Parents Please Wake Up

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.

:laugh:

I agree. We went from one extreme to another in my house. I was so confused and would hoard junk food because I thought it would be taken away. Finding the balance is the key.

also, the opposite is not the best way.
I grew up fighting over sweets with my older brother, because our mom never bought them to us, she didn't want us to get fat and ruin our teeth.
When we got them as present we would always fight about who got more...
So i became selfish and when i'm eating chocolate or something it's like i'm afraid my brother is going to eat it instead, and there will be no chocolate left for me.
This is why I gained weight.
Now that i'm older and i'm living alone, i make all the food decisions by myself, i can have all the junk food i want... but still there's that "child nature" in me.
of course, children like sweets, but making them available will maybe make children crave them less... and not care about the candy drawer.
oh and by the way, my brother is overweight now too, the reason i'm slim is that i'm watching what i eat.
so it affected both of us.

This is somewhat true too. You need to have moderation. If you only have junk food or only healthy food it doesn't teach childrent moderation. They will eat what is familiar and splurge on what is withheld.

You can feed a family of 5 very well on $500. Our budget for 4 people for a month is $500, but that includes our food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, alcohol, and dog food. My family is not going hungry, there is plenty of food in the house for the humans and animals. I do get the point that they can't phsyically get to a decent store - I have gone to the food desert stores - disgusting is the only way I can describe it.

I live in New York, and my budget for food for just my fiancee and I is $400 a month. That's just food, it doesn't include any other house stuff. We eat healthy food at home, and thankfully I have a good job and can afford it. If I lived in NYC where I work, my monthly food budget would EASILY be double that. Food isn't cheap everywhere, but even going off your quote, $500 a month is a lot of money for some people. More than many can afford.

What are you talking about I live in the village and I feed my self on like 50 bucks a week....

Watch "Food Inc."

I have no children, but I do have 7 nephews and 6 nieces, from 4 older sisters. One thing I've noticed is that every one of my sisters is raising her children/young adults very differently.

Oldest sister: she takes her kids to fast food, puts them in sports activities, rarely cooks b/c she and her husband are always working, when her husband cooks (he does most of the cooking) he doesnt cook healthy foods (although its very delish!!). At the same time, she tells her kids they are FAT and need to lose weight!! It drives me crazy!! She'll buy the packaged foods filled with sodium and fat and tell them to make something when she and her husband are running late @ work during the work week. Two of her kids are chubby (not obese) and one is stick thin. My sister herself was chubby as a kid- she was in middle school and she was 145 pounds, at 5 feet. When she got married, she became anorexic and saw food as evil. She is now 115 pounds about. I keep telling her to teach her kids to be HEALTHY and to not buy processed foods or take her kids to fast food, but she doesnt listen!

Second sister: her kids came after herself and her ex-husband: they are all in sports and health conscious (to a limit). They eat fast food, but their metabolism is very high so and they rarely eat it. They all prefer cooking at home. The kids don't like junk food. I remember them (as kids, 7 yrs old) asking for rice and meat and not for junk food- wow!!

Third sister: As a family, they all love to eat out at restaurants and food food chains. My sisters kids are all over weight. My sister herself is at a normal weight- she isnt thin. Her husband is also chubby. My sister cooks sodium filled foods and didnt teach her kids to be physically active or eat more healthy until we were all like WOAH your kids are too big for their ages! (three are in high school and one is in elemenetery school). The two oldest kids are the heaviest- 17 and 16 yrs old and weigh around 160 pounds, and they are short too!

Fourth sister: Parents are health conscious and so are the kids. My sisters kids are very small (7 and younger) and she doesnt feed them sweets, juice (they have water in their bottles), or candy. The oldest is starting to like chocolate, but she gives him just one, and he's satisfied with that. She's a nurse and her husband works in medicine too so thats probably part of the reason!

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.

It starts with teaching a child to enjoy the good foods. That starts with the first bite of solids you give them. There will be some foods that a person likes and dislikes, no matter what, but in general kids like what you teach them to like. If you offer a one year old lots of fruits and veggies, s/he will learn that those are the foods to eat. If you give them junk all the time, then that's what they want to eat.

It can be changed when they are older, it's just harder. Two big factors are eating meals as a family (not drive-through in the car) and setting a good example by filling your own plate with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.

And don't forbid any treat. Advice from my pediatrician! When a food is forbidden, it becomes more desirable and the kiddos will sneak it when away from home.

It starts with education, in my opinion. The vast majority of people don't honestly know enough about nutrition to create a truly healthy diet for their children.

This! When I talk with my mother on a regular basis about nutrition and how I'm eating healthier, she questions on occasion why I'm still eating bread and cheese, because obviously carbs and fat are the spawn of Satan! We grew up eating cheap food (Ramen, packaged dinners, etc.) and very little produce, because it was easier and cheaper. No wonder I had such unhealthy eating habits my entire life! It's something I'm still struggling with today, but I won't make the same choices for my son.

Whereas people I know with a child my son's age (almost 20 months) are giving their kids chips, candy, fast food, etc., we feed our son pasta, rice, chicken, fruits, and veggies, and he doesn't argue. We haven't ruined his palette yet (and I still don't understand why a 20 month old kid needs chips!). On very rare occasions, I'll put 5 semi-sweet chocolate chips on his high chair tray.

One day when my mom was babysitting him, she went to McDonald's and got him chicken nuggets, and I about came unglued. We'd never fed him fast food before that, and we weren't about to start, and she knew that. Her logic? "He needs a treat once in a while!"

And that's where the mindset all starts. A BABY doesn't "need" a treat, he needs consistent, excellent nutrition, not "treats." To me, his health is far more important than him "missing out" on a "treat" that he won't even know exists for another couple of years.

Should be taught in school from a very early age! There's no reason to learn more about the world at large than about our own bodies and how to keep healthy and fit. Both subjects are crucial and important! Many people are completely in the dark about the science of nutrition and many also need to get food on the table for their families affordably. If education started young I believe people would have more of a preference or at least know what and how much to eat as well as having movement and some sorts of activities in their lives.

Family activities are good times to share knowledge and strengthen family ties.

We like to make pine cone bird feeders together.

My friend shared the instructions with me. In the spirit of Christmas, I now share it with you.

What you'll need:

Pine cone
Paper plate
Butter knife
Smooth peanut butter
Birdseed
Ribbon or yarn
Scissors


How to make it:

Cut a long length of yarn or ribbon to hang the bird feeder.
Tie the ribbon in a knot around the pine cone near the top (about 3 sections down).
Tie a knot in the end of the ribbon.
Use the knife to get a large clump of peanut butter on the paper plate.
Use the knife to spread peanut butter inside the pine cone and around the edges.
Sprinkle the birdseed over the pine cone.
Roll the pine cone in the birdseed that is on the plate.
Hang the bird feeder on the tree.
Enjoy watching the birds eat their treat!

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!

Could not have said it better.

Obviously, we are all here because we want to be healthy ourselves. So, it stands to reason that all of these readers who are parents want the same thing for their children...to teach them healthy habits and raise them to be able to make healthy choices for theirselves and for their future children.

And to all of these people who say that the parents don't know anything about nutrition, that can't be true. Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for your health...everyone knows that fried chicken, french fries, greasy hamburgers and bread that is smothered with butter is completely wrong for your body and will not only make you fat, but potentially cause clogged arteries and heart failure. Everyone knows that water, milk and juice is better for you and your children than Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper. My grandfather was obese. He always ate junk. He had a massive heart attack at the age of 68. My cousins and I had to finish growing up without him. He never knew any of his great-grandchildren. That's not what I want for my future children.

Children are sponges. They soak up everything. Be the example. Feed yourself good, healthy foods and watch your children pick up your healthy habits.

Don't give up on your children.

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.


These things are readily available in our home as our fresh fruits and vegetables. Yes, my children sometimes pick ice cream. Yet, they also sometimes pick apples. It's moderation. I believe in teaching my children to make good choices in the REAL world they live in when they are not under my nose. Now that they are 14 and 12, they do make good choices and are in GREAT shape. They also understand that daily exercise is important. They both participate in 3-4 different sports and get a couple of hours of exercise a day. We are a very healthy family. I personally believe that if I severely restrict them when they are in my house, they will go crazy eating what they can't normally have and binge when they are not at my house. By having stuff in my house (yes I eat it sometimes to and I have never fallen in the unhealthy weight range), they learn moderation under my guidance and don't binge away from me. Although I drink pop, when we are out my children order water so I don't believe that I've done them a disservice by allowing them to have an option.. So, that's basically my philosophy....nothing forbidden and teach them to make choices and what should be taken in moderation. So far it's work great for me and my family. I would never question others thoughts or ideas when it comes to THEIR children. These are the ones entrusted to me and I am not making them any kind of public health drain on society by allowing chips, ice cream, pop, candy......et cetera.

I buy nearly $50 worth of groceries every week: veggies, fruit, canned foods, juice, milk, olives, frozen veggies, etc. I go to a specialty food market that sells cheaper fruits and veggies than the national supermarkets. In addition, i've been buying my meat in bulk - I just got an extra 5cft freezer for that - per pound, its much cheaper to do it this way. The most costly food items i buy is: extra virgin olive oil and lamb.

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.

I totally agree!

Lets just make it simple here because its blah blah blah blah opinions are like aholes everyone has them. Your kids will pretty much do what you do because you are there *role model, number one, person they inspire to be, want to make happy, ect, ect) so if you do the right things and eat healthy and exercise I am willing to bet 7 out of 10 children will do the same. Start with yourself and the rest will take care of itself.