Parents buy the food, parents prepare the meals. The child has very little choice in the matter, and eventually will become hungry enough that they will eat whatever is put in front of them (I have a picky eater who has, on occasion, refused to eat for a day or two - after which time, a plate of broccoli starts to seem like a pretty tasty meal after all), BUT, aside from the typical grocery store tantrums over a box of sugary cereal or bag of chips which many parents cave in to - the CHILD has very little influence on what foods are bought and served in a household.
I, for one, am not a short order cook. I prepare ONE meal, for the family, and if you don't like it you can wait until the next meal and see if your luck improves. There are foods my kids flat out refuse to eat, but that doesn't keep me from serving them, or persuade me to switch out vegetables with Little Debbie cakes simply because my kids WILL eat those.
But see, this goes on the assumption that there's only one way to raise a child.It also doesn't allow for variations in metabolism,income,and overall health.I've seen big people who are plenty healthy.They're just big people.And not everyone who is fat got that way by sitting around stuffing their face,though a lot of people assume that.Everyone is different.Some metabolisms are slower,muscle mass varies,and genetics and health problems need to be considered as well.The very fact that the BMI index was altered played a large part in this supposed obesity epidemic.If you're using a faulty gage like BMI,fucking Arnold Schwarzenegger's BMI puts him in the obese category.
And who gets to determine whether or not parental behavior is harmful to a child?Since when do we have to be role model material for every bleeding heart in the world?Some would argue that our pot use makes us bad parents, even though I personally do not smoke with my children present.Some folks would argue that a lack of religion is harmful to a child.Where do we draw the line when it comes to letting people raise their children in the manner they see fit?I say if we must attack the parents of fat kids, why, let's go for parents whose kids are underweight.Let's get the parents who are pumping amphetamines into their kids,risking permanent heart and brain damage.Lets get after the people who brainwash their kids with religious fairytales without ever considering letting the child choose for their self later in life when they can actually analyze it objectively!Let's chase down the parents who lie and say there is a Santa Claus!
I've never said that removing a child from the home should be the first choice in matters like this, but when you're dealing with a parent who simply will NOT acknowledge that their behavior is harming their child(ren) EVEN after nutritional counseling, etc, then what else is there to do? Doing nothing certainly isn't going to help, is it? It doesn't set an example for OTHER parents whose own behavior might be harmful to their children, either.
Not passing blame.Just saying that unfortunately, foods with HFCS tend to be cheaper.And it is in nearly everything,I swear.So my point is, if you're poor,not only do you have to stick to a budget so that everyone can eat SOMETHING on a daily basis,but most likely you don't have the money to buy decent health insurance.So you tend to go to the doctor only in the event of an emergency.And since it costs an arm and a leg for an emergency visit,and more than likely these people have to choose between paying the light bill or paying the doctor's bill,it ends up driving up health care costs for everyone else because the health care industry is going to find a way to get that money back somehow.
We, as people, generally look for the easy way out of everything. If doing nothing is the easy way out, that's what people are going to do. Continue to shirk the responsibility and blame it on HFCS (which is easily avoided, if you don't eat packaged foods, btw) and the problem is only going to get worse. "We can't help it our kids are getting fat. HFCS is in everything, we can't avoid it!" That's just blaming someone else for your OWN laziness.
I also never heard a child say,I want to grow up and work a factory job..or I want to grow up and climb the corporate ladder,amassing money and possessions so I can fit the idea of "success" that society measures everyone by.Or how about,When I grow up I want to beat myself up for not looking exactly like the totally unrealistic physical "ideal" all the magazines wave in my face everyday.I want to be judged on my appearance alone,because being fat is the absolute worst thing a person can be!
Parents need to understand that kids are people, too. They have their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations. I've never met a child who said "I want to grow up to be so obese I can't walk on my own!" or "I want to have a double-bypass before I'm 30!". No, children want to be successful, and WE, as parents, are the ONLY ones who can give them the nurturing and INTELLIGENT guidance to help them reach their goals. If we aren't doing our jobs, we ought to be "fired", just as anyone else who doesn't do their job should be.
Amen.
what is appalling is that over a quarter of those responding think it is totally all right for government to micromanage the lives of its citizens. that a bunch of bureaucrats should have the ability to decide what is or is not a proper upbringing for our children. that whether or not something is a crime can be determined by the political correctness of the situation.
.Overnight,because the government lowered the number necessary to be classified ,25 million Americans suddenly found themselves "obese".In fact,a woman of 5'4,at 145 pounds is considered obese.BMI does not take into account different muscle and bone densities or the unique body structure of an individual.
Say it ain't so!
