When Hooimeijer joined ‘Anne Frank’, handing out treats had already been discontinued. “There were two reasons for this. First, more and more children have food allergies, which quickly makes treats a hassle. Second, the differences were becoming increasingly pronounced: one child would bring large, expensive treats, while the parents of another child could barely afford the treats. It also played a role that we are a Healthy School and participate in the European school fruit scheme. Discontinuing treats fitted well with that policy.”
Automatic routine
Although the team supported discontinuing treats, some team members did wonder ‘what they should do instead’. “Handing out treats was such a tradition and, moreover, an automatic routine, because every teacher does it 25 times a year.” The resistance mainly came from the parents. “They understood the ‘Healthy School’ aspect, but much less so the arguments concerning food allergies and inequality. In addition, the parents felt as though a quintessentially Dutch tradition was being taken away from them. They also consider it important that their child is put in the spotlight because it is their birthday.”
To meet this latter need, the team at ‘Anne Frank’ decided to consider alternative ways to celebrate with the class without treats. “The idea behind it was: the child treats the class to a fun activity. The team then brainstormed ‘fun activities’ and also asked the children.” This resulted in a range of activities and games, which were then printed on cards. The birthday child may choose a card. The cards range from playing outside for longer and playing musical chairs to doing crafts for fifteen minutes, watching a video and playing dodgeball in the gym. The cards also take differences in age into account. “For example, among the younger children there are cards saying ‘sing a song’ or ‘shout out of the window as loudly as you can that it’s your birthday’.” All the activities last a maximum of fifteen minutes. “We chose that deliberately, because handing out treats takes approximately the same amount of time.”
By now, the children are completely used to the new approach. And that does not surprise Hooimeijer: “Children adapt most easily.” It is not a problem for the parents of new children either: “They already know about it before their child comes to school here.” Only the parents who experienced the change still have mixed feelings: “They often still feel that it is a great shame.”
Tip
This brings Hooimeijer to an important tip for schools that want to follow ‘Anne Frank’s’ example and discontinue treats: “Do not underestimate how important it is to involve parents in this. That is why I advise schools to prepare properly, listen carefully to parents and give them time to get used to it.” The same applies to the team: “I advise school leaders who want to do this to have a thorough discussion with the team and to come up with other possibilities for a party for the child together.”
Favorites
Although the selection of cards is fairly broad, there are now clear favorites: in the upper grades, playing outside for an extra fifteen minutes and watching a video are particularly popular, while among the younger children shouting out of the window or playing musical chairs is a favorite choice.”
Meanwhile, discontinuing treats does not mean that ‘Anne Frank’ has gone completely overboard with its health policy. “A good example was the 60th anniversary at the beginning of this year: there was simply a cotton candy machine in the playground.”
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