Parents Please Wake Up

I don't understand what some parents are thinking when they buy their kids fast food nearly every day and give them stuff like pizza, chips, candy, and coke on a regular basis. Those things should be "treats" that are had only every once in a while. So many families feed their children junk food every day, and that is making generation after generation of obese people. I was 250 lbs by the time I was in jr high and 300 lbs by the time I was in high school. When you're a kid you're not born knowing what a proper meal should look like or what a portion size should be, we only know what we are shown and taught by our parents. It all starts when we are kids. If we learn bad eating habits and are never taught right, it's something we have to struggle with and try to over come when we are adults, which makes it a thousand times more difficult.

I've been struggling for years to undo the damage that my upbringing has done to my body as well as my mind. I have a very long way to go and it's extremely hard, but I'm doing it. And it pisses me off to see parents out there doing the same thing to their kids that my parents did to me. And it makes me want to shake their parents and scream - WAKE UP! Can’t you see what you’re DOING? Because when I look in the mirror at the 340 lb woman staring back at me I'm looking at THEIR future. And that breaks my heart.

If you’re a parent I’m begging you, BEGGING you, to put your foot down and turn things around for your children. YOU are the one shaping your child’s body and mind. You have control over what goes in your shopping cart and what goes on your table. You’re the parent. Love them enough to make the right choices for them.

I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this post, but I don't care. If just one parent reads this post and decides to make healthier choices for their family then it's worth it.

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:

While at the end of the day it is that basic...there's so much more too it than that and it's by no means easy.

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.

LOL I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I think parents play a HUGE role in how there children eat. Yes, they may not eat the most nutritiousness stuff when they are around, but parents still control what goes on the dinner table and what they serve them for breakfast, snacks, etc. And when a parent teaches a child about good nutrition and teaches a kid to make healthy food choices it has lasting effects.

alot of kids can and do burn those calories off with sports. Moderation is the key and also not making blanket statements about how everyone should eat this or that. My neice eats like a horse, good food and bad and still look extremely skinny. My children are all fairly healthy, at decent weight levels, and eat good food as well as junk. The point is each child/ person is different and not everything is the parents fault. Maybe the better request would have been please pay attention to your children so you know if their having a problem with junk food, a lack of activity, or with portion sizes.

But what happens when these skinny children grow up and get jobs and stop participating in childhood sports? They have not been taught proper nutrition so they continue to eat unhealthy foods and soon are obese and develop obesity related diseases. I beleive we need to teach our children how to be healthy for life rather than how to be skinny children.

If they choose to become inactive after grown there is nothing a parent can do about that. This society of education teaches children about this subject at school so it's not like they don't know at that point that they need to be active and have a balanced diet.

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.

LOL I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I think parents play a HUGE role in how there children eat. Yes, they may not eat the most nutritiousness stuff when they are around, but parents still control what goes on the dinner table and what they serve them for breakfast, snacks, etc. And when a parent teaches a child about good nutrition and teaches a kid to make healthy food choices it has lasting effects.

alot of kids can and do burn those calories off with sports. Moderation is the key and also not making blanket statements about how everyone should eat this or that. My neice eats like a horse, good food and bad and still look extremely skinny. My children are all fairly healthy, at decent weight levels, and eat good food as well as junk. The point is each child/ person is different and not everything is the parents fault. Maybe the better request would have been please pay attention to your children so you know if their having a problem with junk food, a lack of activity, or with portion sizes.

But what happens when these skinny children grow up and get jobs and stop participating in childhood sports? They have not been taught proper nutrition so they continue to eat unhealthy foods and soon are obese and develop obesity related diseases. I beleive we need to teach our children how to be healthy for life rather than how to be skinny children.

If they choose to become inactive after grown there is nothing a parent can do about that. This society of education teaches children about this subject at school so it's not like they don't know at that point that they need to be active and have a balanced diet.

Im sorry but this is wrong, the "education" you get from schools, the barely existent education that you go to lunch afterwards and eat pizza and tater tots, do you really expect that elementary schoolers (which is when I learned the food pyramid which by the way was never brought up again after elementary school) do you really expect them to ignore 18 years of unhealthy eating habits and change just because they are adults with a sedentary lifestyle, its true that children learn what they live, and how you are raised to eat and how you are raised to approach food will affect how you live for the rest of your life. Its your responsibility to change but responsibility also goes to their upbringings at home as well as what they ate at school.

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.

LOL I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I think parents play a HUGE role in how there children eat. Yes, they may not eat the most nutritiousness stuff when they are around, but parents still control what goes on the dinner table and what they serve them for breakfast, snacks, etc. And when a parent teaches a child about good nutrition and teaches a kid to make healthy food choices it has lasting effects.

alot of kids can and do burn those calories off with sports. Moderation is the key and also not making blanket statements about how everyone should eat this or that. My neice eats like a horse, good food and bad and still look extremely skinny. My children are all fairly healthy, at decent weight levels, and eat good food as well as junk. The point is each child/ person is different and not everything is the parents fault. Maybe the better request would have been please pay attention to your children so you know if their having a problem with junk food, a lack of activity, or with portion sizes.

But what happens when these skinny children grow up and get jobs and stop participating in childhood sports? They have not been taught proper nutrition so they continue to eat unhealthy foods and soon are obese and develop obesity related diseases. I beleive we need to teach our children how to be healthy for life rather than how to be skinny children.

If they choose to become inactive after grown there is nothing a parent can do about that. This society of education teaches children about this subject at school so it's not like they don't know at that point that they need to be active and have a balanced diet.

Edited to add: proper nutrition is a balanced diet. And sports aren't necessarily for childhood alone. alot of adults play football, basketball, soccer, bowling, swimming, dancing and all manner of physical activities and have fun doing them.

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.

LOL I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I think parents play a HUGE role in how there children eat. Yes, they may not eat the most nutritiousness stuff when they are around, but parents still control what goes on the dinner table and what they serve them for breakfast, snacks, etc. And when a parent teaches a child about good nutrition and teaches a kid to make healthy food choices it has lasting effects.

alot of kids can and do burn those calories off with sports. Moderation is the key and also not making blanket statements about how everyone should eat this or that. My neice eats like a horse, good food and bad and still look extremely skinny. My children are all fairly healthy, at decent weight levels, and eat good food as well as junk. The point is each child/ person is different and not everything is the parents fault. Maybe the better request would have been please pay attention to your children so you know if their having a problem with junk food, a lack of activity, or with portion sizes.

But what happens when these skinny children grow up and get jobs and stop participating in childhood sports? They have not been taught proper nutrition so they continue to eat unhealthy foods and soon are obese and develop obesity related diseases. I beleive we need to teach our children how to be healthy for life rather than how to be skinny children.

If they choose to become inactive after grown there is nothing a parent can do about that. This society of education teaches children about this subject at school so it's not like they don't know at that point that they need to be active and have a balanced diet.

Edited to add: proper nutrition is a balanced diet. And sports aren't necessarily for childhood alone. alot of adults play football, basketball, soccer, bowling, swimming, dancing and all manner of physical activities and have fun doing them.

The majority of adults do not play group sports. But you seem to have missed my point. The post to which I replied implied that letting children eat junk was okay as long as they are skinny. I believe that is not true and that children shoudl be taught how to eat a healthy diet and to exercise regularly. Not just in team sports, but in any way. It is all part of staying healthy. Exercise and diet. The focus should not be on weight but on health.

I was referring to the person that qouted the families were getting $500 a month food stamps for their families. I do understand that the price of food varies quite a bit depending on where you live. I also know that you can buy quite differetn things anywhere you live that add up to that $400 or $500 and can feed more or less people based on what you buy.

I worry about this too. Both my kids underweight and overweight claim that they are fat. You have to be careful about how you approach this situation. I don't want to have one daughter grow up anorexic and the other bulimic. It truly is frightening for the parents and I think that it is really crappy to dump on parents about the issue when they are trying. And I say it that way because I believe any parent using this site is most likely TRYING! That is why I have to admit that I take some offense to the OP.

I have seen parents on here justifying the crap they feed their kids. I have a sister-in-law who works out constantly and teaches many classes and eats so clean it sparkles. Her kids eat the cheap hot dogs dipped in ranch, pop-tarts, frozen pizza, and fast food for almost every meal. Just because a parent is trying to eat healthier doesn't mean they are doint the same for their kids. Sad, but true. OP wasn't saying all parents are doing this to their kids. She does have a valid point that there are many children out there whose parents are getting them off to a bad start when it comes to eating and exercise and all sorts of other habits.

I also disagree with putting overweight children on "diets" because it ruins them mentally. My sister and I have very different body types and though we're both active and healthy now, growing up we were like night and day. I was skinny and tall and she was short and chubby. My mom would try to get her to lose weight by restricting her foods and she would just sneak more. I honestly have no idea how this affected her because she seems very level-headed about it now but it made me think my mother was judging my weight from a very young age. I assumed that because my mom was bad mouthing my sister's appearance that she was talking about me, too. All through middle school and high school I "dieted" off an on by skipping meals, and concocting "cleanses" so I wouldn't be "fat like my sister."

I do think feeding children crap all day every day is just as bad as not feeding them because they are malnourished in both cases. On the other hand I think healthy choices should be emphasized and this comes from educating both the parents and the children. As for people with little access to fresh food or have less means to buy them, the SNAP program (food stamps) needs to be revised to provide basic foods like canned (low sodium) veggies & beans, frozen and fresh produce, 100% juice and bottled water, and lean meats not "meat products." No more assistance for oreos and soda, that's ridiculous.

When you're a kid you're not born knowing what a proper meal should look like or what a portion size should be, we only know what we are shown and taught by our parents. It all starts when we are kids. If we learn bad eating habits and are never taught right, it's something we have to struggle with and try to over come when we are adults, which makes it a thousand times more difficult.

I also disagree with putting overweight children on "diets" because it ruins them mentally.

Did you just start therapy? Your posts have the tone of someone who just started therapy/working through their stuff. That makes it a little less annoying.