public schools today are curriculum top heavy with non-essential subjects. By the time they get to college, they are insufficiently educated to even write a paper or keep up with the foreign exchange students on college campus.

This is far from government intrusion in anyone's lives. No one is suggesting that chocolate milk be banned from child consumption. They're only suggesting that schools stop providing a sugary drink for lunch. One should really read the articles they're commenting on.

paganviking - The day the people decided it was the Schools job to furnish lunch was the day people allowed Government to take over another aspect of our life.

Also if you don't like what the school board is doing, get involved. A bunch of parents and I got together and worked our butts off to get a new school board member elected and a old school member off the board, surprisingly the board has listened to parents much more since, they realized it wasn't the status quo anymore.

I have no issue with kids drinking choco milk. I have an issue with my children learning bad habits and plain stupidity from the sheep.

A person is smart.

People are dumb.

My number one goal is to teach my child that and how to not feel insecure around other people. Not that his friends are texting and he needs an unlimited text plan also.

dman, I think you're hitting the nail on the head. Unfortunately, it's obvious by our rates of obesity that many in the US are not making healthy choices and are not passing good dietary decision-making on to thier kids. I think it's a-okay, heck, only right, for schools to set good examples for kids who may not be getting the guidance from home.

For me in the 1970's I always had Chocolate Milk. of course there were no Food Cops back then. And dispite the soda machines and snack food venders, only a couple of people were barely over weight. and no we had no exercise programme nor after school programmes the district was too poor for that sort o thing.

Magnum

My mother was the Food Cop. She allowed me to have one piece of candy a month. I did not get money to buy food at the snack house at school. Sorry but Mom knew best.

As a child, my mom made me drink a full glass of milk with every meal. Like the Brussels Sprouts she forced on me, once I left home I never touched the stuff again. I don't force milk on my son (he gets calcium from other sources), but I was more than OK with him drinking the chocolate milk at school. However, that got really old and now he just leaves it on his tray and waits until he can get some water. I really wish they offered some viable substitutes, who wants to drink milk on a hot summer (desert for us) day?

AG99...Actually, schools don't want kids bringing ANY food from home. Those tender little shoots with allergies up the wazoo are the reason. So..peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are out, pork is out because it might come in contact with the religious who aren't allowed to eat any pork, chocolate is a no-no...as is salad dressing made from any kind of grain or nuts. Cheeses are another no-no. Strawberries and certain other fruits also cause allergies. That leaves raw veggies. You know any kid who will eat raw veggies five times a week?

But the part I love most? The crappola these parents believe is "organically grown"...show me a single place on the planet where there isn't some form of pollution in soil, air or water. They've tricked themselves into thinking if it's called "organic", it isn't tainted by already tainted natural elements like acid rain and underground plumes of chemicals.

ALL those things are banned? Good grief, it's a wonder parents can find anything to give their kids for lunch.

I do give some credence to the organic movement though. Some theorize that the rise in all these allergies is the cumulative effect of the large number of chemicals we subject ourselves to. Organic produce, while probably not completely free of contaminants, is going to have far fewer of them. Whether it's enough to make a difference remains to be seen.

None of those things are banned at my son's school, but he can't bring a granola bar for a snack because it makes the desks sticky, and no crackers because of the crumbs (snack time is in the classroom.) So he gets some cucumber slices, or fruit and cheese, instead. I only found out recently that one of his classmates is allergic to peanuts, but only if he ingests them.

Let the kids play the games we used to play dodge ball and the like, oh no someone might get their feelings hurt, get over it. Quit trying to control everything!!!

kimcar, If kids would get of their a$$ and away from the T.V, game system, computer, drop the damn cell phone and get their a$$ outside and do something, they wouldn't be fat. Fourteen grams of sugar in a carton of chocolate milk in the middle of the day doesn't make them fat.

kimcar...One glass of chocolate milk is going to make up for all the pizzas, hamburgers and other gunk McMommies and McDaddies feed their kids these days? Go to any McDonalds and watch what parents order for their kids...fried chicken nuggets, french fried potatoes or they order in with pizza loaded with greasy oils, cheese and sausage.

Children today are fat because McMommie and McDaddie would rather let them sit in front of a computer or talk on their personal cell phones than go outdoors, get fresh air in their lungs and actually get some kind of physical exercise.

Then let the parents decide what to feed their kids - the school should not be nosing in where they do not belong. A little bit of chocolate milk is not going to make a kid fat, simple as that. People need to remember moderation is key to everything.

Sifu- 20 grams of sugar is minuscule? That sounds like a lot of unnecessary sugar to me. Also, chocolate milk has more than twice the calories of skim (which I assume is what most schools offer as it is cheaper).

Sifu- 20 grams of sugar is minuscule? That sounds like a lot of unnecessary sugar to me. Also, chocolate milk has more than twice the calories of skim (which I assume is what most schools offer as it is cheaper).

For a kid that should be out there riding bikes, climbing trees, and getting into general mischief - yeah it is pretty miniscule.

But that's not what kids are doing anymore is it? Would it be more realistic to try to reverse the current culture, or to adapt the 'cultural infrastructure' to accomodate the difference?

I've got a can of Coke here in front of me, guess how much sugar is in it? It's got 39 grams in it(12 ounces). Not to mention the caffeine and preservatives, colorings, and acids. That's why my kid won't get them too often. But she's more than welcome to all the chocolate milk she wants. And we don't keep skim, 2%, or any other odd milk in the house, it's whole or nothing.

I am still of the opinion that chocolate milk is better than no milk. It's a small portion and as long as they aren't getting double doses at home, it can be considered toward their daily sugar intake. However, my son won't drink either, which is fine by me. He prefers water to anything else. We live in the desert, after all.

BTW: my mom forced milk on me at home (plain milk). I drank it at home, but at school I would drink nothing. If chocolate milk had been an option, I may have, I don't know; but I always thought (and still do think) milk tastes absolutely disgusting on its own. Why all the judgement on parenting practices? Yes, there is an obesity problem, but there are multiple factors at play. Yes, a lot of the time parents are at fault, but there are a lot of influences in our children's lives that we can't control. I'm not passing the blame, because if my 7 year old becomes overweight, that WOULD be all on me; but when they are older and a little bit more independent (as they should be), there are other forces at play.

My guess is that the parents of children for whom additional sugar would be a concern aren't tracking their children's total daily sugar intake and would not cut something out because their child had chocolate milk at lunch. Just a guess, though. I'm perfectly okay with schools setting a good example by serving only white milk. The whole menu needs a serious overhaul, but it's a nice start.

upstate John...They homogenize and pasteurize milk for a reason. Ever taste milk fresh from the cow? I have. It has a distinctly different flavor. For one thing, it's naturally warmed by the temperature of the cow's body.

You mean it don't cum out cold? WTF?

I'm pretty sure upstate was being sarcastic... At least I hope he was....

Did the brown cows give the chocolate milk? What about the black cows (dark chocolate milk). I've always wondered about that.

Tyra

You had it right at CHOICE. We have FREEDOM of CHOICE till you allow the commies to take it from you...it is amazing how many times you have to be told this.

Who's taking something away from someone? No one is suggesting that chocolate be banned from child consumption, only that schools stop providing a sugary drink for lunch. Parents have every right to serve as much chocolate milk as they want, as close to soda as it may be.

They arent banning YOU from giving your kid chocolate milk. You could give your kid chocolate milk everyday, morning, noon, and night. YOUR rights arent being taken away. The school will simply not serve it. YOU can still buy it yourself at a store, and send it along with your tubby kid. Why the uproar?

Thats like saying the schools will no longer serve pizza, and you thinking "OMG! we will never have pizza again!"

That tired old argument is pure BS.

Yes it is good for athletes who are training and burning who knows how many calories per day. When you work your body that hard the extra protein and sugar is good for you, most kids do not do that these days. It is not the same thing.