Are you making your kids fat?

pants77

In my case, I was a very skinny kid as my parents did the whole "eat your vegetables or go hungry" thing at the house.

Problem was, once I went to school and especially when I got to high school, I was suddenly able to eat all the stuff that I'd never been allowed to eat before. And I did. I got a job at 14, due in large part to the fact that I needed my own cash flow if I didn't want to eat the healthy stuff we had at home.

I think the hard-line approach ends up making just as many fat kids as the "eat whatever you want, have cookies for dinner if it makes you happy" approach.

JuneBPrice

Maybe. I mean, a kid can't help it if his mama serves high calorie foods three meals a day, but how many parents ACTUALLY cook these days?

JuneBPrice

My mom was a horrible horrible cook. We learned to cook as soon as we could, she was just that bad!! My freshman year of HS, I did 75% of the dinners with whatever food was in the house by 11th grade I was doing *all* the cooking and grocery shopping. I've only known of one other person who was worse. She put ramen in a blender with veggies. eeww?

This is pretty much how we've lived for as long as I can remember.

imchicbad

"You ate what you were served or waited until the next meal."

EXACTLY!! Now a-days parents are lazy themselves dont want to cook, dont have time, and there for- the fast food trend. So it goes. YES parents are responsable for thier kids being fat. absolutly! If all your kids do is game, and internet- and you dont make them go outside, then your failing as a parent healthwise. eating fast food everyday, this is why america has such an obesity problem, unlike the rest of the world. thats why we are here people! To change that.:bigsmile:

skcornett

My parents ate healthy well-balanced meals. Soft drinks and Kool-aid were rare at home. Sweets? Nope. My parents are also both big veggie fans and I never was. So I had the best examples in the world. But when I got to high school, I was 5'6" and 150 lbs. Not fat, but not thin by high school standards. My dad started in on the "is that on your diet?" every time I put something in my mouth. I got to college and just ate for crap and forgot all of the good habits I ever knew. I'm not blaming my dad - he didn't force me to eat pizza at midnight or to order extra when I went out.

So you can teach your kids all the right things - and kudos to those of you who are.

om3guz

Growing up, I had (powdered) mashed potatoes, canned vegetables, and some sort of meat (usually chicken, hamburger, or the occasional pork chops). Lunch was whatever was served at school, which was always unhealthy- pizza, hot dogs, etc.. I think we had eggs or cereal for breakfast. Bread was always white. Fresh fruits and veggies were a treat. So was bottled water. We had tons of boiling orders for our tap water and it tasted like minerals.

Most of my family is overweight or obese, especially the women. When I moved away from home, I ate unhealthy still sometimes "treating" myself to fresh produce. In a way, changing my diet is like having treats all of the time.

When I have kids, I will do my best to teach them good, healthy eating habits.

Bob314159

All my kids are normal weight and that destroys the modelling theory. My parents were not overweight - ditto.

GnochhiGnomes

We always had healthy food, my parents we're strict pescetarians for the first fifteen years of my life and made lots of low caloire vegetable dishes. The reason I got fat was simply because of the massive portions I gave myself and the eventual binging patterns I got into because of bullying and other emotional problems.

1Kristine1

My mom always served veggies with dinner but the ratio of carbs/protein/vegs wasnt balanced, usually heavy on carbs. Portion sizes were probably oversized aswell. Don't remember having dessert often.

I know how to eat well now, but that doesn't stop me from making bad choices.

I get a little sad when I see very overweight children

fteale

I don't think so. My children are both muscley but not at all fat.

I was a podgy child, but no one else in my family in any direction has ever been fat as a child, so it's not something that I have given much thought to.

NoAdditives

No, I am not making my kids fat. They get to choose from two healthy options at breakfast and lunch and then eat what I give them at snack time and at dinner. Or, they don't eat. They love vegetables and generally aren't picky. Sometimes they just pick what they want out of a meal (like eating the vegetables out of a pasta dish and leaving the pasta), and that's fine with me. It does seem like they don't eat enough, but I don't make them finish their food if they say they aren't hungry. Since they're toddlers, I doubt I could actually force them to eat anyway. They love drinking water and don't like juice unless it's diluted with water.

NoAdditives

All my kids are normal weight and that destroys the modelling theory. My parents were not overweight - ditto.

One anecdote does not "destroy the theory". In general, kids will develop the habits that are displayed for them. Kids learn by example. Read any parenting book, talk to any psychologist. They'll tell you the same thing. Of course, there will always be cases of kids doing their own thing. But for the most part, at young ages, they will do what they see their parents doing.

dvnjustina

My parents really didn't care about what I ate. They never brought healthy things into the house. When I had the option to cook better foods, I was belittled and insulted since it wasn't what the general population wanted. So I got fat because I didn't care anymore. It's so hard to teach my body what foods are acceptable and which are not.

As for my 11 month old daughter, she loves her vegetables and fruit. My husband and I did baby led weaning when she was about 7 months. My daughter loves to feed herself, and she knows when she's full. We have every dinner at the table. I scratch cook about 75% of the time.

rukelly

I have a facebook page dedicated to feeding kids. It makes me crazy to see adults struggling with their own weight, yet feeding their kids tons of crap and setting them up for adulthood misery. Makes no sense!

http://www.facebook.com/whataremykidseating

Neconilis

Love it and it makes perfect sense, thank you for sharing.

CatseyeHardcast

Regardless of your own weight struggle your children are your responsibility. I find it sad that adults are surprised their kids are eating well when the parent decides to do something about their own diet. What were you feeding your children in the first place? Even as an overweight adult my children had a healthy diet. It was my duty of care as a parent that this was the case, regardless of my own eating habits. Sure good habits rub off but a childs diet should never be that poor that a change in the parents diet produces a change in the childs.

ninabeia929

My son is 4 and my husband and I always strive to have him eat what is best for him. Limit his sugar/snack in take. We teach him how important it is to stay active. He enjoys running with me and doing exercises. This to us is VERY important.

imchicbad

"You ate what you were served or waited until the next meal."

EXACTLY!! Now a-days parents are lazy themselves dont want to cook, dont have time, and there for- the fast food trend. So it goes. YES parents are responsable for thier kids being fat. absolutly! If all your kids do is game, and internet- and you dont make them go outside, then your failing as a parent healthwise. eating fast food everyday, this is why america has such an obesity problem, unlike the rest of the world. thats why we are here people! To change that.:bigsmile:

FYI my kids are not overweight- i was the lazy one, me and my husband. Thank God, but that didnt last too long. Im commited to being healthy.

autumnk921

I will offer my 3yr old McD's chicken nuggets or another place maybe once every couple of weeks for a treat and I will ask him while we are out 'Do you want McD's (or whichever place) or do you want to eat at home?' and 9 times out of 10 he will respond 'I want to eat at home'....I love hearing that and it makes me feel good as a mom in a way b/c he would rather eat at home instead. Other family members will hear him say that and look astonished...lol He also loves his veggies, yogurt, water, milk, etc and does not drink any juices or soda at all...I also make sure he gets outside or at least be up and active most of the day.

I know I am not perfect at all but just small things that we can do or change in our children's lives will help tremendously. I really hate seeing obese children b/c it's not their fault and some parents are proud of it in a way...Sad.

caraiselite

i hate seeing fat kids
i want to slap some sense into their parents.