Would you feel bad for this boy?
motown13
Posts: 688 Member
Last night, I was taking my daughter to softball and I stopped in a convenience store for a coffee. As I was getting my coffee, a young boy, about 10 years old walked next to me and was in front of the Slurpee machine. He was probably a good 30 - 35 pounds overweight. He said "I want one of these"..... and I saw that his parents were behind me.
The father, about 80 - 100 pounds overweight said "No, that's too much sugar"...... which was immediately followed up by his mom ( she was also about 70 - 80 pounds too heavy ) who said "OK, but only a medium one, and you can't have your fruit tonight or you can't have your pepperoni. You only get one or the other."
That kid is doomed.
The father, about 80 - 100 pounds overweight said "No, that's too much sugar"...... which was immediately followed up by his mom ( she was also about 70 - 80 pounds too heavy ) who said "OK, but only a medium one, and you can't have your fruit tonight or you can't have your pepperoni. You only get one or the other."
That kid is doomed.
0
Replies
-
they let him have a Slurpee but then denied him fruit? that kid is screwed!0
-
Oy vey...0
-
fruit and pepperoni? what kind of meal is that?0
-
:huh: .....:grumble: ...no fruit...wth?0
-
fruit and pepperoni? what kind of meal is that?
Hawaiian pizza!0 -
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.0
-
i don't think he's doomed, seems to me like his parents are trying to cut his portion sizes which is a good start, how do you know they haven't enrolled him in some type of sport activity? As they learn better they'll do better.0
-
Oh wow. Poor kid. Doomed from the start.0
-
Wow thats just wow0
-
thats so sad. They need to have a nutritionist teacher in schools these days! My neice always chooses water over fizzy drink now over something she learnt in school
I dont mean just teach them the food pyrimid, actually teach them about whats in the foods they eat! and why fat and sugar is so bad for your body. it will stick with them for life! and clearly they need all the help they can get! 0 -
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.
Same for me.
I may be eating healthier and have a healthier body, but my mental health is in the toilet. I'd love to have a Slurpee and pepperoni, no fruit.0 -
I don't want to live in a world where children aren't free to have their slurpees and fruit and pepperoni. Also, cheese. Just because.0
-
i don't think he's doomed, seems to me like his parents are trying to cut his portion sizes which is a good start, how do you know they haven't enrolled him in some type of sport activity? As they learn better they'll do better.
I kinda had this perspective, too.0 -
I was thinking the same thing. The parents could be (like me) learning. We all didn't have the right answers immediately.
Now, I'm overweight (and was bigger before here), and I would have said no to my son. Not for the sugar content, but the food dyes, but that's a whole new post! haha0 -
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.
Yeah, that is fine for adults, but they are setting their own child up with bad health habits. I'm gonna hope you just missed the point, and don't think it's fine for parents to do that.0 -
Last night, I was taking my daughter to softball and I stopped in a convenience store for a coffee. As I was getting my coffee, a young boy, about 10 years old walked next to me and was in front of the Slurpee machine. He was probably a good 30 - 35 pounds overweight. He said "I want one of these"..... and I saw that his parents were behind me.
The father, about 80 - 100 pounds overweight said "No, that's too much sugar"...... which was immediately followed up by his mom ( she was also about 70 - 80 pounds too heavy ) who said "OK, but only a medium one, and you can't have your fruit tonight or you can't have your pepperoni. You only get one or the other."
That kid is doomed.
Unfortunately this type of thing is common in the US. A kid should never be forced to give up fruit for a day after having a treat. That does not encourage healthy eating habits in a 10 year old.0 -
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.
Yeah, that is fine for adults, but they are setting their own child up with bad health habits. I'm gonna hope you just missed the point, and don't think it's fine for parents to do that.
But if they've grown up with the same bad health habits, they will pass them along because it's the norm to them0 -
i don't think he's doomed, seems to me like his parents are trying to cut his portion sizes which is a good start, how do you know they haven't enrolled him in some type of sport activity? As they learn better they'll do better.
I certainly do not know if he is in a sport.
But with his parents about 150 - 175 overweight between themselves, and the fact that the mom IMMEDIATELY overruled the father and let him have the Slurpee, is a really bad sign.
As they learn what, exactly, after 10 years? It doesn't take 10 years to figure out that almost anything is better than a Slurpee for nutrition, probably including the pepperoni, and certainly the fruit is better.0 -
Hahaha, what?! Spoiled rotten! Wow! I don't have any sympathy.0
-
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.
Yeah, that is fine for adults, but they are setting their own child up with bad health habits. I'm gonna hope you just missed the point, and don't think it's fine for parents to do that.
But if they've grown up with the same bad health habits, they will pass them along because it's the norm to them
That's my point..... the kid is doomed.0 -
Why would I feel bad? Not everyone wants to be healthy and if they ever decide that they want to they can do that too.
Yeah, that is fine for adults, but they are setting their own child up with bad health habits. I'm gonna hope you just missed the point, and don't think it's fine for parents to do that.
But if they've grown up with the same bad health habits, they will pass them along because it's the norm to them
That's my point..... the kid is doomed.
Unless the kid grows up and learns a better way. I grew up with bad eating habits, and I was always a heavy kid/teen/adult. I'm changing my life and I'm teaching my kids for the better.
So, doomed for now, yes. Not completely doomed for the future.0 -
Hahaha, what?! Spoiled rotten! Wow! I don't have any sympathy.
If that IS the case, that's the parent's fault, and not the kids fault, wouldn't you agree? But the parents - especially the mom, it seems, have no clue. I think that is what makes me feel bad for the kid. He's a kid. Lots of kids would only eat junk food if left to their own devices.0 -
I'm so glad my mom never did any of that to me. The only limitations on what I could/couldn't eat were REAL ones, like what was available and what we could afford.
I believe that children should be allowed to make their own food choices. I really dislike when parents create these artificial boundaries for their kids, more often than not they're based entirely within the parent's own insecurities.0 -
It's not your job to be policing other people and telling them they're doing it wrong. It's freedom of choice. Looking down on others because of the decisions they've made isn't virtuous at all.0
-
It's not your job to be policing other people and telling them they're doing it wrong. It's freedom of choice. Looking down on others because of the decisions they've made isn't virtuous at all.
The lines of "freedom of choice" become significantly blurred when you're making those choices for someone else. That's why parenting decisions fall under this kind of scrutiny.
When a person makes a decision that can greatly negatively impact another person who is powerless to stop it, is it still virtuous to turn a blind eye?0 -
It's not your job to be policing other people and telling them they're doing it wrong. It's freedom of choice. Looking down on others because of the decisions they've made isn't virtuous at all.
I neither policed them, told them anything, or claimed to be virtuous. My only thinking here is that the kid is in big trouble as he gets older.0 -
well I think he may have a worse start but doomed? nah eventually we all have to make our own choices regardless of what our parents tell us0
-
wow i feel bad for that poor kid, he was doomed from the start0
-
Maybe the child has diabetes? In which case then the drink would mean he couldn't have fruit as then he'd be over his sugars.
As the parent of a child with an 'invisible disease' I hate people who judge.0 -
I feel bad for the whole family. Dad may at least have some sense, but not enough to stand up to Mom. Mom seems totally clueless. The boy will suffer the affects of his parents cluelessness for the rest of his life.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 427 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions