[...] Manny, Sofia Vergara’s on-screen son, has a girlfriend over who suggests he add salt to his chocolate milk.The rest of the world screams “no!” while Manny tries it – but it turns out [...]

[...] Chocolate milk is one of the quintessential American comfort foods, right up there with grilled cheese and chicken soup. Could something so good be wrong? [...]

I don’t think chocolate milk in itself is a bad thing. Heaven knows I love a glass now and again after a hard workout.

However, when we serve it at our house, we use just the smallest amount possible of chocolate source, not the massive amount in the milk served at school. I do think it is something to be consumed in moderation…chocolate Fridays is a great idea! Just like dessert, which is served at least two days a week AT SCHOOL. I don’t send my kid to you to be pumped full of crappy baked goods…let me make them things at home that are made with real ingredients!

Bring back chocolate milk! What is a childhood without chocolate milk. An extra run around the block, skipping game or wrestle on the bed with Dad would balance things out. Let kids be kids.

I have no problem with kids adding a little nesquick to their milk or drinking it with a cookie straw. I have a problem with the massive amounts of corn syrup that is used in the milk that is served in schools.

I think the concern may be in the amount of chocolate that’s in those drinks. I know my kids get a little batty when they get a lot of caffeine. We let them have some chocolate at home, where we can monitor it. Everything in moderation. Kids aren’t getting as much exercise as they should. Some schools don’t have PE and others don’t have recess. For some kids, that’s their only access to exercise. As kids, we were always out running around, so we burned off all this stuff pretty quickly. Maybe the key is to make sure these kids get more exercise?

Whatever happened to teaching moderation? I think there is a big opportunity here to educate our kids about nutrition and choices via the school lunch program.

Absolutely not, you can use ovaltine chocolate malt. This flavoring has many healthy nutritious vitamins, instead of all the sugar in other chocolate flavoring that are on the market shelves. We have been using ovaltine for many years now,and no one complains that it is not sweet enough.

A Chocolate Milk free campus with vending machines makes mommy look stupid. The one thing my kids need more of is calcium, and they dont need more sugar, however I have tons of ways I can reduce the sugar, but I don’t have enough collard greens to supply the calcium my kids fall short on everyday of every year since they went off of mother’s milk.

Get real. Having kids drink a chocolate milk, even if it’s everyday during lunch, is not going to hurt them.

I say let them have it! My kids do and never have a probelm with eating healthy foods. But i would not mind less sugar in it or being made with ovaitine, if they can make it healthier than it already is, I’m all for it. As along as it is natural sugars and not all of that fake stuff.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Chocolate contains oxalate — a naturally occurring compound in cocoa beans — which can inhibit the absorption of calcium. Calcium binds to oxalate in your intestines, limiting its absorption into your bloodstream.”
So, chocoalte milk is certainly not the way to go if you want your child to get sufficient calcium.

I am appalled at the thought of this discussion. Milk is the most natural drinkable fuel your body can consume and quite frankley the sugar content in the chocolate is neglegable when compared to the rest of the sugar and un-natural sweetners these kids are getting while at school. Milk has all the essential nutrients a childs body needs to think properly and give them the energy they need to continue concentrating through the day and if chocolate flavoring will get them to drink it, then so be it.

In case no one has been reading health reports, Chocolate is good for you. Milk is good for you. Artficial sweeteners, bad for you. HFCS bad for you and causes severe allergic reactions in some children and has caused a monstrous increase of kidney stones. So, solution…make sure chocolate milk has all natural, organic ingredients. Win, Win.

I have been subbing for a K-8 school and have to wonder why no one sees that a kindergarten kid does not eat the same amount of food of any kind as does a ravenous 8th grader. Why have a burger that is three times the size of what it should be for a little kid that can hardly pick it up. For the smaller kids at least half of what they are served goes into the garbage can. I doubt that much chocolate milk get thrown out so the flip side my be that the wee ones are filling up on chocolate milk.

I know this may sound simplistic but milk does come in different sized containers, and for that matter can be poured from a jug into a (gasp) glass.

All the prepackaged food creates garbage cans full of packaging waste everyday.

So, just to get started, cut the burgers into quarters, not everyone wants or needs to eat an entire burger. The kids aren’t stupid, they can point at what they want, and they would learn that rational thought and behavior is nothing to be ashamed of in spite of the ‘system’.

if you ban it then your making chocolate milk a forbidden fruit to these kids and whats more interesting then something forbidden? plus they just did a resent study (of course it was on adults but it still works)they put some people in a room with unlimited chocolate and other people in a room with no chocolate until a certain time then they got chocolate for a little while the study showed the people with unlimited access to the chocolate ate less then the people who only got chocolate for a little while in fact those people over ate the chocolate when they finally got it. so i guess what i;m trying to say is this parents are so worried about it yet by banning it or doing a once a week deal your more likely to make your kids over eat it when they finally do get it or think of this you ban your children from any sweets they go to high school were they can leave campus for lunch cant regulate that now can you? or they grow up and huh there an adult can finally make there own choices and what do you think is going to happen if a suppressed craving finally gets the chance to be fulfilled? anyway what you do with your kids is your choice but you cant push your parenting choices on all other parents they have their way of raising their kids you have your and that’s life and how it should be.

As a Mom of a chocolate milk lover I use 1/2 cup of chocolate mike & a 1/2 cup of 2% milk that way I’m cutting 1/2 sugar down and she loves it just the same

FYI…in the school district where I went to school the chocolate milk was skim. Why is a small chocolate milk a day a problem? Especially if parents are cooking healthy at home (which I know is impossible sometimes). The kids will run the calories and sugars off on their recess. If a parent has a problem w chocolate milk, they can handle it- not the school.

I believe that if you watch the amount of junk that your kids eat such as cookies or French fries, candy that chocolate milk will not hurt them. One cup of chocolate milk at school each day will not do them any harm and might be of benifit if they don’t drink regular milk. I would be more concerned about the candy and cookies they eat at hom

My five-year-old daughter just started kindergarten in a public school. We live in a small rural area, so on that front I feel we are lucky. We were all geared up for packing her healthy, preferably organic lunches and she was REALLY excited until she got to school with all the other kids who buy the crap sold at school. We did break down and add money to her lunch and breakfast fund feeling that we would help her select one lunch and possibly one breakfast each week that she could purchase. She came home from school one day and proudly told me she bought chocolate milk! I cringed as I have never bought her chocolate milk other than one half gallon of organic chocolate milk, and have raised her on ORGANIC white milk. She proudley told me they also sell Pink Milk (Strawberry – YUCK!). I have since convinced her to let me pack her thermos with my own concoction of organic white milk mixed with 100 % special dark cocoa and xylitol. She loves it! :) Get the crap out of the cafeteria. You don’t even want to get me started on the Trix Yogurt served for breakfast . . .

I as an adult I still really enjoy a glass of chocolate milk now and then. I have 3 children and none of them are over weight. So I think it is fine for them to have chocolate milk, but I think daily may be a little extreme. For the bennefit of other children that may be fighting with weight or have issues with sugar I think it may be nice to limit daily chocolate milk consumption. I like the idea of Fridays or maybe even 2 days a week.

I think it’s ridiculous to ban chocolate milk altogether. There are children out there who would not get the calcium and vitamins milk offers if it wasn’t for the chocolate flavor being available. Really if you consider the benefits, chocolate milk is a better alternative than say, Dr. Pepper, and it’s better than a child not having enough Calcium, Vitamins etc. because they won’t drink plain milk. You can allow your child to have chocolate milk and still raise your child healthy. You can offer skim milk or 1% milk etc., with low fat, low sugar chocolate powder. It honestly tastes the same and cuts some of the extra fat and sugar out of it. Really, like everything, its moderation. No, my son will not be allowed an entire gallon of chocolate milk per day, but one small chocolate milk at school each day won’t harm him. Especially since at home I make sure he eats well and is active. I feel it balances out. He can have the “treat” of chocolate milk and we cut out other sweets and candy at home. I bet, that my son has less sugar in his system, with the chocolate milk, every day than the average child gets everyday from other sources, such as cookies, candies, gum, pop etc. Really, let it be. If you don’t want your child to drink it, FINE. But some of us see it as a compromise. My son gets the chocolate taste he likes and I know he is getting the vitamins and calcium he needs.

I don’t believe chocolate milk is that bad for you, I heard if drank everyday actually helps you lose belly fat.

Taking sugar out of milk??? O.K. Flavored milks have added sugar. However, not all children need sugar removed from their diet. In fact the govt. should not regulate our diets! If they spent more time educating the people and left the food/manufacturers alone, the less desirable foods would no longer be sold. Leave the food alone and educate the people.

My husband and I have been drinking three 8 oz. glasses of 1% chocolate milk a day for 6 months along with eating a healthy diet and walking 40 minutes once or twice a day and he has lost 32 pounds and I have lost 20 pounds. We had blood work done at the beginning and about 4 months later. All of our blood work improved dramatically. The chocolate milk is very filling and helps curbs our appetite. It helps us from over eating and it taste GREAT!!!!

sorry I miss spelled some of the words. I my comment. I was going to fix it an forgot, lol forgive me on the typos, so the word ( that) an the word ( pace)an the word(choice) ,so again this is
Denise
fixing my typos, Sorrrrrryyyyy ,

I am not against chocolate milk entirely, although I do not like high fructose corn syrup, and not because it is a form of sugar, but how your metabolizes it. Brown bagging lunches are typically NOT healthier than the school lunches though. What I usually see in the lunch boxes at my school is packed full of cheetos, cereal, Luncheables?? Luncheables are the worst! Full of sodium, fat and a sugary drink!! Yuk. The peanut butter that is typically used by most homes are full of partially hydrogenated fat and high fructose corn syrup. What most people do not know is that the USDA along with support from Michelle Obamas “We Can” program and “Let’s Move” program, is that school lunches are actually becoming A LOT healthier than in the past. If interested, check out the Renegade Lunch Lady, Chef Ann Cooper, GREAT information, great movement…. Really making a difference across the nation. Next time you visit your child’s cafeteria, eat lunch! I do sometimes and my child and I regularly enjoy baked chicken with a homemade whole wheat roll and salad comprised of Spring mix, romaine and baby spinach! That is what I call eating healthy!! Oh, and my child’s school is not one of Chef Ann’s schools, nor is it private, or in a big city, just a small town where the school and people seem to care.

What are they going to replace the milk with fruit drinks talk about sugar intake and red dye problems! If they really want to help take out the caffined sodas machines at my kids schools. Bigger school problems from soda than milk.

I don’t see anything wrong with chocolate milk in schools, at least the kids are drinking milk which helps to promote strong bones.They are trying to ban chocolate milk what about all the other unhealthy food they serve, but then again, that unhealthy food is probably easy to make.My kids do will not drink fruit juices and then would not eat their meal.If the kids love the milk let them have it, they will work it off at recess or in the gym.

the government has no business telling my children what they can eat or not. That is my job.

@Kristi: You should take a closer look at that chocolate milk label. Almost all of the flavored milks served in public schools, including chocolate, are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
@Julio: If your kids are in a public school that receives state and/or federal funding, the Government does have the right to step and tell you that certain things are going to be changed. If you don’t like that, then you need to become more active in PTA, local politics, and become better educated about how to stop such things from taking place. Otherwise, you need to home school your kids or put them in a private school that likes to stroke the hand that feeds them, but you should realize that “Big Brother” is only trying to help whittle down all the “Fat Alberts” out there and make all kids healthier overall and better educated about food choices. You can always serve your kids their daily dose of unnecessary sugar when they come home.

THank you for the intelligent reply, Kristyn. I am constantly shocked by how people defend poor and harmful food choices in the name of fun and childhood. Yes, kids should be kids. Let them play outside until it gets dark. Let them make a mess with their toys. Make them cupcakes occasionally. But letting them ingest foods that are bad for them everyday is ridiculous. If we really want what is best for our children, we need to speak up and provide healthy and nutritious food for them all of the time. Chocolate milk and other junk food (yes I consider it junk food, have you read the labels?) does not equal fun or love.

The question its self is ridiculous. What is this nation coming to? Before you know it the government will be printing off a list of foods we are allowed to eat and be thrown in jail for eating “unauthorized” foods. Get real people childhood is all about fun, remember?? Get your heads out of “it” and live a little, go have a glass of chocolate milk and chill out!! My son calls these ban this and ban that people, “soccer moms”. You the kind, moms who if possible would have us all wearing helmets while riding in a car, wearing bubble wrap in case we fall and scuff a knee. Get over your sad selves!!

Actually the solution is so much easier than all of these…how about we take responsibility for feeding our own children! Big gov’t and schools shouldn’t have this responsibility and the school nutrition budget can go back into PE! Try that on for health and wellness!

Chocolate Milk, Regular Milk…Doesn’t really matter to me…I always suffered in school anyways because I was lactose-intolerant and they didn’t offer anything else…not even paper cups to let us get water from the fountains and eating while standing next to water fountains for a drink was stupid. I think they should start offering a little more than just milk at schools…bottles of water maybe, or even juices.

There isnt anything wrong with chocolate milk..Chocolate is suppose to be good for you and if we take everything away from our kids..How are they going to enjoy what is good.. As far as school chocolate milk in those little cartons wont hurt a children(S).

Also if they do ban chocolate milk I will sent it myself when I pack their lunch.I am the parent not the Government and if I say they can have it,they can!So go ahead and ban chocolate milk my kids will get it in their lunches anyway!The Government says it is a law they go to school but I say what they eat!

If chocolate is milk is SO unhealthy and we are SO concerned about our children’s weight and BMI, why is it when I go into local schools they have vending machines with the most unhealthy, weight inducing “snacks” possible….I would much rather my child have that itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny carton of chocolate milk at lunch during school, then a can of soda…..wouldn’t you?????? So, let’s get a grip folks, one meal a day is not going to kill anyone, its not going to make them overweight, all in all the lunches in schools today are better and more nutritious than we adults eat on a daily basis……so get a grip, and learn how to pick your battles!

Would you give your kids 8 oz of soda everyday for lunch???? Chocolate milk has the same amount of sugar a soda has. The lunches served in schools are not served because they are healthy, it’s because they are cheap and they will feed a lot of kids. I am in several different public schools every week and it’s spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, a fruit cup with sugary syrup and chocolate milk. You may think this sounds balanced, but it is carb city, all refined, nothing decent for our kids, simple sugars everywhere. And that’s one of the better meals! Jamie Oliver did a fantastic show on chocolate milk in our schools and how much extra sugar is being consumed by kids.

If only this could be combated by extra playtime. Unfortunately, recess and gym are being cut and kids spend their time after school indoors playing video games and watching tv.

Chocolate milk is not entirely the problem, but banning it, at least from daily consumption is a step in the right direction, but it can’t be the only being reformed or it’s vilified as I’m seeing in many of the previous comments. Once our taste buds are trained to accept sugary and fatty foods as “normal” instead of as a treat, it’s hard to acquire a taste for nutritious foods. When I gave up sugar for a while, I couldn’t believe how much energy I had and then as I started to reintroduce it back into my diet I realized how overly sweet things are and couldn’t tolerate much of what I used to be able to.

There’s no reason for added sugars in yogurt either. Try using plain yogurt and adding fruit or a little honey. The extra sugar in sweetened beverages and other foods wreaks more havoc on your system than the few nutrients absorbed from those “healthy” foods like milk and yogurt.