Opinions on childhood obesity...

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  • Mymag
    Mymag Posts: 83 Member
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    If you're such an ambassador for healthy living, how did you get overweight?

    :bigsmile:
  • annanoel21
    annanoel21 Posts: 87 Member
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    TL;DR

    Some people are bad parents

    NO, it's not that they are bad parents! Cuz their not! It's something that was formed when they we're a child and they are unsure how to change it.
    I know I was raised in the south where everything is fried and has tons of butter and salt.
    it's just one of those things that back then they lived like that but worked their butts off. Now days you are still eating the same but less exercise to none at all.
    I am 22, I've been obese since I was a pre teen when I would sneak into the fridge while they were asleep and eat all kinds of food.
    I never learned proper portion size or to cook properly until now. I have a foreman and steamer and that's what I mainly use to cook.
    I have made a vow to myself that if/when I have a kid that I will not be like my family and let them get obese. I can only control in home but it will be healthy food in my house!
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    Wrong.
    As I already mentioned, success is a choice - no excuses.
    First, none of my kids are fat but very fit - head and shoulders above 90% of their peers.
    We have 5 kids.
    I make them train and eat what I prepare, and we allow no junk food, soda or TV.
    They indeed carp, and my response is always the same.
    Eat what I make, or eat NOTHING, and in extreme cases taste belt leather.
    End of story.
    I refuse to raise what I see too much of in American society: fat, underachieving kids who will grow up to be fat, unhappy adults.
    They can hate me now to love me later or whatever. It's not a popularity contest.
    As a parent, I have a job to do.

    dang. i mean, giving your kids everything they want is wrong, but there has to be a balance. sure, they're healthy physically, but what about emotionally? it's so, so important to have a good relationship. "they can hate me now"? seriously? they're MISERABLE, and that's not fair to them. and really, i don't think they'll thank you for it. they'll remember you making their childhood hell, just so they won't be a little chubby. kids have to know that their parents are people they can trust, and if you're belting them over a frickin piece of broccoli... i can't even imagine how they must feel. honestly, i think that's bordering on abusive there.

    i mean, my four siblings and i are incredibly well behaved, and they never have to use a belt or anything else. we do what they ask because they make sure we know WHY they ask. if my mom's having company over and asks us to help clean the house, we're happy to do it, because otherwise she'd have to do it by herself, and we'd hate to see her have to work so hard on her own, and be upset and disappointed in us. my brother is the pickiest eater in the world, but even when he hates stuff, he always ends up eating it. know whyyyy? because he knows how hard my mom worked cooking it, and he knows it hurts her feelings if he doesn't eat it, and knows how unfair it is to ask her to make something else. and yeah, sometimes they get frustrated and raise their voices, and that works. but it's not because we're scared of them, it's because we don't like to see them get upset. and then we'll apologize for being snotty, and they'll apologize for losing their temper. and yeah, maybe i am a little overweight, but i'm not obese. i'm 20 pounds overweight, and i'm the fattest of any of my siblings. just because you live in a loving home doesn't mean you're gonna get fat and spoiled. my parents don't give us everything we want. not by a longshot. our cell phones are the crappy free ones, and the only reason some of us have laptops are because we bought them with our own money. if we want something we can't have, our parents explain why we can't have it, and then we don't ask again. so not only are we disciplined and healthy, but we're also HAPPY. yes, it is possible!
    My son is the top seeded tennis player at his High School.
    He thanked me for that.
    My ten year old was invited to be on the All Star baseball team; he thanked me.
    My 14 year old is a top wrestler with a shelf full of 1st place and second place trophies.
    Need I go on?
    All 5 of my kids excel in school and exist at the top of the social food chain.
    Keep making excuses, and we'll keep winning.
    That's the difference.:drinker:
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    with what we know today if your kids are fat you are a bad parent.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

    To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

    Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.
    Wrong.
    As I already mentioned, success is a choice - no excuses.
    First, none of my kids are fat but very fit - head and shoulders above 90% of their peers.
    We have 5 kids.
    I make them train and eat what I prepare, and we allow no junk food, soda or TV.
    They indeed carp, and my response is always the same.
    Eat what I make, or eat NOTHING, and in extreme cases taste belt leather.
    End of story.
    I refuse to raise what I see too much of in American society: fat, underachieving kids who will grow up to be fat, unhappy adults.
    They can hate me now to love me later or whatever. It's not a popularity contest.
    As a parent, I have a job to do.

    If you're such an ambassador for healthy living, how did you get overweight?
    I was in an accident and almost died.
    As of this week, I reached my weight loss goals. Have you?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Next question?
  • Feathil
    Feathil Posts: 163 Member
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    I worked as a waitress for three years, and it always made me sad to see a family where they had really young children already overweight, parents ordering so much food you couldn't see the table anymore. It was disheartening to see so many families come in over my 8 hour shift, and kids as young as 2 or 3 already going down that path. It isn't the kid's choice to be put in that position, they don't know any better. But thanks to how consumerism has gone in the last 30 years, the parents hadn't the chance to learn the skills to pass on to the kids. In that way you can't blame them, but they have to be able to look at their children and say "I don't want this for them, what can I do now?" Parenthood is difficult, but not tackling a problem makes it worse later..

    But yeah. Days like that where I saw very young kids made my heart sink, and I can't help that.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    with what we know today if your kids are fat you are a bad parent.
    The echo chamber doesn't like hearing the truth. These drones are far from the notion of taking ownership of their parental responsibilities.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    TL;DR

    Some people are bad parents

    NO, it's not that they are bad parents! Cuz their not! It's something that was formed when they we're a child and they are unsure how to change it.
    I know I was raised in the south where everything is fried and has tons of butter and salt.
    it's just one of those things that back then they lived like that but worked their butts off. Now days you are still eating the same but less exercise to none at all.
    I am 22, I've been obese since I was a pre teen when I would sneak into the fridge while they were asleep and eat all kinds of food.
    I never learned proper portion size or to cook properly until now. I have a foreman and steamer and that's what I mainly use to cook.
    I have made a vow to myself that if/when I have a kid that I will not be like my family and let them get obese. I can only control in home but it will be healthy food in my house!
    You just proved my whole point.
    You parents were indeed responsible. If one of my kids started to get fat, I would just handle it.
    Success is always a choice; it's just not always the easy choice which is why most people fail.
    Again, parents are responsible for their kid's health.
    Why is this rocket science?
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you started long before me there bucko. I dont have 100+ pounds to lose, I was never that fat. I have another ten and I am done. And I know perfectly well why it is dragging its *kitten* to get there, because I am slacking off.

    Another wild guess: sound like Hitler would be more of a fun father then you. Sure your kids arent fat, but *kitten* son, ever think that maybe they wanted to get home and have a relax for once? Not get forced out to exercise?
    No!
    You just clearly characterized the failure mentality of parents who can't take responsibility.
    To some, parenting is about being popular.
    Go ahead; such kids raised by such parents will be shining our shoes.:drinker:
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    If you're such an ambassador for healthy living, how did you get overweight?

    :bigsmile:
    Do you people REALLY want to make this about me?
    OK, here you go:
    I WIN!
    SUCCESS IS A CHOICE!

    432360_353410994699711_1064828290_n.jpg
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    did someone just call someone else "bucko"? did i just stumble into a Happy Days episode? :D
  • nwhitley
    nwhitley Posts: 619
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    The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

    To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

    Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.
    Wrong.
    As I already mentioned, success is a choice - no excuses.
    First, none of my kids are fat but very fit - head and shoulders above 90% of their peers.
    We have 5 kids.
    I make them train and eat what I prepare, and we allow no junk food, soda or TV.
    They indeed carp, and my response is always the same.
    Eat what I make, or eat NOTHING, and in extreme cases taste belt leather.
    End of story.
    I refuse to raise what I see too much of in American society: fat, underachieving kids who will grow up to be fat, unhappy adults.
    They can hate me now to love me later or whatever. It's not a popularity contest.
    As a parent, I have a job to do.

    If you're such an ambassador for healthy living, how did you get overweight?
    I was in an accident and almost died.
    As of this week, I reached my weight loss goals. Have you?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Next question?

    I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you started long before me there bucko. I dont have 100+ pounds to lose, I was never that fat. I have another ten and I am done. And I know perfectly well why it is dragging its *kitten* to get there, because I am slacking off.

    Another wild guess: sound like Hitler would be more of a fun father then you. Sure your kids arent fat, but *kitten* son, ever think that maybe they wanted to get home and have a relax for once? Not get forced out to exercise?

    Ok. Just reading this. I am 36 and both of my parents are retired army. When my brother and I were young my parents would make them run with them when they had to get ready to take their PT test. They didn't get us up at 4 or 5am but in the evenings they would make us go out there. We thought it was fun to "race" our parents. At some point in middle school, I could beat my mother who had to run her 3 miles in less than 30 mins. The outcome neither my brother or I have ever been overweight (I'm on here for fitness and to support some rl friends), we both ran track and xcountry in high school and college. and still run now. I just ran a 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I didn't think my parents were mean. I think its all on how you present it to children. Exercising is fun. I have a 13 year old who runs on a high school team. And yes I used to make him run with me. Forcing/making/ requiring children to exercise is perfectly fine. Just like you have to force/make them do chores and other things they don't want to do. Too bad for them. They aren't adults and don't get to make the decisions in the house.
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
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    Parenting is a complicated thing, and I don't feel flawless enough to point fingers. Making sure our children's bodies are well nourished is a pretty serious responsibility. I've done the best I can to teach my children to enjoy fresh foods, to love vegetables, to treat sweets and junk as sometimes foods. They're both fit and enjoy healthy foods, so I think I'm doing alright. Most people are doing the best they can, and a parent who struggles with an obese child isn't necessarily a bad parent. The important thing is to support each other, to make nutrition something that we discuss openly, and to lead by example.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    The PARENTS control what the kid does, and what comes into the house, and what kind of eating habits these kids will have. If they are obese, the parents should take the full blame and, to a radical extent, I think they should be charged with child abuse.

    To some extent. You can't FORCE a kid to eat things. I tried to push the issue with my fifteen year old when he was five. I was going to MAKE him eat that broccoli. He ate it all right... and made himself throw up on the table. My two year old will throw things that he doesn't like on the floor and will go hungry before eating something "ucky." (This is why I keep other things around that are healthy that he will eat.)

    Sure, I can keep things out, but I can't force good eating. I'm going to guess that you don't have children. Once you have your own, you realize that everything is not as black and white as you seem to think.
    Wrong.
    As I already mentioned, success is a choice - no excuses.
    First, none of my kids are fat but very fit - head and shoulders above 90% of their peers.
    We have 5 kids.
    I make them train and eat what I prepare, and we allow no junk food, soda or TV.
    They indeed carp, and my response is always the same.
    Eat what I make, or eat NOTHING, and in extreme cases taste belt leather.
    End of story.
    I refuse to raise what I see too much of in American society: fat, underachieving kids who will grow up to be fat, unhappy adults.
    They can hate me now to love me later or whatever. It's not a popularity contest.
    As a parent, I have a job to do.

    If you're such an ambassador for healthy living, how did you get overweight?
    I was in an accident and almost died.
    As of this week, I reached my weight loss goals. Have you?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Next question?

    I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you started long before me there bucko. I dont have 100+ pounds to lose, I was never that fat. I have another ten and I am done. And I know perfectly well why it is dragging its *kitten* to get there, because I am slacking off.

    Another wild guess: sound like Hitler would be more of a fun father then you. Sure your kids arent fat, but *kitten* son, ever think that maybe they wanted to get home and have a relax for once? Not get forced out to exercise?

    Ok. Just reading this. I am 36 and both of my parents are retired army. When my brother and I were young my parents would make them run with them when they had to get ready to take their PT test. They didn't get us up at 4 or 5am but in the evenings they would make us go out there. We thought it was fun to "race" our parents. At some point in middle school, I could beat my mother who had to run her 3 miles in less than 30 mins. The outcome neither my brother or I have ever been overweight (I'm on here for fitness and to support some rl friends), we both ran track and xcountry in high school and college. and still run now. I just ran a 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I didn't think my parents were mean. I think its all on how you present it to children. Exercising is fun. I have a 13 year old who runs on a high school team. And yes I used to make him run with me. Forcing/making/ requiring children to exercise is perfectly fine. Just like you have to force/make them do chores and other things they don't want to do. Too bad for them. They aren't adults and don't get to make the decisions in the house.
    Some parents would never want to make their little 'darlings" do anything against their will......:sad: :sad:
  • tajmel
    tajmel Posts: 401 Member
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    Oh, and we must teach our children to love nature, enjoy physical activity, and feed themselves too. I know way too many 20 somethings that spend all of their free time playing video games and have zero cooking skills. So that's important too, haha.
  • sophiazib
    sophiazib Posts: 5 Member
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    I'm going on 67. Childhood obesity today is totally appalling. However, it's easy to blame the parents. Here's what is different from When I was growing up: There are no gym periods in schools these days, not to mention gym teachers. When I went to grammar school, we had two recess periods and lunch. We were expected to play outside. I played tether ball whenever I could - there was always a line of girls waiting to play. We jumped double dutch. There were hula hoops and yoyos and paddle balls. When I got home I did NOT do two hours of homework. How crazy is it to demand two hours of young kids who really need to play. They've just spent six hours in school. Is the teacher that lazy that she/he can't get the lessons across? When I got home, I'd change and go out to join the neighborhood kids in a game of stick ball. The sewers were our bases. We ran a lot. We biked, we built forts on empty lots. I climbed trees. What I see these days is that kids play too many video games, they don't get enough exercise at school, or else they're overscheduled with swim meets, and other structured activities. We've taken the fun out of play. I can relate to fat kids too. My brother was fat all the way through grammar school, although not obese. He was teased mercilessly, since fat kids were not the norm in those days. When he got to junior high he started weight training like mad and slimmed down considerably. He's still slim at 65. My parents were on the stout side, but they were also old. I had the oldest mother in my grammar school. She was in her early fifties. Finally, growing up we were never bombarded with food ads on TV morning, noon and night. Candy and ice cream were a once a week treat. We didn't toss bottles and cans onto the street because they were worth 5 cents each. I'd return a bottle and buy a piece gum. Don't discount all those food ads. I've found myself wanting to drive to Wendy's when I see a late night ad. We also have access to food 24/7 in every store I can think of, including nearly all gas stations. And here's the really scary thing for parents of pre-teens. We are also bombarded by drug company ads 24/7 on TV. Then we wonder why our children abuse prescription drugs. We seem to operate on the slogan "there's an app (drug) for that". I was bombarded with cigarette ads on TV growing up and it did have an effect. In high school it was cool to smoke. I quit in my thirties only after I'd seen three people die within three to six months after getting lung cancer. All were smokers.
  • aleshai
    aleshai Posts: 55 Member
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    When I was in school, there were only 3-4 kids that I can recall being very overweight (graduated in 1998). My oldest daughter is 11 and when I go to her school, I am amazed at how many overweight children there are. We also lived in Germany for a few years and everyone out there walks, there are no elevators in buildings- only stairs, stairs, and more stairs. We would travel to the states to see family and it was very noticeable that "Americans" are heavier in general and I believe a huge chunk of that comes from activity level and the rest comes from the fast food habits.
  • bevsdietfor2011
    bevsdietfor2011 Posts: 361 Member
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    I think childhood obesity is on the rise and I HATE it!!! I have always been overweight and I have tried to raise my kids to know that they should watch what they eat and unfortunately I did not do a very good job as my daughter is overweight and getting ready to have the lap band surgery. Her son who is 3 loves veggies, grapes, apples etc but he also loves his sweets and we are trying to limit them. He loves to go on bike rides and he likes to take walks with us and we always tell him that he is doing an awesome job and that it is good he is getting out and getting exercise as well as having fun.

    I know that things have changed drastically since I was a child (I am 54) I remember that we did not have cell phones, computers, email, facebook etc but if we wanted to see our friends or talk to them we either rode our bikes or walked to their house. I remember playing tag, hide and seek, riding our bikes and walking uptown. I believe that we need to try to get back to these things as much as we can in this day and age.

    Parents do need to get more information on childhood obesity as I as well as some of you others have seen many obese children. I want to just grab the parents and shake the daylights out of them and make them see what they are doing to their children. All we can do is to try to teach, guide and encourage our families, friends, coworkers etc to help us change the way our children eat and teach them it is ok to get out and do physical activity.
  • shellebelle87
    shellebelle87 Posts: 291 Member
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    I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you started long before me there bucko. I dont have 100+ pounds to lose, I was never that fat. I have another ten and I am done. And I know perfectly well why it is dragging its *kitten* to get there, because I am slacking off.

    Another wild guess: sound like Hitler would be more of a fun father then you. Sure your kids arent fat, but *kitten* son, ever think that maybe they wanted to get home and have a relax for once? Not get forced out to exercise?
    No!
    You just clearly characterized the failure mentality of parents who can't take responsibility.
    To some, parenting is about being popular.
    Go ahead; such kids raised by such parents will be shining our shoes.:drinker:

    You've lost a significant amount of weight, that is awesome.

    Now are you saying that I am going to be a soft parent with fat kids? Yeah pretty sure I'm not, because I do have a backbone and I dont want fat kids. Simple.

    You can get off your high horse now. You are wonder dad. Well done. Your certificate and medal are in the mail.
  • shellebelle87
    shellebelle87 Posts: 291 Member
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    did someone just call someone else "bucko"? did i just stumble into a Happy Days episode? :D

    Hahaha it's a great show :) Good to bring back the olden days language every now and then :smile: