A school has asked its students to not hand out candy canes as Christmas gifts to their classmates as the school year winds down.
The directive has been criticised by at least one parent, who said it has left her children sad and upset.
“The grinch has come early to Buderim in the way of principals banning candy canes! Ludicrous!” parent Penny said.
In emails sent to the parents of students in Years 2/3 and 5/6 at Buderim Mountain State School, the deputy principals outlined that the sugary Christmas sweets were bad for teeth, could affect the learning of some students, and some parents didn’t want their children “to have an increase in their sweets intake”.
“My kids are genuinely sad about it,” Penny said.
“Taking their tiny piece of happiness away from them this festive season? It’s so controlling. What’s next, scanning lunch boxes?”
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In its emails, the school said it understood and encouraged the giving of “kind Christmas wishes to their friends and classmates”. However, it also asked “that they do not include candy canes in the cards”.
The school explained in its message to parents and students:
- “We have a lot of parents who do not wish for their children to access lollies during the school day.
- Students may start eating them early in the morning and as they contain a lot of sugar, this is not ideal from a dental hygiene perspective.
- As you would also be aware, increased sugar levels for some students can affect their ability to make appropriate behaviour choices and engage productively in learning.
- If different students bring in cards on different days over the two-week period, students could potentially be receiving and eating candy canes every day.
- We thank you for your understanding and support with this. It is because we care about our students’ health and wellbeing.”
One of the deputy principals, Anne Greiner, added: “In past years we have asked students to put the candy canes away and only eat them when they arrive home and have parental permission. However, we have found that the temptation was too much and they would eat them during the day.”
“We thank you for your understanding and support with this. It is because we care about our students’ health and wellbeing.”
The common act of giving candy canes, taped inside Christmas cards, to schoolmates has been banned progressively at schools across Australia during recent years.
One school staffer commented, “such a small thing making such big news”.
Buderim Mountain State School officials declined to comment further about the move, but the Department of Education said, “There is no departmental policy regarding students handing out candy canes at school and there is no ban on candy canes at Buderim Mountain State School.
“The school has received numerous messages of support, and no complaints, from parents and caregivers about a message that encouraged limiting the distribution of candy canes among students for health and dental reasons, as well as being in line with the wishes of carers who determine the types of food and drinks their children can consume.”
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