I know that there is a childhood obesity crisis in this country and many schools are implementing programs to teach children healthy habits. Unfortunately, I don't think teachers are necessarily trined in the best ways to get the messages across.
My daughter (in kindergarten) keeps telling me things she hears from her gym teacher that are inaccurate or else just plain inappropriate. For example, one day DD had a lollipop and then said she needed to get up to do some jumping jacks because "Mrs. M said that if we eat sweets and then just sit down afterwards we can get fat." I told her that was not quite true, and that eating way too many sweets and getting no exercise can cause a person to become overweight, but that does not mean she needs to do jumping jacks every time she has a cookie for fear of getting fat.
Then she told me that Mrs. M. told her class that none of them looked like they didn't take care of their bodies. How can she tell this? Does she know what each kid eats, how much exercise he/she gets, how much sleep, etc.? Or was she really saying, "None of you are fat?" I know plenty of skinny kids with lousy diets who sit in front of television for hours a day.
It bothers me that she is focusing on the prevention of "getting fat" in her attempts to teach kids to be healthy. I asked my daughter if Mrs. M. ever told them why it is not healthy to be overweight and she said no, so I took it upon myself to explain the effects on a person's health and lifestyle (your heart has to work too hard, you might not be able to run and play as easily, etc.). I understand that the teacher means well and has probably been told by her supervisors that she needs to do some obesity prevention but I'm disturbed by her delivery, KWIM?
Should I communicate this to the principal? The classroom teacher? This is a school I might eventually want a teaching job in, so I really want to avoid being labeled as "that crazy mom."
My daughter (in kindergarten) keeps telling me things she hears from her gym teacher that are inaccurate or else just plain inappropriate. For example, one day DD had a lollipop and then said she needed to get up to do some jumping jacks because "Mrs. M said that if we eat sweets and then just sit down afterwards we can get fat." I told her that was not quite true, and that eating way too many sweets and getting no exercise can cause a person to become overweight, but that does not mean she needs to do jumping jacks every time she has a cookie for fear of getting fat.
Then she told me that Mrs. M. told her class that none of them looked like they didn't take care of their bodies. How can she tell this? Does she know what each kid eats, how much exercise he/she gets, how much sleep, etc.? Or was she really saying, "None of you are fat?" I know plenty of skinny kids with lousy diets who sit in front of television for hours a day.
It bothers me that she is focusing on the prevention of "getting fat" in her attempts to teach kids to be healthy. I asked my daughter if Mrs. M. ever told them why it is not healthy to be overweight and she said no, so I took it upon myself to explain the effects on a person's health and lifestyle (your heart has to work too hard, you might not be able to run and play as easily, etc.). I understand that the teacher means well and has probably been told by her supervisors that she needs to do some obesity prevention but I'm disturbed by her delivery, KWIM?
Should I communicate this to the principal? The classroom teacher? This is a school I might eventually want a teaching job in, so I really want to avoid being labeled as "that crazy mom."
