Milk choices vanish is schools

Chocolate Milk vs. Juice Drinks

Parents: Your children are approximately one month into school, have the mentioned anything to you about their beverage choices at snack break and lunch time? In an effort to reduce child obesity "school nutritionist" feel that chocolate and other flavored milk should be banned. What do your kids think about that? I know my school district went through a huge debate awhile back on whether chocolate and flavored milk should be allowed.
"School nutritionists" feel that white milk should be the only milk option offered due to the sugar content in chocolate and flavored milk. If this would have happened when I was in school I would have been one unhappy student. When I was in school milk only came in the cartons and for some odd reason the white milk tasted different to me in that packaging, therefore I chose chocolate milk. After 12 years of drinking chocolate milk I do not think I'm at all overweight due to my chocolate milk consumption!
The Dairy Today featured an article on this topic a few weeks back and they said that if white milk is the only option students are then more likely to drink a more popular juice drink. They then provided a sugar content (based on an 8 ounce serving) breakdown of the beverage choices your children have....

MILK

• 1% Chocolate Milk contains 25 grams of sugar
• 2% White Milk contains 12 grams of sugar

Juice Drinks

• Capri-Sun --> 26.4 grams of sugar
• Sunny D --> 30 grams of sugar
• Kool-aid --> 29.6 grams of sugar

The bottom line is milk consumption declines when children only have the option of white milk, they'll then choose something else. From the options listed above chocolate milk isn't so bad is it? Be realistic with your child's diet. If I had children I would much rather them drink chocolate/flavored milk then the other juice drinks available on the shelf.
Plus milk helps build strong bones:)

N.Starr