Shocked and amazed

chicpeach

I raised my children on home cooked meals and we all gathered around the family table at dinner time. It was the way I was raised and the way I saw fit to raise my own children. None of my 4 kids ever had an eating issue, none are overweight.

I still remember when I was kid, McDonald's was a rare treat, not a weekly occurrence. My father, a 6 foot ex-Marine, would order a Coke, a hamburger and fries (burgers and fries came in only one size at the time) and it was enough for a satisfying meal. Today, we include a toy with this same order, call it a Happy Meal and expect our 3 year olds to eat it. How the hell can we expect them not to get fat?

America needs to relearn proper portion sizes. America needs to relearn proper body sizes. I am a good 15 pounds over the acceptable weight range for my height and people tell me "oh you're so thin, you don't need to diet; you don't need to exercise". It's epidemic and very sad.

LoraF83

So true! We are the parents and it's up to us....not our children. I am an everything in moderation mom. We have pizza on Friday nights and I'm fine with the grandparents getting my daughter a happy meal as a treat now and then. But I don't keep chips, cookies, ice cream, gummy snacks, candy, etc in the house. Snacks are yogurt, fruit, pretzels, or more fruit. Drinks are water or milk. My daughter does not drink soda.
I don't want her having the food issues that I do - so nothing is taboo - but I only offer healthy choices at home.

b1791

Absolutely agree with the above poster...moderation, moderation, moderation! If my kids are at school all day and then play hockey for 2 hours and then do homework for an hour and they want to chill out playing an hour of video games while eating a bowl of popcorn then why not? I don't think I'm being a bad parent about it. They had their healthy meals for the day and their exercise...I certainly don't mind a little downtime and a treat. My kids don't have a stitch of fat on them (they're 12 and have six pack abs - I'm very jealous LOL).

ruqayyahsmum

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

oh doctors obession with weight is my bug bear, they classed my daughter as failure to thrive due to her being off the bottom of the chart for her height and weight, they still weigh her on a weekly basis
but they didnt take in to account that she was a very premature baby who started life at 1lb 9oz and spent a year very sick in hospital, of course she was going to be on the lower end of the scale
now they check her against the charts for a normal 6 year old but there are other charts out there and when i check her on the charts for children with cerebral palsy shes sitting just over the 25th centile.
these days i go to the appointments, smile, nod my head and make the right noises and then i go home and do my own thing with her. i too use real butter and add a little olive oil to her meals but refuse to resort to a constant junk diet just so she can climb those charts

bebreli

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

My twins were in the 0% and 5% percentile when they were babies (they're 12 now). Even though they were small they've always been very healthy. I'm not sure if a babies (toddlers) weight is the end all be all of indicating their healthiness.

I completely agree.. tell that to the percentile crazies out there.

r1ghtpath

my kids are all tiny. always have been. all 5 were 17 lbs and 28 in at ONE year. all of them. i made sure i was educated and saw docs that didn't make a big deal of it. my son is 3, and is tiny. but, he's growing! and he's active and developing normally. he was under 20% for weight at his last check up. his big sister is a year older and she is almost a head taller. you just need to find supportive people. the "charts" are not really all that great and striving for a baby that is 98% should not be the goal!!!!


i think 3 of my girls and my son, all fell OFF the charts at one point!

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

rockerbabyy

my kids eat mostly healthy, they eat what they are served or they eat it as their next meal. usually the threat of spinach for breakfast makes them eat their dinner however we still eat out, and still have unhealthy meals at home sometimes. show me another 5 year old that loves artichokes and asparagus and brussels sprouts, along with salmon, shrimp, and any other kind of fish that isnt in "stick" form. lol
i allow one sugary drink a day (choc milk, soda, lemonade, juice, etc) but there are many days all theyll drink is milk with meals, and water in between.
they are pretty active, we walk to and from school (.7 miles one way) and walk to the park to play, etc. they play outside plenty - but they also play video games and mess around on facebook. my youngest will more than likely be a computer nerd or a gamer, and im ok with that. my oldest wants to get into cheerleading and ballet and gymnastics, and thats great too. each kid is different

rllewell

It starts with the parenting and I can tell you for a fact it works if YOU the parent put forth the effort. My wife and I thought we ate healthy until 12 years ago we all started taking Juice Plus+ and she became a distributor. Being in the health and nutrition industry naturally makes you educate yourself and implement changes in your daily diet. Our 3 children were raised on healthy eating and exercise so they desire what is healthy and know what is junk. DO NOT think it stops when they go off to college either, you're the parent providing the funds and input. Fortunately we are blessed with 3 healthy children that respect their parents knowledge and input.

rockerbabyy

Gaming systems aren't evil and they aren't to blame. Lazy parents who let their children spend too much time on them are to blame.

We always had a gaming system growing up. Started out with atari (lol) and then nintendo and so on and so forth.

We were still very active children, constantly outside with our friends playing, biking, rollerblading, etc.

Sure we played video games sometimes but we didn't spend all day playing just because we had a gaming system.

^this.
we have an xbox 360, wii, ps3, ps2, nintendo, super nintendo, and gaming computers. my kids play them. i play them. we still play outside

JMarigold

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

Wow, just wow! I knew we had a problem but I didn't realize it was starting at birth!!!!

Of course an underweight kid could be a result of allergies (as it turned out to be with one of my cousins) BUT that said being in the 1st percentile may be at the low end but its still okay as long as the kid is healthy. Also there is a huge range between the 1st percentile and the 99th percentile. I mean seriously I want my kid to get the 99th percentile on the SAT not on weight! Well not on weight in America anyway.

It does make me angry when I see overweight children being fed meals an adult would get fat on and then told NOT to do something active because the parents don't feel like watching the kid play. Instead they want them to sit inside watching the television. I mean seriously I've seen this happen. Here have 1500 calories for a meal and now NO YOU CAN"T PLAY OUTSIDE because I don't want to be outside. Parenting is WORK!

I work in education and childcare so I see too much of this.

JennaM222

agreed!!!!!!!!!

BAMFMeredith

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

I feel you! My son has ALWAYS been a little shrimp. He is 5 years old and in the 10% for weight and 30% for height. His height is genetic, I'm only 5'3" and while his dad is 6 feet tall, he's also adopted so we have no clue how tall the rest of his fam is. The weight is genetic too. I was always the smallest kid in the class until about middle school, and his dad has the highest metabolism of all time. He eats like a little horse (albeit a healthy little horse) and he wears a size 4T in pants with the elastic pulled as tight as it will go. He could wear a 3T but they'd be too short! I've been asked if he's eating enough, and actually accused once of under-feeding him. Seriously? My 5 year old has 6 pack abs. No joke. He's like a ripped little kid, he's just very ACTIVE and eats HEALTHY foods on a regular basis! You know, like what we should all be encouraging our kids to do?

daphnegetnfit

And if your kids are out of the house away from you all the time you have no idea what they are doing - and some of those parents are just shocked when their kids get into trouble.

jamiesadler

Amen! I was watching a show called our big fat weight loss or something like that. There was a woman on there who was overweight and could not figure out why her kids were. Im certain the chocolate chip pancakes with mounds of peanut butter and pound of bacon each morning per kid had nothing to do with it. Then this woman says that its up to her 11 year old to eat right and exercise an she took no responsibility.

Our children learn from us. If we stuff our faces with fatty processed foods what are they going to see? My daughter only drinks water and on very small occasions she can have a flavored drink. I do buy ice cream but she only eats it if we go to the gym that day. I do not buy processed foods and do not let her buy school lunches she can take left overs. She is very healthy and athletic. She is only allowed to play video games that involve getting off your butt and moving around.

kaetmarie

I haven't read everything, so this may have come up ... but I hate when parents (on here and in real life) make a big deal about how unhealthy fast food places are and how they refuse to get anything but diet coke there, but then feed their kids that food! If it's not healthy enough for you, it shouldn't be served to your kids.

Also, when do habits and tastes start forming? It's not when the kids are old enough to make their own food decisions! When they decide they want to lose weight because they're unhealthy, the groundwork has already been laid for preferences for unhealthy foods.

maryrr88

I didn't grow up being taught healthy eating habits and it has hindered me as a teenager and now as an adult. My mom was depressed & my dad was not a very involved parent. Then they separated when I was 11, and through my preteen & early teen years my home life was unstable. My mom now feels guilty for allowing us as kids to eat whatever we wanted, but I'm not angry at her for instilling those habits in us as kids. I plan to feed my children good food & teach them good habits when they're young so that they develop a healthy relationship with food. I've already told my fiancé that our kids aren't going to grow up on junk food like I did.

hdlb123

Hrm..I guess I have a different perspective. I totally agree with feeding your kids a balanced diet and good nutrition. HOWEVER.. I have 18 mo twins and all the porker babies out there have set the standard!! Want to talk about frustration. . hearing about the damn percentiles every time we go to the doctor. Than all my friends with their fat babies (that they shove food or bottles in their face whenever they cry all day long) talking about how junior is in the 98th %ile for weight. WHoo HOoo!! It's not a test that your kid is winning..lol! I have SMALL, very SMALL boys. I could offer food all day long and they eat what they eat. They are at or below the 1 percentile and I have to work on increasing fats. That means they get real butter, avocado's, olive oil. For a while I was stressed about the next appointment worried I was going to hear about it again.. about their weight. They are VERY ACTIVE. I think it starts with birth and I see so many people saying oh my kid is going to be the next football star he is so big. I think doctors are shoving it down your throat early on. I know there are some hungry babies out there too but I think America has some big babies! I gave up and decided I will feed my boys healthy and if they are low on the scales they are low. I had to vent because it starts somewhere.

My son is in the high 90%. Please be nice, hes a big boy, he is not a "Porker baby". He is just a big boy, hes also in the 90% for height. My youngest daughter is in the high 80%. We don't have candy, chips, fast food, pop, juice, etc in the house. My son has never had a peice of white bread. He also cannot have dairy or soy. Our doc told us its rare to see a child that cannot have dairy thrive and gain like our little guy did, usualy they lose weight and have a harder time gaining weight. I completely agree that kids shouldn't ever be force fed, but sometimes kids are just bigger then others. My oldest daughter is under 20% for both weight/height, and she eats the same as her siblings.

I got really lucky with our first child because she liked fruits/veggies more then junk food. None of our kids are overly picky. My middle child hates veggies, and thats fine. She eats lots of fruit. I still put the veggie we are haivng at dinner on her plate every night, and everynight she says "ewww" but she has taken an occasional bite lately, so eventually she might eat an entire carrot stick. We don't push it, we just eat ours and let her decide if she wants her. Its not worth fighting over and making it a negative thing in her life.

We do not have candy/chips/pop/juice in our house. I cook everything myself, we dont' buy bagged/packaged cookies or cakes, and def. not meals. We have to be pretty strict because of the allergies, but we would be anyway even if we could just give our kids whatever we wanted.

We buy things that we are fine with them haivng, and that is what they get to choose from when its snack time. Right now in our cupboard is animal crackers (also a treat btw), rice crackers and whole wheat ritz. All portioned into baggies, they can grab and go. In the fridge is carrot sticks, grapes, apples, snap peas, and yogurt/cheese stings for our oldest child. Again, in baggies, grab and go. They only drink water, juice is a rare treat, pop is a really rare treat.

I am also in Canada, and the winters last forever. Oct to April where we live, they can go out and play on really warm days, but thats only once a week or so. Once it warms up we are outside all day long. But just because its cold doens't mean they get to sit in front of cartoons or video games. They run, and spin, and jump, and play dollhouse, and color and find things to stay busy.

I cringe whenever I am around my neice. Shes almost 3. She gets up and has either nutella(seriously, just the nutella. Licks it off her toast) or sugar cereal (fruit loops, reeces peices cereat etc) then snacks all day long, refuses to sit at the table or eat her dinner, and is rewareded with a bag full of marshmallows. Shes small right now, it wont stay that way. She doesn't drink water, just juice and milk. All day long. Her mom put her on solids at 3 months, because she wasn't "sleeping well enough".

jjblogs

OP, how old are your children? When mine were small, they always ate well....I run a daycare....we are required to serve fruit, veg, bread, milk, meat each main meal. I'm well versed in good nutrition. I kept the crap out of the house. Both my boys were fit. Enter junior high....can't watch their every move anymore. The oldest watches it....doesn't overeat and eats healthy when out. The youngest...not as careful...hence, oldest is fit, youngest is overweight.

Not all is black and white, love.

galegetsthin

My son is in the high 90%. Please be nice, hes a big boy, he is not a "Porker baby". He is just a big boy, hes also in the 90% for height. My youngest daughter is in the high 80%. We don't have candy, chips, fast food, pop, juice, etc in the house. My son has never had a peice of white bread. He also cannot have dairy or soy. Our doc told us its rare to see a child that cannot have dairy thrive and gain like our little guy did, usualy they lose weight and have a harder time gaining weight. I completely agree that kids shouldn't ever be force fed, but sometimes kids are just bigger then others. My oldest daughter is under 20% for both weight/height, and she eats the same as her siblings.

I dont think she was talking about kids that are just "big". If they are in the 90% for height, they would be a bit bigger weight wise (usually) too. My daughter is a bean pole. She has always been 90th height, and 20th weight...... She is 6 and only weighs 48 lbs, but is 4' tall....... My neice though, is 3, also very tall, but has a LOT of muscle, so she outweighs my kid. But to look at her, she is a solid little bulk of muscle. If you are playing with her and poke or tickle, you dont get squishy bits, you get solid muscles. The ones that get me are the ones that are just plain fat children with very little muscle tone and sucking down pop with a bag of chips. That is really hard to see when you see the parents and they are in the same shape and you KNOW that it is not a medical issue or a big strong kid..........

annacham

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