Read in the newspaper the other day (Monday?) that Canton Zürich's school board has banned, among other things, bananas in school. Can anyone give any reason as to why this has occurred? I for one cannot think of any sensible reason for banning any fruits in schools, unless of course there is a risk of death from allergies - and I have never heard of any life-threatening banana allergy! Particularly stupid from my point of view, as other comments in the article suggested that chocolates are still okay... but no bananas... :?
Hey, Search has not been my friend on this, and neither has Google... so am asking here, since I am desperate to understand!!
Haven't heard anything about that but I agree with you that it sounds stupid. Why not ask at your local school?
We haven't heard anything from our school and our kids often take a banana with them for "Z'vieri"
Probably some wacked-out parent told them it was a sex-toy.
or that if pushed into your back it could be mistaken for a gun
or that if a peel was on the ground you might slip on it- I've seen it happen in the movies.
I think the ban was only for the public schools, not private, so my kids' school should be okay... I still want my kids to eat bananas, they're one of the greatest foods in the world!
J.L-P -
According to this article (German only), the sugar from the bananas sticks really well to the teeth and encourages tooth decay. The limitation, including other foods, is only for Z'nuni.
ETA:
Here is a link to the flyer. There is a traffic light system - foods are divided into green, yellow and red. Bananas, of course, are yellow. Supposedly (according to some other articles), a flyer was/will be sent out and it will have the information in 9 languages.
our kids are going to a private school too, the school has a chocolate ban but bananas are welcome, slippery or not.
Chocolate? My daughter would die at your childrens school. She goes to French school... it's a free-for-all.
Is there a school dentist?
Reading those articles just made me cringe, it's one of the things I could add to the Things you like/dislike about Switzerland thread, in this case it seems that some jobsworth with naff all better to do had to come up with this. Yes the sugar might stick a bit longer but is the most pressing thing they found to worry about? Nanny state, p... me off
No, but they did have a learn-to-brush your teeth day. She's a teen and a girl- so 99% of her ideal diet is chocolate.
Thanks for that Capacitrix! Still a stupid reason, but at least some sort of 'logical' reason behind it... Still, to my mind, the nutritional benefits of bananas far outweighs the 'sticks to the teeth longer' argument... and the way my sons eat bananas, there is little or no contact with teeth anyway! Straight down, minimal chewing involved...
At my kids' school they are each issued a toothbrush by the school, which are all kept on a rack in a washroom next to the dining area - and they are required to brush their teeth after lunch each day. They get a new toothbrush each semester, unless they display undue wear before then... and they are labelled, too, to avoid mix-ups!
This doesn't surprise me as much as seeing one of the staff on one occasion brushing her own teeth after lunch...
It has been discussed before, but I can't find the threat right now.
It's about children's (bad) nutrition, to fight the coming child obesity and all here...
link in German
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/stadt/Weniger-Bananen-auf-Zuerichs-Pausenplaetzen/story/28490469
There it is...:
Bananas are not inappropriate, but there are better foods for a morning or afternoon snack apparently....
My daughter was allowed bananas in KG, 2 years ago, and now my son is in KG they told me he his not allowed them for snack
This program is only in the city, not canton Zurich. The parents get these leaflets as recommendations and not directives. The school department recommends to not daily give pupils food from the yellow list like bananas.
The program has more internal consequences because many elementary schools have a pause kiosk now where they sell small sandwiches etc. and if the kiosks exist anyway, why not make some rules. So they e.g. won't sell chocolate anymore. Just like the lunches where the school department also aims to offer balanced menus.
Regarding the nanny state comments, question is if too much liberty has been traded for the well-being of the mal-nourished bottom few percents. I don't think the line has been crossed here.
Just forget the fact alone it can make impression of sex-toy (only to some) or peels can make one to slip... It's hard to believe why would anyone think of fruit like banana to be banned, all just for one... I cannot imagine doing any sport without eating this fruit with its excellent nutritional values that we all can benefit from e.g.:
The banana has not been banned. It's a recommended list.