Parents Please Wake Up

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  • Ashley121205
    Ashley121205 Posts: 131 Member
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    I would have to agree that it does start with the parents. Parents are children's first role models. My 4 girls ages 7,4,3 and 2 are not overweight but since I have gotten healthier they have picked up on my good habits. They have always eaten lots of fruits and veggies but now they eat whole wheat, ground turkey etc and they haven't noticed any change as opposed to other things. They exercise with me by choice :) They just watched my husband and I complete a 5k. It feels good to know I've made this change for my family early on. If I hadn't they could have been on my roller coaster ride to obesity. However I didn't remove all sweets from the house because I think that can also develop them being secret eaters like others have posted.

    My oldest daughter's school has a program where a nutritionist "Mrs. Healthy" comes to school and talks to them about food choices and even gives them samples and has them help make a healthy snack. I think it's a fabulous idea and really got her thinking and asking me if we could buy a few things that she had talked about :)
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
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    Interesting topic. I do agree to some extent with the earlier poster about not offering up any solutions. You've obviously put some thought into it so what are your opinions on what should be done? Personally, I agree that it starts with education. My mother recently had a quadruple bypass, is now seeing a dietician among other things, and still has trouble making better choices. I think if she would have been educated when she was younger she wouldn't be having so much trouble now.

    Also, while I appreciate your passion, this message board isn't exactly your target audience. I'm assuming most people here are trying to improve themselves. Given that you feel so passionately about this, do you have any ideas about how to get your message out to people who aren't taking an active interest in a healthier lifestyle?
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
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    To start, most parents do what they know or think is best. I don't think parents ever have a cruel intention of making their kids un-healthy or overweight, I'm pretty sure most parents would like to avoid that teenage angst coming from depressed girls and boys too I assume. My mom/dad meant well, they just didn't know about proper nutrition past fruits/veggies/beans. this didn't stop the fast food and pantry full of snack cakes though.
    Young or old we eat what we want. Filling the refrig with fruits, vegs, low fat whatever, Isn't going to stop school trading and just plain not eating. How healthy is not eating at all? Children are influenced more out of the house then in. It's called fitting in or finding persons like themselves. At any age we can decide when we want to control how much we eat 14 or 40. Blaming other people for our own choices is like saying we are not in control of ourselves. "Only I can hurt me, should I choice". Power, will and choice are ours to control.

    That mindset makes this issue and other more serious issues in our society seem not fixable if you boil it down to a gleaming generalization about how peers influence more than parents. though that's true, that doesn't mean that parents give UP all their rights to their peers. in this man's case (the way he's thinking) we should just group everyone on an island by age and let us all raise each other. until those peers start providing a roof over said kids head, if a parent does their job by showing the kids proper nutrition then they've taught all they could, and then it is up to the child what they do. if you do not know better you will not do better and that is as simple as that.
  • raw_sugar
    raw_sugar Posts: 87
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    I do agree with the point that the parents influence the kids eating habits. I also agree that it is not so simple as saying 'Feed your kids better food'.

    I'd suggest Googling the term 'food desert' and reading up on this concept. There are people who end up eating junk daily not necessarily because the food is cheaper (which ounce for ounce it's not) but when you factor in transportation, some people do not have ACCESS to grocery stores when all they have within walking distance (because some people do not own cars, or have the storage space to store a lot of groceries) are fast-food places and convenience stores.

    I also agree that lack of activity is a big issue, and part of it is our culture of fear. I do NOT think that the world is much more dangerous than it ever was (although I have the privilege of living in a small town on a not-so-busy street.. others are not that lucky) but that we are so saturated with messages of kids getting kidnapped and molested that we are hyper-aware of the risks that have frankly, always been there.

    Get to know your neighbors. I think we need to foster the 'village to raise a child mentality' so that we can go back to the days when we COULD let kids out for hours at a time. And turn off the TV, cause not only does it make the kids fat, it makes the parents paranoid.
  • summersmi
    summersmi Posts: 50 Member
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    It seems that what we have proven here is that this stuff is not easy. It should come as no surprise that people spend their entire lives studying health and how to make it better and even in that community there is disagreement. The problem is not just the parents responsibility and not just the Government/education/medical or whatever other "windmill" you wish to tilt at but rather it is some combination of all of these. If you feel as strongly about the health of the children try a different approach, because attacking the parents without really understanding what their situation is will yield nothing but defensive parents. They will shut down and assume you just have an ax to grind and will not make any useful changes. This kind of transformation takes effort and will not be easy. Just for an experiment the nest time you see parents who need to "Wake Up" that instead of pointing out their failures you spend some time getting to know them and finding out ways to help them make the right choices, help them through their daily problems and find solutions for them.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    Wonderful topic!
    Parents are to blame for the epidemic of child obesity in our nation.

    It's disgusting enough when we ruin our own health getting fat, but not our own kids. We have 5 boys, and from the moment they could walk they've all done daily exercise under my supervision. And once they turned 14, I never needed to tell them; they had their own programs.

    Not a single one of my kids is fat. They're all muscled, strong, fit and well adjusted, making good grades and at the top of the social heap. And then I see my neighbors' kids unable to play rough, throw a ball or do much of anything off the computer. Most are taking some medication and one poor kid is actually already a diabetic.

    It's disgusting. These obese little underachievers have already had their self-esteem crushed, and they'll battle the damaging results the rest of their lives.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    When I was little, there were always fruits and veggies in the house, but they were my 'dad's' food. My brother and I got into the habit of sneaking food from a very little age because it was all for someone else. I still find myself doing that to this day. For my kids, nothing is off limits in the house to eat, but we talk about the food. They are learning that there are foods you can eat whenever you are hungry (fruits, veggies, lean meats, fish, etc.) and food that you don't eat all the time (pizza, corn dogs, ice cream). We put kid size portions of food on their plates, and if they are hungry for more, they can have it. When they have ice cream, it is in mini ice cream cones, they get a few tblsp of ice cream. It is the perfect size for them and keeps the calories in check. I can only hope that as they grow older, they have better habits than I do!
  • kandire
    kandire Posts: 87
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    Hi

    My childrens favourite meals are cod fillets baked with a sprinkle of parmesan served with broccili and baked potatoes, or a nice rare steak.

    We taught them from birth that fast food is ok for a treat but they hate Mcdonalds (apart form the shakes) so if they are naughty we threaten to take them there for dinner lol

    I have always advocated that no food is 'bad' as that leads to issues but everything in moderation. They both have a very heatlhy attitude to food as nothing has been denied them but both would choose strawberries or satsumas over sweets and chocolate so we must have done something right.

    They are boys aged 9 and 11.
    martyxx


    This is exactly what my husband and I plan to try when we have children. I think that if you can teach them moderation at a young age then they will have the knowledge and ability to make good decisions when they get older!
  • Lucia_Armstrong1973
    Lucia_Armstrong1973 Posts: 51 Member
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    I agree that as a culture we rely on junk and fast food way too much. But I think our kids eating habits are a learned behavior. So many of us learned how to eat in a more healthy manner out of necessity (to lose weight), so we really don't know enough to teach our children. Then there are others who just don't know how to not give in to their kids whining and begging. Then there are some for whom fast food is financially cheaper and faster than going home and preparing a better meal. There have been many days in my life, where I have had 5.00 in my pocket and that's enough to buy 3 burgers and two fries for the kids to split. With a glass of milk or water, that's a meal! (Albeit not a healthy one, but it does put something in their bellies) With some of the food prices nowadays, that would only have bought a small package of meat, definitely not a nutritious meal.

    So, while many people are lazy, or whatever, there are a lot of reasons people do not feed themselves or their children properly.
  • PepeGreggerton
    PepeGreggerton Posts: 986 Member
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    I can tell you that as a kid growing up my parents really didn't buy junk food and pizza was a once every couple weeks thing. But we usually had the giant buckets of ice cream in the freezer and mom made a lot of fried food. But, I played outside from sun up to sun down, participated in sports, and all kinds of things until I left school. Then when I could make my own food and exercise decisions I made a lot of really bad ones and ended up fat.

    I don't blame my parents for this. I made the choices and I watched myself balloon up to 300lbs. My kids are thin, and we eat pizza, and sometimes fast food, and sometimes other junk. But more often than not, I make them a well balanced meal and tell them when we eat junk food that it's not good for us but is okay once in a while.

    ALSO, like BobbyClerici they exercise at my house. Stuff like my gym teacher taught me. Sit-ups, Push-ups, Jumping jacks. When the weather gets nice again they'll be outside jump roping with me.

    To summarize. As Parent's it's our job to give our kids the knowledge and tools to make the right choices and hope that as adults they use it.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    Just posting that parents should be healthier doesn't help the problem. You've posed no solution to the problem other than 'parents should do better'. The problem is far more complex than that and acting like it's a simple matter is, in my opinion, a disservice.

    Don't be so myopic. One doesn't have to have a mapped out strategy plan to call attention to a problem. Sometimes just starting a dialog about an issue can be helpful and plant some seeds. :)
    Exactly!
    And it's not like they don't know what to do already - we all did long before we took ownership of our health.
    Eat less - move more!

    There's the solution.:drinker:
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    I would argue that its not the food thats making children fat, its the lack of activity. I ate fast food, pizza etc.. growing up, pretty regularly but I played a lot of sports and ran around the neighborhood with friends. I was a skinny kid. I didnt get over weight until I got married, had kids and started working a job where I sat on my butt all day. Kids nowadays dont go outside, they dont ride around the neighborhood on their bikes. They sit in front of a tv and play X Box. When I was a kid I would wake up on Saturday morning and eat breakfast and my dad would say "go outside and play" I would go outside till lunch, then back out till dinner then back out till street lights came on. That doesnt happen now. Kids dont even walk around mow lawns anymore. adults do.

    Honestly I have to disagree with this,
    I got given healthy food (with some sweets occasionally) all the way through high school and weighed 100 pounds. In college I started working in and eating fast food whilst still running around the park and riding on my bike. Not everyone is the same, me and a few friends - sure we are inside sometimes but a lot of the time we will just go for random walks around outside, etc. And I then put on the weight as it did not cancel out the amount of cals eaten.
  • afigueroa_pr
    afigueroa_pr Posts: 344
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    The reason I woke up from this vicious cycle of unhealthy lifestyle was because I became a father. As soon as my beautiful daughter was born something clicked in me that I needed to show her the right way to eat and avoid being another statistic on the whole "America is obese" category. I am not a healthy 151 pounds (down from 205) and I haven't felt better in my life.
    It is all thanks to my lovely daughter: Daddy loves you!!!
  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member
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    IMO, pizza, depending on where you buy it, is FAR from the worst thing you can get your kid. I like Papa Murphy's take and bake because they use quality ingredients and don't load the crust down with grease like places like Pizza Hut, and you can get loads of veggies on it.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    I do not buy it when people say parents don't know better.

    I mean come on!!!! We all know that fruits and veggis are good for you, that baked is better then fried.

    It take me 15 minutes to make a full healthy meal with salmon.

    They do not do it because it's easier not to. how can they look at their little one that are overweight and not think that there is a better way? If I need help as a parent, I ask for it!!!! There is books, doctors, nutritionists, community organism.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    Aren't you preaching to the choir??
  • gunmetalsunrise
    gunmetalsunrise Posts: 131
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    I love how people blame so much on there child hood when they have been out of it for so long. If you are over 18 and you are on this site worry about yourself take responsiblity for your own actions and move on

    The thing about childhood is that the habits you develop in your formative years are the hardest to break, because we're meant, as human beings, to learn how to do things that will help us develop skills so we'll survive on our own. However, when we suffer from abuse or are shown the wrong habits to adopt (like over-eating -- which I think came over from previous eras where we didn't have ENOUGH food, so you ate whatever was given to you because who knows when you'll eat again?), we need to work harder to break them when we become adults.

    That's kind of how this whole growing up deal works. You don't just get to wave a magic wand and go "Oh! Everything I learned in childhood is gone now!".
  • thebunches
    thebunches Posts: 40
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    Well I have to be one of the few who TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU. When I married my bodybuilder husband, he was super healthy (still is, of course). I still don't eat as healthy as he does, but at least I don't eat junk all the time or eat fast food (hardly ever). We vowed that our chidren would BE TAUGHT...as PARENTS SHOULD DO...what's healthy, what's not, how much to eat, when to STOP, and staying active and exercising daily (even if it's just for a bit).

    Our daughter is the healthiest child in her class at school...but we don't buy her the "easy" school lunches (which would save me so much time). I make her lunch every single night for school the next day, and you can be darn sure that it's VERY healthy...but also VERY good-tasting. I've been doing this every single day of her life since she was born...starting around 12 months, while she was still exclusively breastfeeding. She self-weaned at about 20 months of age, so she's had a "homemade lunch" (haha, literally!) since the day she was born.

    And I wouldn't have done it any other way.

    PARENTS...wake up. You are giving your children a death-sentence. They are learning from YOU. They want to be like YOU. They want to please YOU. Give them a positive role-model to look up to...you're #1 in their book!
  • Jesusinme4life
    Jesusinme4life Posts: 105 Member
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    I agree that we have to educate our kids at a young age. When we had junk in the house my kids wanted to eat it all day long if I would have let them. Now we have fruit, veggies and healthy snacks and they are loving it. Now it is mommy can I have a banana, an orange, or something like that instead of mommy can I have some chips, cookies or candy. I feel so much better now knowing I am feeding my kids healthy foods. They get a treat once a week and now it is exactly that, a treat. My kids are 4 and 2 and I am hoping I am instilling healthy habits in them now that they will carry with them as they grow up. I definitely do not want them to deal with the issues I did being a heavy teenager and young adult, as well as an older adult now.
    Stephanie
  • silhouettes
    silhouettes Posts: 517 Member
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    I agree, my mom used to give me whatever I wanted. She was addicted to chocolate so she was always pressing it to me.... fortunally I didn't like chocolate, but I have a picture of her literally putting me and a bean bag in front of the TV with a huge bag of chips when I was like 8.. I didn't know better than.

    Dinner and Lunch consisted of canned spaghetti, lots of frozen pizza, tons of chips, and french fries. And I remember she used to pull me out of school at lunch just to take me to Mcdonald's.

    I agree up eating fast food and junk food at home, I actually looked forward to some of the schools food for a change. I struggle now because of this, because I can still taste that food and how much easier it was to cook and grab on the go.

    I wish there had been better options when I was younger, but there wasn't and now I'm paying the price. It's not all her fault mind you, it's mine now that I'm out on my own, but when I was younger, yes I believe it was.

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