Do treats sour the learning process?

Parents, nutritionists and some teachers worry about how trading candy for cooperation in school affects children.

[Times photo: Fraser Hale] Third-grader Keawalina Hutchins, 9, enjoys an ice cream sandwich Friday as a reward for perfect attendance at Chiaramonte Elementary in Tampa.

TAMPA - It drives Suzanne Saunders crazy. Almost every day, her 8-year-old son comes home from school clutching candy he got from a teacher.

"He gets Blow Pops, Tootsie Roll candy, those fruit roll up things," says Saunders, whose son, Tyree, attends Tampa Bay Academy charter school. "His poor teeth - I need to get him to a dentist."

Saunders is one of many local parents frustrated about all the candy arriving home with their children. Despite growing concerns about childhood obesity, sweets have become the reward of choice at schools across the Tampa Bay area.

Students get M&M's for paying attention. They get Skittles for turning in homework and Starburst for doing their classwork. The practice is particularly common in elementary school, where ice cream and cupcake parties are normal events on the calendar.

Educators call it positive reinforcement. Critics, including parents, nutritionists and even some teachers, consider it bribery. They say using candy as an inducement encourages bad eating habits while sending a terrible message about the value of learning.

"I believe children should behave because it's what they're supposed to do," said Karen Gums, a mother and kindergarten teacher at Forest Lakes Elementary School in Oldsmar. "Are we teaching them to make good choices just so they can get candy?"

Gums doesn't offer sweets as a reward. She uses compliments, which she says work just fine.

Sandra Boehm, a first-grade teacher at Folsom Elementary School in Thonotosassa, is one of the many local teachers who take a different approach. Students in her class get candy for perfect attendance. They get candy if they walk in a quiet line or behave as instructed.

Boehm, who also offers nonfood rewards, says the incentives have turned her students from wild to mild.

"It just works so well," she said.

Parents know the trick. Promise your kid an ice cream cone after dinner and watch the green beans disappear. It's Pavlov's theory, with sugar on top.

"Food can be a great motivator," says Beny Peretz, the principal at Mort Elementary School in Tampa. "Sometimes (students) need to see the carrot at the end of the stick. Sometimes, that carrot has to touch their tummy."

Nutritionists deplore the trend, which has been spreading for several years. They say rewarding children with goodies sends a terrible message about food, one that many kids carry into adulthood.

Obesity tops their concern.

By every measure, American children are getting fatter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 15 percent of Americans between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight - triple the rate 10 years earlier.

Local school districts aren't helping. Even as they cut back on recess and physical education classes, their schools are serving lunches that include chicken nuggets, jumbo tacos, pizza and corn dogs.

Last year, Hillsborough school officials signed a $50-million contract with Pepsi. The 12-year agreement gives the soft-drink giant exclusive access to their schoolchildren.

But at least lunches and sodas aren't being used as inducements. That sweets are bothers Tampa General Hospital dietitian Jill Kammerer, who says food should never become a motivational tool.

"Food is mainly for nourishment, to make you grow and make you healthy," says Kammerer, who works with the hospital's pediatric patients. "You're supposed to eat when you're hungry."

If food is used as a reward, she says, it should at least be nutritious. And special.

"If they're having it frequently, it doesn't become special any more," Kammerer says. "You just expect it."

Paul Reggiardo, president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, says school treats are a bigger problem for obesity than dental hygiene. But candy is never good for teeth, he says, especially if it is doled out throughout the day.

"It's the frequency with which teeth are exposed (that causes problems)," he says.

Lori Laughrey, who has two children at Alafia Elementary School in Valrico, is conflicted. She understands that schools are desperate to motivate students, "and candy is cheaper than toys and stickers."

"On the other hand," she says, "it encourages them to eat sweets."

Starla Metz, the principal at Fuguitt Elementary School in Largo, thinks there are better tools.

Fuguitt is one of a handful of local schools that has all but banned candy as an inducement. Metz says the school instead hands out certificates that recognize children for being respectful, honest, motivated and responsible. Students also get a pencil and a car decal for their parents.

"I think the concern is if you do too much with food, kids come to expect those kinds of incentives," Metz said. " "You want me to do this, what are you going to give me?' That's the wrong thing to teach. We're trying to help kids love learning."

Sara Hobgood says she has seen the wondrous effects of candy on children's learning.

Each member of her daughter's third-grade reading class at Sawgrass Lake Elementary in St. Petersburg gets a piece of hard candy when they behave in the cafeteria.

"I think it's great," Hobgood says. "My daughter loves to read, but some of the kids don't. The candy helps them sit still and read."

Ashley Hobgood, 9, nods her head, saying she looks forward to the candy.

"It's good," she says.

Most educators aren't thrilled about the use of sweets as a reward. But students raised on video games and 24-hour cartoon channels are hard to motivate, they say. Kids today want to be entertained, not taught.

The food certainly flows freely at Chiaramonte Elementary School in Tampa.

Chiaramonte students who wear their uniforms, mind their teachers and turn in their homework get to go to the principal's office on Fridays. They are rewarded there with candy, a pencil and a homework or uniform pass. Some also are chosen to go to CiCi's Pizza with principal Marie Valenti.

On Friday, the school hosted an ice cream party for children with perfect attendance.

"I always believe in motivating my kids and showing them I appreciate what they do," Valenti says. "It does help the children. It helps them stay focused."

But are there better ways?

June Fillion thinks so.

Fillion, chairwoman of Hillsborough's School Health Advisory Committee, remembers a recent request from her math teacher husband. He had created several learning games to use in his Robinson High School classroom and asked her to buy candy he could give to the winners.

"I told him, I'll go to the dollar store, but there won't be any candy," she said. Instead, she came home with cards and key chains.

"I asked him, "Did the students miss the candy?' He said, "No.' "

Fillion's point: Schools need to change their philosophy about rewards.

"Obviously," she says, "there are better choices than candy."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright