From marie - 01/17/06 - IP#: 198.182.163.xxx Click here to reply
Where is the parent's responsibility in regards to these obese children. I log on and it seems that people enjoy talking about the weight of there children as if it shifts the blame to the child....it is frustrating the parent is in charge and to blame you are the ones feeding your child AND doing the grocery shopping and I will gurantee most of you battle your weight as well..so wake up and do your child a favor and change your habits and in turn you will give your child a healthy, happier and longer life span...stop talking and take action. There is NO excuse in todays world to wonder where the weight is coming from...we know to much to say " I don't know how Johnny got to 150lbs at age 6"...Please spare me, get real get active and change for your child if not for yourself!
Reply from Debbie, Child's Age 13 - 01/23/06 - IP#: 71.242.109.xxx I agree with you Andrea to some extent that the child does have to take responsibility to what they put in their after a certain age. I know that it is also the responsibility of the parent to provide the child with nutritious food and not have junk food laying around the house. It is also the parents responsibility to make time for the family to do physical activities. All members of the family will benefit from the healthy food and activity whether they are overweight or not. Skinny people shouldn't be sitting on on the couch eating junk food. I believe that Marie and I are concerned that there are alot of parents who just seem to be concerned about their child's physical appearance, even to the point of writing insensitive things. They don't seem to want to take any responsibilty for how large their child is nor do they seem to realize how much of the situation is caused by the lifestyle they have. Many children are extremely overweight as toddlers and young children, those children can't make the decision of what foods are best to eat. At those ages the most important thing is immediate gratification so of course the greasy and high sugar things are perfect for that. Kids are naturally active but now it seems that many children are now plunked down in front of a TV or video game instead of taking advantage of their boundless energy by playing actively. Diabetes and heart disease are drastically increasing among the young and as parents it is definitely are responsiblity to help our children grow to be healthy and not lead them down the road to an early death. I think I got totally off track with my thought process here but my fingers kept speaking my thoughts....
Reply from andrea - 01/17/06 - IP#: 24.167.17.xxx acctually im like in the middle of what u said..because im 15 (WELL ALMOST) and i blame myself..i know that im the one who has made these unhealthy choices over the past years. i mean sure my mom has gotten some unhealthy things but im the one who puts it in my mouth and eats too much of it. parents are responible up until about the age where the kids are probably 9 - 10 years of age. so im neutral on your statement.
Reply from Marie - 01/17/06 - IP#: 198.182.163.xxx ..I think with my history it really annoys me to think these parents are so detatched to their role in the childs weight..and they mostly talk about how the child looks with the weight...It is not about the visual but about the risks like heart disease, diabetes, cancer not to metnion a shorter life span with this fat surrounding the major organs...this is so crucial for people to "get" why we need to eat healthy..it is not just for fashion...we are killing our children by the diets we give them...
Reply from Marie - 01/17/06 - IP#: 198.182.163.xxx I agree with you Debbie. My child will be 13 in a few months and after they hit middle school it is so hard with the freedom they have to get them to chose wisely but up until then I do believe we have a lot of control over what we bring/expose our child to with foods. I was an obese child in the 70's and 80's and we had no where the nutrition knowledge we have now..and teach nutrition to parents of children 5 and under and can see by choices where the child will eventually end up on the weight scale..it usually begins with early intro to solids, not weaning from a bottle early on and buying into "kid" friendly type foods which are poor nutrition...
Reply from Debbie, Child's Age 13 - 01/17/06 - IP#: 71.242.215.xxx I am generally in agreement with you, I actually stop checking this bulletin board occasionally because I get so frustrated with parents laying all the blame on their kids and often writing things about their child that seem very hurtful. I do not believe that all parents are 100% to blame for their childs' size though. My son is just 13 and is already nearly 6'4" and weighs about 250. He was nearly 280 in the spring of 2005 but he worked very hard at losing weight over the summer and he has grown several inches in height. So obviously he is genetically a larger person than most. I did battle my weight all my life and I admit that my sons' weight was greatly effected by the fact that he was often my eating buddy when he was younger. I have lost over 100 pounds in the last 5 years and I currently walk at 5 MPH about ten miles a day seven days a week and resistance train about 3 times a week. Parents do need to put their children first and feed them healthily and provide family activity, even skinny kids should have those things. I also strongly believe that parents need to listen to their kids and be sensitive to signs of depression or other emotional issues that may be going on. They need to let their kids know that they adore them and will be their strength whenever the child may feel weak. Often weight issues are often about the child(or even an adult) trying to fill up some place inside them that feels so empty and scary. Unfortunately food never fills that emptiness up but providing their child nourishment, both foodwise and emotionally can really help the healing to begin.
