Maybe you heard this story: An honor student at a Connecticut middle school got busted for buying Skittles on school grounds. He was stripped of his job as class president, banned from attending an honors student dinner, and suspended for three days, later communted to one day (maybe for good behavior, like he ate an apple in front of the principal or something.) The latest breaking news is that he was cleared of the charges and had his records cleaned up. The student says he didn't know candy was contraband, though he did notice the student dealing in sweets was acting all furtive. Candy is forbidden as part of the school's wellness policy.
Ah, back in my day the schools themselves sold candy to kids at a snack bar, and I'm super glad that's a thing of the past. But this level of punishment is ridiculous, unless the Skittles came with an accompanying bag of weed and a switchblade. On the one hand, this must be an extreme example of a school taking a no-sugar policy to the nth degree, and I'd hate for folks to rise up and cry foul when the food industry and soda lobbies are working hard to push crap-food on our kids by sweetening the deal for schools (sponsoring football fields, generating revenue through soda machines, etc.) However, it does raise one point I think is key: Keep perspective on junk food so we don't lapse into hysteria. Sugar and candy and cupcakes (mmmm) are not going to make anyone "unwell" unless they are consumed in mass quanities very regularly (or you have some medical reason for not being able to eat them, of course.) We don't have to allow them to be pimped in schools, but we also don'thave to make candy a crime. Teaching our children the value of moderation and balance is far better.
