Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.

WW App for kids and teens

2»

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    .

    I do want to come to the defense of traffic light eating though. It's actually an old concept, and simply suggests thinking about foods before eating. There are everyday foods, sometimes foods, and treat foods. Green light foods are a go - nutritious and not too calorie dense. Yellow light foods mean slow down and be mindful - these are foods that you need to be careful of portion size or eating too often. Red light foods mean stop and think - these are treat foods that are best eaten occasionally. It actually can be a good guideline for kids when presented the right way, I believe here the problem is with the presentation, not the concept itself.

    That's pretty similar to what my niece's pediatrician had my SIL and BIL do.
  • texaskatezoo
    texaskatezoo Posts: 1 Member
    I just got back on MFP to get control of my weight. It's that or surgery. My 12 year old daughter is following in my footsteps with unhealthy eating and excess weight. We both are going to work to get on track. I was looking for a version of MFP that would work for tweens - to help in the same way MFP helps me. I looked at the WW app for her and I actually thought it looked like exactly what she would need. Live, weekly coaching. Available via text for help. Communication to parents. Not too complicated to follow or maintain going forward. It seems to me when you get to the point where you have to focus on what you are eating and counting calories and scrutinizing foods, regardless of what program you are using, you are entering into possibility of obsessive or unhealthy relationships with food. But I think that's what got us into this situation to begin with. I think with doing it together, and focusing on being healthy and active, the two apps can help us. I want to be involved, but she also wants to own this challenge. I think that makes sense. I can't do it for her. But we can do this together.
    I am open to suggestions for a better app for tweens.
  • BuiltLikeAPeep
    BuiltLikeAPeep Posts: 94 Member
    texaskatezoo wrote: »
    I just got back on MFP to get control of my weight. It's that or surgery. My 12 year old daughter is following in my footsteps with unhealthy eating and excess weight. We both are going to work to get on track. I was looking for a version of MFP that would work for tweens - to help in the same way MFP helps me. I looked at the WW app for her and I actually thought it looked like exactly what she would need. Live, weekly coaching. Available via text for help. Communication to parents. Not too complicated to follow or maintain going forward. It seems to me when you get to the point where you have to focus on what you are eating and counting calories and scrutinizing foods, regardless of what program you are using, you are entering into possibility of obsessive or unhealthy relationships with food. But I think that's what got us into this situation to begin with. I think with doing it together, and focusing on being healthy and active, the two apps can help us. I want to be involved, but she also wants to own this challenge. I think that makes sense. I can't do it for her. But we can do this together.
    I am open to suggestions for a better app for tweens.

    I believe as long as a parent is monitoring the child using the app, it's a good thing. Maybe they should require the parent to download the app and sign in so they can actively monitor what's going on.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    BuiltLikeAPeep wrote: »
    texaskatezoo wrote: »
    I just got back on MFP to get control of my weight. It's that or surgery. My 12 year old daughter is following in my footsteps with unhealthy eating and excess weight. We both are going to work to get on track. I was looking for a version of MFP that would work for tweens - to help in the same way MFP helps me. I looked at the WW app for her and I actually thought it looked like exactly what she would need. Live, weekly coaching. Available via text for help. Communication to parents. Not too complicated to follow or maintain going forward. It seems to me when you get to the point where you have to focus on what you are eating and counting calories and scrutinizing foods, regardless of what program you are using, you are entering into possibility of obsessive or unhealthy relationships with food. But I think that's what got us into this situation to begin with. I think with doing it together, and focusing on being healthy and active, the two apps can help us. I want to be involved, but she also wants to own this challenge. I think that makes sense. I can't do it for her. But we can do this together.
    I am open to suggestions for a better app for tweens.

    I believe as long as a parent is monitoring the child using the app, it's a good thing. Maybe they should require the parent to download the app and sign in so they can actively monitor what's going on.

    Yeah. I don't let my children have devices at all, but parental access and supervision would be an absolute minimum requirement for me.

    For the most part, our meals are eaten at home and I'm not eating substantially different food than my children are. This might change as they get older, but for preteens I'd think parents are still the ones doing modelling and observation. I'm reluctant to put that responsibility even in part on an app.
  • panda4153
    panda4153 Posts: 417 Member
    It’s a tool that’s all. Like any health tool it can be used appropriately, or it can be abused. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I honestly wish I had something like it as a teenager, I maybe would not have gotten so out of hand with my eating habits if I had a tool to help me track and understand my decisions around eating.

    For a child who needs something like this and who’s parents or guardians are actively involved and the proper healthcare considerations are being accounted for this is something that could be very helpful.

    Lots of good tools can be abused, but I don’t think it should be the tool is not available. Instead we need better access to mental health care for those who struggle with any kind of disordered thinking and we need to be watching out for and teaching our kids about how to think critically and make sound decisions for themselves.

Categories