My daughter went in today for her kindergarten orientation. No big deal there; she can read, 'rite, and 'rithmatic with the best of them. However, I was in for a shock during the parent orientation part.

My oldest son started on Friday, so I already had a copy of the handbook and letter from the principal. In it, he stated that due to NCLB (that's No Child Left Behind), birthday parties were to be limited to 1 hour only, and only in the afternoon. That seemed pretty reasonable to me. However, apparently things are different in kindergarten.

As part of the healthy Arkansas thing the Gov. is doing, kids are prohibited from bringing all sorts of stuff to school. No candy, no cakes, no non-nutritive food of any kind. Juice boxes are included in this, although the kindergarten teacher assured me that they were fine in the lunchbox, just not any other time. It's water only, then. But the big surprise was the "no birthday parties" period policy for kindergarten. It seems too many parents bring cupcakes and cookies for their child's birthday, and that is the cause of obesity in Arkansas.

The governor, according to the teacher, has set a limit on the amount of sugar and fat that can be consumed during the school year. The school decided to use its allotment for Christmas (wow, I must live in a small town that still has a Christmas holiday!), Halloween, and Valentine's day. Birthday parties, therefore, can no longer be allowed. The teacher apologized for this, but there was nothing she could do. It seems so sad that public schools now have to "ban" birthday parties. Maybe I'll let my little one wear a party dress to school anyway, just for fun :).