Removing Choice Is No Choice

The Santa Monica school system is about to vote on whether to remove chocolate milk from the choices available to kids.  This well-meaning movement is actually detrimental to kids, and is a sign of what is so wrong with how we "protect" our children.

There is no doubt that white milk is healthier.  Yet chocolate milk still has the same amount of calcium, protein and vitamin D.  Soda is available, as is tea and other beverages that do not offer any nutritional value whatsoever.  While chocolate milk has sugar added, it has nutritional benefits to offset that negative.  To me, this is like removing orange juice because it has sugar, without giving a nod to crucial vitamin C.

The real lesson here is teaching kids to make healthy choices.  That means letting them have options, not taking those options away.  In our ambition to help children, we are hindering them.  Some children will not get the benefits of milk if white is the only choice.  Some kids need the extra calories in a time when schools are providing the bulk of nutrition for thousands of children.  All kids need to learn how to make a choice, and use moderation when deciding what to put into their bodies.