With all the attention focused on the eating habits of New York City's public school children, from bake sale restrictions to new vending machines, EarlyStories was struck this week by an over-the-top example from, of all places, Great Britain.

It seems that parents at a school outside of London can actually log onto a computer to check up on what their children had for lunch, according to a story in the Daily Mail.

Children who attend St John's Church of England School are issued photo ID cards when they buy their lunch, the story notes. A list of all the items are then sent to a website, and parents can then log on and see if their children ate, say, nothing but chips and cookies.

A school official in charge of the program defended it to the Daily Mail: 'This isn't a case of Big Brother but we think it is important that parents can see what their very young children are eating during the day so that they can help them make better nutritional choices,'' the official said.

It's not clear how such a system would go over in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been somewhat obsessed with health issues, and where school vending machines will soon contain no sodas, candy or sweetened drinks.

Studies have shown the importance proper nutrition plays in early childhood academic success, but the electronic check-up idea the London area school is trying has yet to show up in the U.S. -- or has it? Are extreme measures needed to make sure our littlest learners are getting the nutrition they need?