Mothers raising the next generation of fat kids

jboccio90

At least their children are getting feed as opposed to the thousands of neglected kids that don't even get to eat each day.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Wow, I must be a terrible mother - I have a pic of my son on my Facebook with Nutella smeared all over his face...

And it's adorable. :flowerforyou:

I had a terrible mother - she NEVER gave me Nutella! I guess that's why I ended up fat and on MFP...

That's how this works, right?

Ohh.. I get it now.. Yep.. It's all my mother's fault that I drank too much and ate too much junk during college..

I think we are all taking what she said out of context. She was talking about little babies, not small kids.

We all have those photos. There is a huge difference from doing It every now and then to every day.

^Thank you. Yes I am talking about little babies (Mostly under the age of one, where there digestive system can not process certain foods as good as older kids) also you can't teach a baby about moderation. You control entirely what goes into there mouths. When they can communicate back and understand than give them the chocolate bar, and teach them that it is ok to have a treat every now and than, but too much could lead to diabetes and obesity.

The fact remains, you are not mother of all the babies. Worry about your own and don't give his impressionable little brain the idea that everything is his business.

maidentl

I broke all your "rules" and my kids are a very healthy weight. We are active and if they want to have a snack cake for snack that's fine with me. My mom didn't allow candy or fast food, so as soon as we got our driver's license that's all we ate. Didn't take long for us to become obese.

I can tell which kid in the neighborhood doesn't get treats at home because he cleans our pantry out when he comes to visit. :laugh:

jenilla1

I once saw someone at a restaurant pour soda into a bottle for their toddler. :sick:

randomtai

Confuzzled4ever

^Thank you. Yes I am talking about little babies (Mostly under the age of one, where there digestive system can not process certain foods as good as older kids) also you can't teach a baby about moderation. You control entirely what goes into there mouths. When they can communicate back and understand than give them the chocolate bar, and teach them that it is ok to have a treat every now and than, but too much could lead to diabetes and obesity.

If someone is feeding a 10 month old a McDonalds hamburger there is a bigger problem then nutrition. I'm not even sure a baby can chew that food properly. It's actually recommended to give babies noodles, mac and cheese, fries, potatoes, soft cheese, and other soft things, i think even the baby cereal by that point. I would be hard pressed to believe that a parent is feeding a child under the age of one, nothing but those foods you mentioned, esp since I believe they are still drinking formula/breast milk. Also. a chocolate bar would take a baby forever to eat. I remember giving my son one when he was little.. and most of it ended up smeared on his face, the walls and on the floor rather than eaten. I wouldn't (and didn't) give my child soda other then the occasional sips out of my straw along with his kids meal, back when I drank soda. but I wouldn't consider that unhealthy. My son put everything in his mouth.. good luck controlling that. :~p

flameh

I'm not going to side with anyone here...because some kids gain weight differently then others no matter what they eat. Mixing fruit, veggies and sweets isn't bad. Just it's a matter of moderation, the parents who feed it to the kids probably don't over do it as often as people might think. Then there's those people who do. Like my family eats nothing but fast food, where as I eat veggies, fish, fruit and the occasional sweet when I want it. It's all how people moderate food, same goes for children. The mother moderates what they eat. But just because there's a picture on face book about chocolate on a kid's face does not mean that's all the parents give them. That's like saying people are always chubby because they want to be, it might just be there genetics, hormone issues or lack of activity. Some have doctor fixes, others have just activity levels of going out and playing with the children. I'm not saying parents should always give children what they want, we wouldn't be called parents if we did. But look at it from both sides instead of just assuming. Though I do respect your opinion, it is frustrating sometimes to see kids eating that way, I can't even stomach fast food unless I know I'm going to get exercise after eating it and usually I do get up and exercise. Also my brother has diabetes and he only weighs about 90 lbs. So while obese weight can cause diabetes most of the time that may not be the case ^^;; Though I would not agree to giving soda to children under the age of ten...I don't even drink soda and I'm 22. Oops rambling

LiftAllThePizzas

Having a rant...

I have a 14 month old son, and have so many friends around me with babies similar age. Everyday I see them posting pics on face book of there babies face covered in chocolate and cake. I am ok with 'kids' having a treat every now and than. But a 'baby' does not need that sort of food in there tiny bodies, and I feel like yelling at these stupid mothers and telling them to stop feeding there kids diabetes. Babies need real foods to help with there growth and development, not junk food. It is just as easy to chop up some banana for a baby for a snack than to just whip out the chocolate bar!
At this young age it is crucial to start the our children on healthy eating habits.

This only directed at the mums who don't care for there children's health (Which seems to be a lot of them these days). I know there is still so many mum's out there who feed there babies the proper healthy foods.

Apparently men are incapable of feeding children, in your world?

FitOldMomma

The great thing about being a parent is you get to decide how to parent YOUR child. But you don't get to decide what others' do.
In other words: it's none of your business.
Basing parenting skills on pictures you see on social media is ridiculous.

sashadeee

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

HerkMeOff

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

There are a lot more causes to getting/having diabetes then having sweets.

MizMimi111

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

No. It's not about the sweets.

Confuzzled4ever

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

Well.. I think this has more to do with what they do to food then sweets themselves. And I believe they already showed the diabetes is not caused by sugar alone. But that's an entirely different topic..

it does bring up an interesting thought though.. how do you control how much sugar/junk your child gets? Do you read all the labels?? do you make sure you're buying things that have no added sugars? it's not the blatant sugar, it's the hidden stuff. How do you know what you are choosing to feed your child is any better then what is given to them at the diner? Unless you make everything from scratch, you're probably not doing much different then anyone else.

Carley

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

Also 30% of American kids are obese. Even more are overweight.


Something to think about.

Carley

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

Well.. I think this has more to do with what they do to food then sweets themselves. And I believe they already showed the diabetes is not caused by sugar alone. But that's an entirely different topic..

it does bring up an interesting thought though.. how do you control how much sugar/junk your child gets? Do you read all the labels?? do you make sure you're buying things that have no added sugars? it's not the blatant sugar, it's the hidden stuff. How do you know what you are choosing to feed your child is any better then what is given to them at the diner? Unless you make everything from scratch, you're probably not doing much different then anyone else.

We need to teach kids how enjoyable making these foods can be then buying them. How much more tasteful, and more pleasing.

daubawauba

Oh great, just what we need, more mom shame and guilt. Is it any of your business what people feed their kids? I guess I'm a terrible mother. My son had a whole little cake to himself on his first birthday to smash everywhere and eat. I posted photos of it all over Facebook. I also feed him cookies and other treats sometimes. I am such a terrible mom, right? All the healthy, awesome food he eats the rest of the time just doesn't matter. *gasp* I have even let him sip my soda! A tragedy!

You think mothers who feed their babies sweets are stupid. I think mothers who judge other people for petty crap are stupid. To each her own. I feel sorry for your friends who don't know they are being criticized like this for letting their kid enjoy life a little.

caesar164

Should this even be on this forum? Its about its members reaching their goals, not about parenting...

usmcmp

1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 will get early onset diabetes.

That's a lot of kids. Not all of them are overweight. That means in a family of three, one of your kids is going to get diabetes before the age of 30.

Think about this before giving your child sweets.

Well.. I think this has more to do with what they do to food then sweets themselves. And I believe they already showed the diabetes is not caused by sugar alone. But that's an entirely different topic..

it does bring up an interesting thought though.. how do you control how much sugar/junk your child gets? Do you read all the labels?? do you make sure you're buying things that have no added sugars? it's not the blatant sugar, it's the hidden stuff. How do you know what you are choosing to feed your child is any better then what is given to them at the diner? Unless you make everything from scratch, you're probably not doing much different then anyone else.

We need to teach kids how enjoyable making these foods can be then buying them. How much more tasteful, and more pleasing.

That's quite an assumption. My mom taught me to cook and bake all sorts of things. I hate doing it and I don't think it tastes better. It isn't that I suck at doing it either. I cook and I teach my kids to cook because it's cheaper and it's a life skill they need to learn.

brower47

Should this even be on this forum? Its about its members reaching their goals, not about parenting...

I wish she'd kept this to her parenting forum where it belonged. Now those places... scary, scary places where the OP would find herself right at home.

Lkkiser3

My opinion is you can feed your kids just about anything.. as long as you TEACH them healthy habits.. My children eat sweet sugary stuff, but they still know that when we sit down for dinner we will eat our veggies. They understand that its ok to snack but just not too much. and honestly sometimes when you are always talking about eating right and pushing it too hard that can also cause an eating disorder bc it can give them a complex...

McCrabby

OP, you could benefit from reading this link http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

You can thank me later. :flowerforyou:

daubawauba

My opinion is you can feed your kids just about anything.. as long as you TEACH them healthy habits.. My children eat sweet sugary stuff, but they still know that when we sit down for dinner we will eat our veggies. They understand that its ok to snack but just not too much. and honestly sometimes when you are always talking about eating right and pushing it too hard that can also cause an eating disorder bc it can give them a complex.

This exactly! We always say "everything in moderation" on these forums, but somehow that shouldn't apply to our children?

Yagisama

I volunteered for a children's hospital for many years and this was one of the main issues faced by the health care providers. As one doctor put it, they spent most of their time trying to save the children from the parents.

The hospital staff would try to give the kids healthy food but the parents would visit and bring all sorts of chocolates and candy, which would include other kids in the hospital.

But chocolate and cake for babies? That, I had never seen before.

I'm sure it's a lot different when the child is in the hospital for medical issues. During such a time it is important for children to receive proper nutrition to promote healing, but this is not what OP is talking about. She is worried about other people's children instead of worrying about her own.

The issue wasn't just what they were eating in the hospital. It was that some of these kids were already 50lb+ overweight, and some were already diagnosed with diabetes. This was introducing extra complications toward their treatment. And then the doctors and nurses would see the parents feed the younger sibling chocolate and cake while the older sibling had severe weight related issues. Hence the common quote I heard that the doctors' main job is to save the patients from themselves.

Also, I don't see how worrying about other people's children and worrying about her own children is mutually exclusive. She can worry about both.

It all depends if you see health care and its related costs a problem of the individual(s) involved or a problem of society. Many countries' population health and healthcare are often compared to the US. One country that I have a lot of experience with is Japan. Japan has one of the highest life expectancy of the world and a very healthy (albeit aging) population, especially compared to the US.

There, for better or for worse, there is extensive social pressure for parents to make sure their children have a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I think there is too much social pressure to conform for the greater good and the social pressure includes a great deal of health related shaming. I think that's too much and brings about a host of other problems. But I don't see an issue about a rant where one parent comments about the perceived negative behavior of other parents. There's no need to take it personally.

That said, I think moderation, as always is very important. Like other posters here, I grew up in a very healthy, no fast food, etc environment. Unfortunately when I went to college, I went hog wild with the pizza and burgers and that was the start of my weight gain. So you really don't want to overdo it.

forkofpower

Stop being a sanctimommy. Mothers get judged enough for everything they do -- relax and just focus on your own kid.

doointhis4me

I volunteered for a children's hospital for many years and this was one of the main issues faced by the health care providers. As one doctor put it, they spent most of their time trying to save the children from the parents.

The hospital staff would try to give the kids healthy food but the parents would visit and bring all sorts of chocolates and candy, which would include other kids in the hospital.

But chocolate and cake for babies? That, I had never seen before.

I'm sure it's a lot different when the child is in the hospital for medical issues. During such a time it is important for children to receive proper nutrition to promote healing, but this is not what OP is talking about. She is worried about other people's children instead of worrying about her own.

The issue wasn't just what they were eating in the hospital. It was that some of these kids were already 50lb+ overweight, and some were already diagnosed with diabetes. This was introducing extra complications toward their treatment. And then the doctors and nurses would see the parents feed the younger sibling chocolate and cake while the older sibling had severe weight related issues. Hence the common quote I heard that the doctors' main job is to save the patients from themselves.

Also, I don't see how worrying about other people's children and worrying about her own children is mutually exclusive. She can worry about both.

It all depends if you see health care and its related costs a problem of the individual(s) involved or a problem of society. Many countries' population health and healthcare are often compared to the US. One country that I have a lot of experience with is Japan. Japan has one of the highest life expectancy of the world and a very healthy (albeit aging) population, especially compared to the US.

There, for better or for worse, there is extensive social pressure for parents to make sure their children have a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I think there is too much social pressure to conform for the greater good and the social pressure includes a great deal of health related shaming. I think that's too much and brings about a host of other problems. But I don't see an issue about a rant where one parent comments about the perceived negative behavior of other parents. There's no need to take it personally.

That said, I think moderation, as always is very important. Like other posters here, I grew up in a very healthy, no fast food, etc environment. Unfortunately when I went to college, I went hog wild with the pizza and burgers and that was the start of my weight gain. So you really don't want to overdo it.

I get what you are saying about healthcare.. I'm a nurse..what I am saying is that it is a bunch of crap for someone to post stuff about mothers feeding their children crap that is setting up the next generation of fat kids. If OP is so worried about it why doesn't she grow a pair and advocate for those children on her Facebook page instead of coming here and standing on her soap box..

Yagisama

Well, sometimes a rant is just a rant. I sometimes rant about companies' poor customer service or support and don't end up doing anything else since the rant was enough for me. That said maybe she already has a facebook page about this topic, but then again I'm not sure how a facebook page would change things here.

BunBun85

OP, you could benefit from reading this link http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

You can thank me later. :flowerforyou:

My thoughts exactly.

EricJonrosh

FACT - There will always be parents out there that should not be parents...for many reasons other than what they feed their kids (though, without a doubt, this can be concerning in some circumstances.) Unfortunately, these parents will never know who they are.

Some diets are better then others, but feeding a child a diet that does not conform to your ideals (generic you) does not make it a bad diet. Bad parents do know who they are, bad parents just don't care. That is why they are bad parents.

I agree with you 100%. my son is 18months and has never had chocolate or anything like that. he eats healthier then I do! Its always those mothers that try and justify it by saying oh my kid doesnt like veggies... that sounds more like a parenting problem to me!

Poor kid. chocolate is yummy.. I really really hope you did the smash cake for his 1st birthday. That's a rite of passage.. denying your kid treats such as chocolate just means he will eat a ton when mommy isn't around. sorry, but that's the plain truth of it. My son has never been restricted from eating treats (quantity was limited before though), and now he moderates himself.

Wow, I must be a terrible mother - I have a pic of my son on my Facebook with Nutella smeared all over his face...

Welcome to the club! *pulls up second chair* We have cookies here. :drinker:

We were raised without sugar cereal and pop, it was forbidden. Yes we sneaked it when we could but it never came close to what other kids had daily. And it showed. They grew up skinny, small and lethargic. Fast forward: my nephews were raised the opposite way (my brother had no say in it) and were given ice cream every night, 2-3x the calories of their dinners. Plus she bakes all the time. Unfortunately it shows in their size. The oldest is 18 now and is about a foot shorter than all his friends. His mother is a firm believer in "don't deny them treats" and so is her mother. I always knew when her parents were visiting because you walk in the house and the counter is covered in chips, soda, skittles, chocolate, cheap grocery store cupcakes and trash, and the kids were sprawled on the couch, in glycemic stupor. Sure chocolate is yummy, but that's no reason to give it to kids all the time. And I've never heard of the smash cake tradition - haha. That's why we have so much childhood obesity and diabetes. Our portions are out of control. Allergies are popping up all over. It's really sad. One of my nephews became a picky eater because he is addicted to sugar. He won't eat anything that doesn't taste like candy. Make a baloney sandwich and he'll cry in terror until his mom caves in and fixes him what he wants. Not happening.

CA_Underdog

You control entirely what goes into there mouths.

A pediatric nutritionist once told me, while you control what you offer them, they control what they eat.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a daily grilled cheese sandwich. Cheese is a good source of calcium, something growing kids need. The best breads are low in calories and a good source of fiber.

PS - Us fathers have a say in the next generation of kids, too.

nlbez

Well im not some one that posts this pictures on facebook but my son is 19 months and eats chocolate and sweetie things but he also eats everything else that we eat to. Does this make me a bad mother?
Ever since we weaned him he just eats what we do its all about balance and moderation isnt it?
He has a healthy breakfast, a healthy lunch, a homemade dinner with snacks inbetween which could be biscuits, chocolate or fruit. He will have the odd take away like we do.
Hes never eaten baby foods from a tub or jar but i dont judge people that feed there babies thats stuff its there choice.