I Know Why the Kids Are Fat!
I was cleaning the kitchen when it hit me. On one of my counters is a set of clear glass canisters, and, about three months ago, I designated the smallest one to hold the treats that my kids bring home from various sources. They can have one treat after each meal that they finish. The jar is six inches across and six inches tall, so it holds a good bit of stuff. It’s full. In fact, it’s so full that when I finish writing this, I’m going to go throw half the stuff that’s in it into the garbage can.
Where does it all come from? Well, at church they get lollipops after children’s church every Sunday (and they have Kool-Aid and crackers during the service), and they get candy or a lolly if they behave well during Wednesday night children’s choir. If the boys are with me when I go to the bank, they get a lolly from the teller. The lady next door gives them candy or cookies every time she sees them out playing in the yard. At the doctor’s office, they get a piece of candy or a lolly for each shot they are given. (One has to inquire why in heaven’s name the doctor is giving away this stuff! The dentist has the sense to give away stickers and tiny toys.) At the grocery, the kids can get a free cookie. Every month there’s a birthday or holiday that is used as an excuse for everyone who knows them to give them more candy or cookies. Some months have two!
Now, I am a rather strict mom, and I am fortunate to have a family that respects my desires for the children’s diets. So my kids don’t drink juices or sodas unless they are with their father. They aren’t allowed to snack between meals. And we eat fast food meals no more than thrice a week. So my kids are “sheltered” when it comes to their diets.
But there are lots of moms and dads who don’t have the time, the knowledge, or the willpower to enforce such a strict regimen. It’s extremely difficult to tell the lady at the grocery not to offer the children a cookie. It’s even harder to tell the people at church that kids don’t need sweets. And it makes you feel a bit like an ogre to tell you child that he cannot eat the lolly that the nice lady just gave him. And some people, when you start cracking down on the excessive goodies, act as if you were some sort of snob.
Anyway, all that to say that it’s no wonder children are becoming obese in epidemic proportions. Everyone in their lives is stuffing high-calorie snacks and candy into their little mouths at every hour of the day. When even the doctor is handing out candy to bribe the little darlings into acting nice, should we really be surprised that we have four-year-olds who weigh 150 pounds and sixteen-year-olds who need stomach-stapling to get down to a healthy weight?
I don’t wonder. I see the contributing factors every single day.
2 Comments
What a Horrible Mother!
On the advice of several nutritionists, I kept my daughter away from sugar for the first 2 years of her life. For 2 years, I received criticism from friends, family, and complete strangers who said that treats are just a part of being a kid. I held my ground, and it paid off. Now, if I put a cookie and a bowl of fresh fruit or carrot sticks in front of her, she will go for the fruits and vegetables every time. I’m so glad that I stuck to my guns, but it was SO hard. People made me feel like I was a horrible Mother, and acted as though I was depriving my daughter of something as necessary as food and water.
I have to agree with the importance of between meal snacks though. I know that if my little one doesn’t have a nutritious snack between meals, she becomes very emotional and cranky as her blood sugar level drops.
Nintendo, PlayStation, Digimon
If my kid had to wait until he finished a meal to ever get candy, I would never have to buy Halloween candy again.
I have to disagree with your analysis. True, kids get a lot of sweets given to them, but I tend the think the problem stems from lack of activity more than diet problems. As a child, we always had a bowl of ice cream before bed, and halloween candy was left to eat at our discretion. Of five brothers and sisters, umpteen cousins, none of us were fat and few turned into fat adults. But, then again, we played in the yard, had chores, road bikes, etc. Todays kids play video games, and where we were limited to early morning cartoons or Saturdays, they can watch cartoons non-stop.
I also have to disagree with the no snack policy. I have read nutritional guidelines stating children need a mid-afternoon snack. Even adults, dieting or otherwise, tend to be less energetic between noon and 6 p.m. and should have a small, nutritious snack. Some diets even call for six or more small meals throughout the day rather than three large ones as it keeps the metabolism rate higher.
Just another opinion. In the grand scheme of things, we are probably both right by degrees.