I don’t blame fast food restaurants for the growing obesity rates in our country’s children.
I blame parents, or rather, lack of proper parenting.
I’m not going to get into the debate about why I think this, it’s totally an article for another time, but I did however, find the infographic below pretty interesting.
We need to wake up and realize the danger of poor food choices, and it does involve pointing fingers at some of the big name chains, but I don’t blame the existence of a toy for the state of our kids health, I blame the parent’s inability to set the right examples and make the right choices.
Source: http://frugaldad.com
About Kim
You want to know something? When I (rarely) go into McDonalds, I ALWAYS order a happy meal. I’m an adult. And I feel fat after a baby happy meal. I can’t imagine my little girl eating McDonalds. She’s 16 months old now and I’m straying her away as much as possible. These statistics are insane.
Shannon
I couldn’t agree with you more. The graphic spells it out the marketing strategy which is deplorable, but that’s their job…to create messaging that sells product. The buck stops with the parents. Try saying, “no” or how about not exposing your kids to the commercials? PBS doesn’t air McDonald’s ads neither does Nick Jr.
Exactly. McDonald’s wouldn’t have that marketing strategy if it didn’t WORK. We’re not robots. We have free will. People CHOOSE to make McDonald’s a successful chain. They vote with their dollars by continuing to spend them there.
My kids ask for McDonald’s and I offer them alternatives. Usually made at home, but I give them incentives. I’d rather feed them healthy food but offer to let them rent a movie instead. Or let them pick out a treat (usually organic chocolate) next time we go to the store. I think it’s important to let them be involved in the decision. I still wouldn’t take them there but if they feel like they had a choice, I think it sets the tone for future decisions as opposed to me “just not letting them eat there.”
Either this infographic is out of date OR they make the meals different around the country because our happy meals have about 4 fries in them and they ALL include the apples without the caramel dip. I’m not saying it meets the standard listed above, but that it should have different info on the label since the fries are mostly gone and the apples are included.
But it’s the parents’ responsibility, not the restaurant.
Ours just recently changed to the tiny fries and apples in the meals, maybe it is different around the country.
As we have seen by the apples, the restaurant will supply what types of food is DEMANDED of them in order to stay in business. If we see a shift of people refusing to eat there because their milk is not organic, for example, they will quickly shift to selling organic milk.
We have the power, people just aren’t educated enough about what is going on inside their bodies, especially because this type of food is so much a part of our culture.
I agree with you. It’s not the fast food restaurants or any food manufacturer that’s responsible for the obesity that plagues our nation. It’s the consumer. I’m overweight and I take full credit or blame for that. It was my choice to get addicted to Pepsi and all that sugar. It was my choice to eat a bag of Chips Ahoy cookies with 2 full glasses of whole milk. BUT if a child does the same thing then it’s NOT their fault, it’s the parents for not monitoring their eating and teaching them healthier habits at an early age.
And my parents would not take me to McDonald’s. According to her that was not a meal. Of course we did go on rare occasions and it was a treat for me but not part of our weekly food menu.
This generation is suffering for the sins of those gone before. It was all downhill after the advent of the TV dinner LOL. Convenience. Lower price. Processed foods became ingrained in our society before we realized what they were doing to our bodies.
It’s not your fault that you eat those things per se, it’s the culture we were raised in, BUT it is totally in your power to change and eventually, once enough people demand change, the food supply will change to meet those demands.
I think as parents, however, it is our duty to keep our kids away from fast food but not as a “no absolutely not” without explanation. We need to TEACH them to what eating unhealthy, processed foods does to our bodies and BE THE CHANGE we want to see by setting the example. You’re right, it’s not their fault, especially if the parents are eating junk.
I totally agree that you also need to educate. When I was growing up my mom had candy dishes around and I didn’t have to ask. As a result I didn’t feel deprived and to be honest candy isn’t something I crave and a bowl of hard candy can sit for months before I take one. I had cousins who were denied any sweets and when they’d come to our house we’d see them sneaking and stuffing their pockets. The same with cookies.
Don remembers being called a leach by his father at 4 years old if he said he was hungry. He’s carried that with him his entire life and has been in counseling. He has a problem saying no to food.
Parents don’t realize what messages they’re sending their kids with words and actions. They have to be taught moderation and given the opportunity to practice it. If not they’ll go crazy at the first opportunity.
My problem, I didn’t like vegetables growing up, it was all meat and potatoes. My parents didn’t force me to eat veggies so to this day I don’t like anything except corn and potatoes cooked. I’ll eat most of them raw though but I picked that up as I got older and being around co-workers and friends. I now wish my parents were a bit stricter and forced me to eat green vegetables so I’d at least tolerate them today. If I could eat vegetables (the smell of some of them make me gag) I’m sure I’d be able to have healthier meals. I also crave salty foods which I know isn’t good for you can can be just as unhealthy as sweets.
I’m not big on veggies either. I like peas. And carrots. That’s it LOL. But I joined a food co-op and decided that whatever we get each week I am going to eat. There are ways to cook veggies with seasonings and such to give them some more interesting flavors, so I am looking forward to experimenting.