Opinions on this book please

livi_cowgirl

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/dieting-book-for-six-year-olds-is-this-too-much.html

My fat loving friend had a fit when I showed him this article. He said that kids should be just left to be kids and shouldn't be made to worry about diets and that all this book will do will create an increase in childhood anorexics.

I disagree, furiously, but I'm interested to know what you all think. x

MandaLen13

I think its a good idea in theory but I dont like the word "diet" when it refers to little kids. Kids should not be dieting...they should be taught to eat healthy so they dont have to diet later in life. Maybe if the book was called "Maggie Eats Healthy" then I could understand it more. I think if we start telling children this young that being overweight makes them worth less than people who are skinny then they are gonna have serious self esteem issues. They need to be taught to be HEALTHY...not skinny!

jcannon15

i think putting children on a diet is wrong however i think that a well educated child with a lifestyle of healthy eating with the occasional indulgences is the right way to go,it's a very fine line to much critism can create nuerosis and to little leads to a lack of education on what food does for the body.

thedodgeruk

its a bad book , parents should just not feed kids CRAP, and train there eating habits better.

its the bad habits from my childhood that kill me , eating when depressed and when you do some thing good treated with sweats.

its hard but can be done ,

jcannon15

also as a chubby child i would feel so bad about myself every time my grandmother would mention the D word (diet). the visiit would usually end in tears and to this day i'm terrified to go to family functions with any kind of weight gain and usually find excuses out of them.

clarehodgson14

I think has to be education, allowing children to make their own decissions but educating them to make the right decissions. But giving a 6yr old a diet bookm is not right IMO. However if their health is at risk then a child should only be able to eat what is given to them from their parents.

When my neice left primary school the class was measured, she was told she was obese, yes she was on the larger side but nothing to worry about, one year on she has grown taller and therefore slimed down, her school skirts got to big and she needed smaller ones. This is going into high school with no playground to run around in.

This only my opinion and i don't wish to offend anyone.

MsMadmagic

I don't think 'Diet' books should be aimed at children when ultimately it's the parents providing the crap diet. If a child is provided with a healthy diet and encouraged to exercise there's no need to diet.

livi_cowgirl

You all misunderstand I think. It's not a diet book. It is a fictional story about a child who learns to eat healthy.
I agree though, they shouldn't have used the word diet in the title. It is a bad word.

HeidiMightyRawr

I'm kind of half and half on the book, I don't like the word diet and think it should be more focused on her getting healthy and the benefits that brings. The article states that those with low body image to begin with are more likely to develop an eating disorder from this sort of thing - I then don't put the blame on the book, but more that there should be things done to help children become confident in the way they are, whatever size, but stressing the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the long term, and that if they want to change, these are ways to do it without taking away all the things they love.. Introducing healthy alternatives, finding a sport they love etc

Mainly though, I think there should be a similar book aimed towards the parents and the whole family in general. Most of the time a 6 year old is not going to be getting overweight all by themselves, they copy their parents lead, eat what they get fed, snack at what's in the house. You can't change a young childs whole eating pattern while letting everyone else eat as normal or it's not going to work.

livi_cowgirl

I'm kind of half and half on the book, I don't like the word diet and think it should be more focused on her getting healthy and the benefits that brings. The article states that those with low body image to begin with are more likely to develop an eating disorder from this sort of thing - I then don't put the blame on the book, but more that there should be things done to help children become confident in the way they are, whatever size, but stressing the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the long term, and that if they want to change, these are ways to do it without taking away all the things they love.. Introducing healthy alternatives, finding a sport they love etc

Mainly though, I think there should be a similar book aimed towards the parents and the whole family in general. Most of the time a 6 year old is not going to be getting overweight all by themselves, they copy their parents lead, eat what they get fed, snack at what's in the house. You can't change a young childs whole eating pattern while letting everyone else eat as normal or it's not going to work.

I agree, wholeheartedly. I couldn't have out it better myself. Thank you for posting that comment.

Kelly50054

My personal opinion is, the children need to learn good eating habits from their parents. It is the parent's responsibility to show them the correct way and not the child's, where else would a child learn these habits? If a child spends all day long on the computer, vid games etc why isn't the parent's supervising this situation more and getting that child outside to ride their bike etc?
It falls souly on the parent's to teach their children in the way to go through life. Children are sponges and pick up everything their family is doing. We need to set good examples for them in everything situation!

momof3and3

My personal opinion is, the children need to learn good eating habits from their parents. It is the parent's responsibility to show them the correct way and not the child's, where else would a child learn these habits? If a child spends all day long on the computer, vid games etc why isn't the parent's supervising this situation more and getting that child outside to ride their bike etc?
It falls souly on the parent's to teach their children in the way to go through life. Children are sponges and pick up everything their family is doing. We need to set good examples for them in everything situation!

Amen!