do you think parents should be blamed for childhood obesity?

Question

watching gmtv yesterday and a young boy was severley overweight to the point of the social services intervening.i know what i think...what about you guys and girls??

i belive its the parents fault too but the mother argued that her child does not eat a lot!!!

Answer 1

Yes I do unless in the very very rarest of cases that it can be proven that the child has a medical condition that causes it.

The programme last night disgusted me to be honest. The mother said she did all she could, but if that was the case then how come she couldnt even be arsed to get up in the morning to do her sons breakfast and see him to school, even on his birthday she just lay in bed? She looked pretty unwholesome too to be honest! Her mum was just as bad, she acted like a mother hen around him then when he was walking to school told him to slow down or he would get out of breath! Isn't that the idea? If he gets out of breath a little more then perhaps he may lose a little weight?

In my opinion that family do nothing to help the child. If they truly didn't want him to eat the crap, then why dont they stop buying it and stock the cupboards with healthy food. Afterall if he is hungry he will eat it wont he? They are just lazy and have probably fed him on junk and fast food all his life, afterall did you see the pictures of him when he was 2 years old? He looked like a 5 year old in weight! I think it is appalling that an 8 year old child (and only just 8) can weigh heavier than my 41 year old 6ft ex army boyfriend! It makes me sick. In my honest opinion, they deserve for him to be put in care. Or at least put somewhere where his food can be monitored and he can be exercised properly until he gets to a healthy weight.

Answer 2

Yes parents are to blame. When children are under say 15 parents are the ones to regulate what they eat. The kids typically don't have a ton of money to go out and buy all the potato chips and snack cakes and all together unhealthy foods. Parents also can regulate how much activity a child gets. When I was younger my mother would kick us out of the house so that we couldn't just sit in front of a TV or computer. When you're outside as a kid you go and do things (excercise) you don't just sit around. That said there are some medical reasons that cause children to be overweight, but as a parent you are responsible to recognize that and maybe make TV time even less and activity (excercise) time longer. Adults with children need to stop blaming everyone but themselves for their child's problems (health and behavioral)

Answer 3

Well, who else is to blame? Let's not beat around the bush here. I know, as a parent, that it is difficult sometimes to get your kids to eat the right thing, but if one of my kids (God forbid) started to head towards obesity I would ensure that the only food or snacks that they have access to is healthy, and that as a family we do some form of exercise together. I would also limit the amount of time they spent inside watching tv/playing games etc, and make them play outside as much as possible. I read an interview with the Mother who said that they had been asking for help for about a year, what about the previous 8 years? Why would you let a situation like this go on for so long?

Its a tragedy, because that kid has a long hard road ahead of him, irrespective of whether he goes into care or not. Very sad.

Answer 4

The kid is living in an unhealthy environment. If that family was given the proper medical care and direction from doctors or a nutritionist on how to properly feed and care for the portly little guy then they (probably the parents, haven't seen particular case) are responsible for the well being of the child by following those particular instructions. Anything shy of that is neglect and the child should be put into a better environment for his own health and welfare.

Answer 5

I see a lot of answers on here blaming the parents. While I think that a lot of the problem is from the familial menu, no one is taking into consideration the fat, salt and overall caloric values of public school lunches. Many children in poorer homes are eligible for, and receive "free" lunch at school. I know when I was growing up, it was the only real meal of the day for me. Now however, when my own children were going to public school, the lunch program has shifted. As a rule, they do not cook nutritious meals from what one would call real ingredients, gone are the days of seeing lunch ladies mixing vast quantities of meatloaf or cutting up fresh whole chickens or even preparing fresh vegetables. The majority of public school lunches (whether free or not) consist of prepackaged, fat laden, convienence meals. They unwrap them and cook them, individual portions of faux meat, fat and salt infused vegetables. Fresh baked goods are a thing of the past. Like as not, the pie your child ate at school was already made and pre-portioned before it even got in the building, and we all know that food that is mass produced, is usually full of refined sugars and "industrial" additives. Why would the schools do such a thing? To save money..I know you might not see it that way but if you ever got to know the ins and outs of food service contracting then your eyes would be opened. As for obesity in children..it is economics..yes parents are mostly to blame, but when your income is barely enough to scrape by on, then you do end up eating a lot of carb rich foods, because they are cheap and filling. When both parents are working and still not making ends meet and the children get fed a school lunch, most of that is fat and carb heavy as well. How can you blame a parent for doing the best that they can? I am not talking about those that let their children have sodas and candy, but even families that can not afford such luxuries are fighting with obesity. There are many factors and many directions to point the blame finger..so have a good think before you start throwing blame around and have a good look at what your kids are eating in school as well.

Answer 6

Up to a certain age i think the mother is to blame because when a child is young a mother is the one who feeds the child you can either give the child a staple diet or a diet of fast foods and sweets which do the child no good
Using the money excuse is rubbish because its cheaper to buy veg then a fast food meal

Answer 7

Yes, the parents are to blame. It's a form of child cruelty as the diet they are feeding him is putting his life in danger. It's technically neglect as the parents obviously do not have the child's best interests at heart. It's not as if it is expensive or hard to put nutritious food on the table. Social services should definitely intervene, they would if a child was been under fed after-all.

Answer 8

Yes i do and being honest i am guilty myself sometimes . I give in just for the peace , but i also make sure they eat a decent tea . It takes along time for a child to get to that stage so in that respect the parents were to blame . Also saying that some children have medical problems and there is help out there it's upto the parents to get it . In the question of the family you mentioned they actually missed appointments so in my eyes they couldn't care less !

Answer 9

Yes and No. When Children are small we can protect them and guide them making sure they eat whats good for them. However swhen they become teenagers what they eat at home is not normally all they eat, I know I give my 3 good healthy food at home but know for a fact they eat all the junk they can when they are out by themselves and in whatever quantities they like it really doesn't cost too much to eat 4 bags of crisps or 4 Mars bars in one go does it! So I think environment does play a part when they are older. T o be frank we can't stop kids taking drugs and having sex so how the hell do we stop them eating junk!!!

Answer 10

I do think as parents you should educate your children on eating the right foods and try to give them a good healthy balanced diet ,and do fun outdoor activity's as a family,i don't think that sweets should be baned from there diet because i think this will encourage binging when your not around,at the end of the day you are the parent and its up to you to make sure you have a healthy and happy child.