What's with this crazy law?

[cyberfish]

I suppose this will be more of a vent than anything because there's nothing I can do about it.
I think I finally finally found a nice private kindergarten program for my daughter. They provide breakfast and lunch for the kids but I told them, no thanks, we always eat in the morning before we go out. For lunch, I said I prefer to pack my daughter's lunch since we are vegetarians and their menu is meat-heavy. The director was fine with that but she said that by law (!!) I need to provide a note from a doctor in order to be able to do this.

This is in VA. Why does the state think I need a doctor's note to feed my child a nutritionally appropriate lunch? It's not like I'd be packing Twinkies and Jello (neither of which I have ever even bought).

[serenbat]

Did you ask to see the law? I would request a copy first and than go from their- I know our Dr wouldn't think twice about writing a note but it really doesn't seem correct??

[Alyantavid]

Our school does this too. I don't know that it's law here, but they did ask for a doctor's note for my son to be able to not drink the cow's milk they provide.

But we can send packed lunches without any trouble. Since it's a private school, I'd check their policies and also see what the law actually says (is this really worth going to the trouble of making a law?).

[Storm Bride]

I don't know much about the US, but is it possible she gets government funding for meals? I seem to remember coming across something like that somewhere.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

Our school does this too. I don't know that it's law here, but they did ask for a doctor's note for my son to be able to not drink the cow's milk they provide.

But we can send packed lunches without any trouble. Since it's a private school, I'd check their policies and also see what the law actually says (is this really worth going to the trouble of making a law?).

It may not be a law exactly, but licensing standards. In our state (IL), if the school is also licensed as a child care center (which many kindergartens linked with preschools are), they have to follow the meals rules for child care centers.

Which are:

--

f) All food consumed by children under the supervision of the child care center shall be provided by the center, except as follows:

1) Parents may provide food for infants not yet consuming table food or for any child requiring a special diet that cannot reasonably be provided by the
center.
2) Upon agreement of the staff, commercially prepared foods may be brought in occasionally by parents as part of holiday or birthday celebrations. Food
brought in for this purpose must arrive unopened as packaged by the bakery
or manufacturer, or it shall not be accepted.
3) If food is to be catered rather than prepared at the center, a dated contract with the catering service specifying the number of food orders to be delivered shall be available for review.

--

Both my child's former daycare, and current preschool (which will also be his kindergarten) require a doctor's note stating that a specialized diet is needed if the parents wish to provide a lunch.

[cyberfish]

Okay it makes a little more sense now...it's not technically a school but more an extension of a daycare that does kindy stuff. And the director said something about being USDA approved or something of the sort.

Still...I don't like the idea of having a doctor write off on my child's diet. It's not like they're even really experts on nutrition anyway. I'd rather see it as a licensed dietician if at all...and I do know how to feed my kid. But I understand. It's just government bureaucracy.

[Pirogi]

My care providers required this too. I actually hid under the radar for 6-7 months with one in-home provider who didn't care.

The USDA regulations (or whatever) require, for example, a protein source, two veggie sources, etc. Then they get a list of "acceptable" foods to fit these categories. Things like fish sticks, chicken nuggets, hot dogs all make the cut. I didn't want my toddler eating those things; I would prefer actual fish, chicken, or beef, so I brought her lunch every day. Still, I can see the point. If a parent insisted on packing a lunch every day that consisted of cookies, fruit roll-ups, and cheetos, that isn't nutritionally complete, but they can't make rules that target anyone, you know? So they have to enforce the same rules for parents that want to bring a more complete lunch, as well as parents whose lunches might be less nutritionally complete.

[cyberfish]

And yet -- white flour pancakes with corn syrup and no fruit were on the breakfast menu. Sigh. What if my kid gets a taste for that stuff? She loves oatmeal and OJ for breakfast now but she's not going to say no to fluffly pancakes with syrup if the other kids are eating them.

[smpayne]

I understand a doctor's note for allergies and actual medical conditions, but for lifestyle choices, how does a doctor sign off on that? If the doctor will give you a note, get one.

I would give them a very detailed list of the foods she can and can't have while you are trying to get the doctor's note, see what they say. They may be able to come up with some suitable substitutions. Besides if they are forced to make the substitutions, the people higher up will be more aware that you think what they are serving is CRAP.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by cyberfish

Okay it makes a little more sense now...it's not technically a school but more an extension of a daycare that does kindy stuff. And the director said something about being USDA approved or something of the sort.

Still...I don't like the idea of having a doctor write off on my child's diet. It's not like they're even really experts on nutrition anyway. I'd rather see it as a licensed dietician if at all...and I do know how to feed my kid. But I understand. It's just government bureaucracy.

I completely agree with the sentiment but get used to it... that's just how it is. Just think of it this way: the compliance of twenty parents like us is keeping one child from being seriously neglected or controlled (there was a thread some time back about a mom who wanted to switch her infant over to cow's milk... just cow's milk. Daycare provider asked for a note from the doctor, and apparently this was enough to get mom to switch at least for daycare hours, and to alert the doc of what was going on...).

[daisymommy]

I'm a former daycare director and preschool director (and teacher) in VA. Our licensing rules are exactly the same as what the previous person posted (from IL I think). So yeah, unfortunately, if someone from licensing were to do a spot check unannounced (which they do!) and your child had brought their own lunch, we could get fined and written up for failure to comply with licensing standards.

It would be easier to just get the doctor's note and keep it on file, so you can bring in a more nutritious lunch.

As to why the licensing laws are what they are, that's a whole other post

[mumkimum]

I don't know whether this may be part of their reasoning, but I know our preschool forms ask whether there's any medical/dietary reasons that we don't eat all of any particular food group - which we'd need a doctor's note for.

Now, being veg, I know we don't not eat all things in the 'protein' group (there's beans, tofu, etc) and dd only gets snacks there anyway - but your center may take it that way in that they want to provide meat as protein and since that's not the protein you want so they're asking you to do that. (we're not in the same state, but I've just been filling form out ourselves, so thought this might be a similar issue where you are).

[cyberfish]

I guess I get the reasoning but why does it not apply to all school lunches across the grades?

I'll do what they ask so they don't get in trouble with their licensing agent. No point making trouble with people who are just following rules handed to them. Of course, my daughter won't be there for lunch every day and she knows we don't eat meat so I could just instruct her to not eat the meat portion of the meal, not that she'd need any urging from me, and give her something an hour or two later when I pick her up.

And I agree it's wonky to ask a doctor to sign off on a lifestyle choice. But I do remember not too long ago a vegan couple was on trial after their 4 month old died because they'd only fed her rice milk. So I see it from that side too.

Now that I understand more I figure it's like the warning that came with my hair dryer to never use it while sleeping. Most of us probably don't need that warning but there must be a reason they had to put it there.