I know this topic is controversial so I am prepared. But it has to be discussed because what I saw yesterday broke my heart. My kids and I went to Canada’s Wonderland with another family. We rode the coasters, splashed in the water park, and basically ran non-stop around the park from one line to the next in the beautiful summer sun (finally). But there was something that struck me as soon as we walked into the park – the overwhelming number of obese children.
I first noticed this when my 6-year-old was running to catch up with the “big” kids and I was stuck behind a stroller. No big deal. Then I turned around only to see that in the stroller was not a toddler but a severely obese child of at least 8-years-old with a bag of chips and a pop in hand. Why was this child missing out on the joy of running through the park? Why would the parents contribute to this child’s sad circumstances?
Soon I started to notice that this was not an isolated incident. There were far too many examples. One poor little boy was so big that he couldn’t get off a ride without help from his mother to heave him from the seat. He could not have been more than 10-years-old. Another boy and his sister were so big that they couldn’t ride side by side on the roller coaster. After trying to squeeze their bodies into the too-small seats they were told that one of them would have to wait for the next car to come and they would have to ride single. All of this in front of the impatiently waiting crowds. My heart ached for them.
But how did this happen?? Who is responsible? Last week during our cake making escapades Kath and I watched an old episode of Dr. Phil – “A Mom Who Can’t Say No“. This woman seemed to think that the more food she gave her child, the more she loved him. Her 4-year-old weighed 150lbs. He could barely get up off the ground and certainly could not run and play like a normal child. She stated over and over again that it was not her fault. There was something medically wrong with him that the doctors just couldn’t find. But not surprisingly once he was removed from the mother’s care and began living with his dad who was committed to physical fitness and healthy eating he lost over 100lbs.
After my visit to the park I have to admit that my gaze turns to the parents. An 8-year-old should be able to walk all day. An already obese child should not be eating chips and drinking pop. And at this age it is absolutely the parents who make these decisions for their children. This may seem harsh and it may seem judgmental but yesterday I felt so sad for these children. They are missing out on the absolute essence of childhood. That carefree joyfulness that comes from running and leaping and laughing with friends. It is so fleeting. What a tragedy that these children will miss out on this forever.
Peki hi? bir halti yemeyen kiz alinip ne yapilacaktir? basi Ürtölecek, evde oturacak, kulucka makinesi gibi Cocuk doguracak ve Cocuk bakacaktir. yok arkadas ben almayayim
Jame Fishel
Another thought…
What idiot designed pedal cars that you don’t have to pedal! You know what I mean… those battery powered mini jeeps. The ones that come in pink for girls. I mean really isn’t a toy suppose to tire the kid out? So they take a nap?
Wow, Jen, those are some unsettling images. Who gives their kids pop??? It seems farcical and unfathomable.
I watched Jamie Oliver’s TV show “Eat to Save Your Life” last night. It was fascinating. I don’t know if it was the first in a series of shows or not but I hope it is and that it wakes some people up. (Me included!)
What we have done to our diets in the last 50 years is atrocious! The introduction of prepared foods has really made a significant change in our diets. High fructose corn syrup is a huge culprit. But how do we roll back the clock?
This is a fascinating topic.
I have seen this too and I often wonder if these parents think it is simply easier if they can placate their children with food. They don’t have the time (or won’t make it) so they offer them food. They don’t want to have to entertain them so a snack can occupy their time. They don’t want to have to play with a busy child so they distract them with food. Eventually the child craves this attention and can’t trust their body anymore to use food as fuel. The cycle has begun.
This may seem harsh but parenting is hard work and my feeling is that some would simply prefer not to have to deal with it. However, the results are obvious. What appears to be a solution in the short-term creates a life-long battle.
Jen,
I agree, it is a very sad commentary on our responsibility as parents. It is one of perhaps the most visual acts of child abuse. It is in the same vain as starving your child. The role of a parent is to provide nutrients adequate enough to sustain health and promote growth. Under feeding or over feeding a child is abuse, plain and simple. We are horrified at the children who are discovered much smaller than their peers due to starvation, and yet we are sensitive when discussing the other end of the spectrum, when children are larger than is healthy. I think there is a very big difference between carrying a little more weight such as before growth spurts (which I have found to be the case with my sons) and not being able to fit in a seat on a roller coaster. We really aren’t discussing body image here, it is the grosse injustice done to these innocent children. My question would be this…..why isn’t there more intervention by pediatricians or social workers when these poor children are clearly being overfed? If they were being starved someone would protect them surely. More over, what chance do these children stand as teenagers and young adults when their instinct for how much food they really require has been destroyed at such a young age? And how all encompassing does the lack of moderation become? If they have never been taught moderation with food, what will happen with alcohol, sex or spending…….
Great topic, Jen. When I was at Canada’s Wonderland in late June, I was stunned – STUNNED! to see a rather fit, muscular father pulling one of those massive industrial strength wagons with the umbrellas on top that you can rent from the park. But I wasn’t stunned that he was pulling his children, but I was stunned at age of the kids and how they were provisioned. This was well before lunch-hour (in fact, I was sitting down in the shade recovering from my nauseating encounter with Behemoth: my first ride of the day) and the wagon contained children older than my own (who managed, incidentally, to roam the park at full tilt all day from 10am – 5pm). The girl looked at least 8 or 9, and the boy must have been around 12. Granted, they may have been big (they were big) and tall for their age, but even given that they would have been at the lower end 6 and 9 (my own kids’ age) and they certainly weren’t young preschoolers who couldn’t walk the park all day. In addition, they each had a full-sized bed pillow at their backs to lounge on, and there was a large cooler and picnic hamper between them in the wagon. They were each drinking a 750ml sports drink (the irony!) and had an open bag of chips between them. I was sickened.
I wrote about childhood obesity a while back, and there was a whole lot of response – many people agreed with my assertion that parents need to take more responsibility, but there was a fair bit of backlash, too; lots of it from active, healthy parents who had overweight kids despitefeeding their kids well and keeping them active.
It’s an interesting and controversial topic, but there is no doubtthat in many (some may say most) cases, the parents are unable or unwilling to see how they contribute to their children’s problem.
http://www.urbanmoms.ca/losing_it/2007/07/my-kid-eats-kafta.html
Of course it’s the parents. The “Frosh 15” (where new university students gain 15 lbs in their first year) happens because it’s the first time for most kids that they are making their own food choices. Before that, their parents made the majority of the choices.
i was recently in disneyworld and as we were entering the magic kingdom at 9:30 in the morning there was an overweight boy (maybe 5 years old) and his toddler sister in a double stroller sharing a huge roll of sweet tarts. WTF?
i really don’t understand this (and yes, i do agree it is abuse!)