LAZY parents are ultimately to blame for the childhood obesity "emidemic"....AGREE?

Question

or not?

Answer 1

i'll answer in a sec, me and my 3 year old are waiting for the fry daddy to ding so we can have our onion rings and french fries for a snackie poo...brb

Answer 2

Disagree. My parents provided good healthy food for all three of their children. My parens and siblings were normal sized. They were not lazy at all and fairly active. I was a very fat and obese child. Was that because they were lazy? No, it was because I liked to eat a lot of food and I liked being fat. I went from 200 plus in 4th grade to over 450 in high school and after losing the weight in my 20s, I put in back on in my 40s to now be 620. I simply was and happier being obese. It had nothing to do with my parents being lazy. They often discussed my size but as I was happy, well adjusted and well educated, they let me make the decision to be large.

Answer 3

DISAGREE - about the lazy parenting part. Parents are definitely to blame, but I think not so much that they are lazy as ignorant. More parents need to wake up and realize that the habits that they teach their children when they are young set them for life - and that includes good eating habits, not just for their children but for themselves as well so they can set the example. Regular exercise is a factor as well - not just at the gym, but any regular physical activity done on a daily basis - a sport at school, sledding in the evenings, etc. that children can do with the parents present. It forms good habits and a strong bond as a family - they need to get involved in their childrens lives more, you'd be surprised what a difference that makes!

Answer 4

Not necessarily. Most responders here are not parents and cannot give you an informed response. Many things come into play. There are many health issues that can translate into childhood obesity that no one can control completely--not even a good doctor.

I think we all should be careful about generalizing that "all overweight kids have bad parents" Parenting is hard enough without inexperienced critics' ridicule.

Think about what you're asking.

Answer 5

No. Unfortunately, that doesn't address the other root causes. It is a complicated problem and researchers don't like it either because there are no easy and inexpensive solutions. It is a cultural thing. The main culprit I believe is that people are working more for less. It costs a lot to eat healthy. Cars are giving priority over pedestrians. Gym has been cut out of schools. People have to travel further to work so some kids lose out on activities like sports and dance. Globalization has done a lot of damage but unfortunately there are plenty of people in DENIAL.

Answer 6

Agreed 1000 times over.

Answer 7

I think it depends a bit on genetics. If the child has some sort of health condition that causes weight gain, it's not entirely the parents' fault. It IS the parents' fault if they don't go to a doctor about it, though, to get it fixed!

If the kid is just normal and healthy, parents need to take an active role in ensuring they're not gorging themselves on unhealthy food. My parents didn't have an inordinate amount of sweets in the home when I was a child. Instead, they'd treat my brother and me out to something like ice cream once in a while, but we'd go out to get it at a TCBY or something. That's a simple way to control your kid's sugar intake.

I just don't think it's an excuse to say that your kid's friend's parents fed him crap when he was over there. It's your job as a parent to talk to the other parents and explain what you expect when your kid visits their friends' homes. And if they don't agree, the kid can't visit (his friend can come over to your house, of course, though).

Then again, what do I know? I'm a 23 year old student who has no kids. Easy to talk the talk when I don't have to walk the walk. :D

Answer 8

well in part it is the crap kids are eating, but don't forget the fact that kids are less active now than they were even 10 years ago. With the TV, Video games, and working parents, kids are inside more and more for longer periods of time. I remember back when my folks had to drag me inside and my punishments weren't getting a game taken away, it was having my bike locked up in the shed.

Answer 9

Unfortunately alot of kids these days are in one parent homes and the parent works one full time or a full time as well as a part time job. then the parent depends on a computer game to entertain the child because the parent is soo tired. It is not like the good old days when there was 2 parents and income was enough coming in. Sorry i disagree with you.

Answer 10

I wouldn't say that necessarily... I see a lot of parents today that refuse to say NO to whatever their children want, essentially letting the child be the decision maker in the home. The worse the parents are about that, the bigger the kids are.

Answer 11

I agree. Children don't know how to eat healthy.
if they went to shop for groceries. . .they would pick out candy, snax, sweets, cakes. . .That's is what a parent is supposed to be in charge of.

They don't have money or a vehicle to go grocery shopping.
If there is no healthy food in the home. . .how are they going to eat healthy things.?

Parents if you don't know how to plan healthy meals. . .
then seek information, education and instruction to give your child healthy food. Or learn how to cook instead of giving your kids fast food and everything they ask for.