i'm normally not the one to judge...

jujubean1992

I'm just wondering if most people would still have judged if it was a normal weight couple and a normal weight kid but everything else was the same.

would have probably still raised an eyebrow, but not as much, as id be more likely to assume it was occasional rather than regular if they didnt have a massive weight problem.

We look at whats going on around us and clues in our environment, and we ALL make judgements based on what we see.
If we see an obese couple with an obese child eating lots and lots of sweets, then unless you dont know how to add two and two, then youre going to think they eat too much crap and they feed their kid too much crap.
If you see a normal weight couple with a normal weight child eating a few sweets, you probably wouldnt even notice, or youd just assume it was an occasional treat. Depending on what it was though, id still judge. No matter the weight of the parents, if i see parents giving their children coke, i really hate it

Obesity is just the outward physical symptom of the damage you do to your body by consistent overeating. If someone is that big on the outside, then you can be quite sure their arteries are hardened, their heart is not healthy, their liver is fatty. Its a crying shame for people to inflict that on their children, even if they have made the informed choice to be obese for themselves as adults.
Its not hard and You dont have to be a food nazi to give your kids a balanced diet with sensible child sized portions

i totally agree with the soda thing! kool-aid too! don't people realize that kool-aid isn't juice it's sugar water with some flavor!

suzycreamcheese

if your child likes junk food, there are just so many healthier versions. My kids are more likely to ask for a box of raisins than a bag of chocolate buttons, although i do have the mini fun sized bags in the cupboard as an occasional treat.
I dont think any of them have ever eaten a full sized bar of chocolate in their life. If they have the occasional bag of crisps, i get the unsalted ones, but tbh, thats not often either. We dont really do fried food at home. Theyre not strangers to fish fingers or sausages or oven pizza, but its reasonable portions and theyre always accompanied by vegetables.
I pretty much always make sure that the majority of their meals have protein, carbs and vegetables. They drink milk, water or pure fruit juice. Only my 10 year old likes to have lemonade sometimes, but hes actually just as happy with sparkling water.
I dont deny the crap food, because i dont want to make it out of bounds and therefore more appetising.
I generally push on them, the same values i have for myself about food

nurse_carolyn

It is sad, but you can't really say anything because it will just put them on the defensive. Those kids don't even have a chance.

felicia8604

I totally agree! is so sad! a couple months ago i was at a walmart where i live and as i was walking in there was a mom and her 3 kids, all of which were overweight to obese. But in their cart were chips, pop, bread, packaged foods and 1 little bag of apples! really do they think that one little bag is going to cancel out all the other bad stuff. I just feel bad also because if a parent raises a kid like that how are they supposed to know any different! thats why i feed my kids the same stuff i eat most of the time. for lunch i usually just make them a hot dog or a totinos pizza but the rest of the day they want yogurt or apples or bananas...well you get the picture. i hardly EVER give my kids candy. first of all i dont want to put up with wound up kids all day and for 2 its not healthy. well im done ranting! haha thats what it probably sounds like.. oh well

kgagnon7779

Has anyone seen the show Toddlers and Tiaras? I caught it the other day - probably won't do that again, unless i feel like torturing myself. What I noticed though, is that 95% of these crazy pageant moms are VERY overweight. One mom was getting angry at the way her kid/brat was behaving and then the camera shot over to 3 cans of mountain dew - that was her breakfast. No wonder she was acting out?! She was literally bouncing off the walls. Then another little girl, about 6 years old, was drinking Red Bull because her mom said it got her "stage" ready.

So wrong, on SO many levels - and then they are on TV, clearly not aware that this is horrible behavior and parenting. They spray tan these kids, give them fake eyelashes and fake teeth so they look good on the outside and then fill them up with crap - teaching them that it's all about their outward appearance, not their health. Such a shame.

Riebop

I'm just wondering if most people would still have judged if it was a normal weight couple and a normal weight kid but everything else was the same.

Good point. Or even have noticed.

I dont think we would realise...
but then if we knew them.. and we were round there house and we saw it happening we'd be a bit like, should ur child be eating all of that..?

I might not notice. However, I do notice when I'm around my sister and her kids. My nephew is a normal weight kid, but I still think that she lets him drink too much soda. Then again, I usually just see him at parties and family events so I don't know if the soda drinking is the norm in their house. If I have kids, I hope that I can teach them better habits than the ones I have developed.

Riebop

Has anyone seen the show Toddlers and Tiaras? I caught it the other day - probably won't do that again, unless i feel like torturing myself. What I noticed though, is that 95% of these crazy pageant moms are VERY overweight. One mom was getting angry at the way her kid/brat was behaving and then the camera shot over to 3 cans of mountain dew - that was her breakfast. No wonder she was acting out?! She was literally bouncing off the walls. Then another little girl, about 6 years old, was drinking Red Bull because her mom said it got her "stage" ready.

So wrong, on SO many levels - and then they are on TV, clearly not aware that this is horrible behavior and parenting. They spray tan these kids, give them fake eyelashes and fake teeth so they look good on the outside and then fill them up with crap - teaching them that it's all about their outward appearance, not their health. Such a shame.

OMG! I start watching it and get totally sucked in. I'm just astonished at the behavior of these kids and their parents that I can't turn it off.

ritzvin

i totally agree with the soda thing! kool-aid too! don't people realize that kool-aid isn't juice it's sugar water with some flavor!

..with acid added so they'll have plenty of cavities and be obese.

Francineirene

Quite often in a situation like this one what you are seeing is generations of obesity. It is quite likely that the parents you saw honestly don't understand how destructive they are. They were more than likely fed the same way as children. We live in a world where mothers very rarely cook anything that doesn't come in a box or bag or frozen tray. Our packaging says things like diet, light, fat free, and the latest craze, gluten free. I am sorry for these people they are just a product of our culture that says easier is better and work is bad. Remember the movie Wall-E.

Francineirene

That show is like watching child abuse sprinkled with glitter. And, yes, I was surprised to see so many fat mommys, too.

karenjoy

I work in child health, and I see a LOT of overweight children, and some obese children, and I have yet to see an overweight or obese child with both parents of normal size, there is always one or both parents who are overweight themselves, always. I have also yet to meet a parent who says 'yes I know my child is overweight, I will take on board the advice and support on offer and make healthy changes....'etc... They all say things like -we are all big in our family, it's heavy bones - or we never give them sweets, treats etc and they do loads of exercise...etc etc

I saw a child who was more than three times the average weight for a child it's age and height, and the very overweight mother told me all manner of things about how she didn't over feed, never gave crap, child did loads etc

School said the day before the child brought in THREE large cakes in its lunch box, THREE WHOLE cakes, also regularly has donuts, always has crisps, pepperoni and all manner of rubbish, that they live in walking distance of the school but drive every day.....yep this is what we are up against, child abuse by another name

Ajontheguitar

Has anyone seen the show Toddlers and Tiaras? I caught it the other day - probably won't do that again, unless i feel like torturing myself. What I noticed though, is that 95% of these crazy pageant moms are VERY overweight. One mom was getting angry at the way her kid/brat was behaving and then the camera shot over to 3 cans of mountain dew - that was her breakfast. No wonder she was acting out?! She was literally bouncing off the walls. Then another little girl, about 6 years old, was drinking Red Bull because her mom said it got her "stage" ready.

So wrong, on SO many levels - and then they are on TV, clearly not aware that this is horrible behavior and parenting. They spray tan these kids, give them fake eyelashes and fake teeth so they look good on the outside and then fill them up with crap - teaching them that it's all about their outward appearance, not their health. Such a shame.

Transference and trying to live out failures through children is an unfortunate truth about us as people. We project our insecurities into our kids when we're not careful and give them burdens they weren't designed or deserved to have. Why do we need to make a tv show about it? Half the people watching it probably have lumps in their throats realizing they've done the same thing on (hopefully) smaller scales.