The New York Times and Washington Post are running news stories on obese children and the time they spend on the computer and watching television. Researchers studied overweight children who watched TV or played computer games for at least 14 hours a week. They found 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 years old are overweight, a 45 percent increase in one decade. Don’t blame kids for being fat or their lifestyle choices. If you are looking for a place to find cause you need not look any further than the parents.
On of the statements in the New York Times’ article struck a sour note with me:
“Using technology to modify television viewing eliminates parental vigilance needed to enforce family rules and reduces the disciplinary action needed if a child exceeds his or her sedentary behavior limits,” the authors concluded.
What ever happened to a parent being a parent and making the mature choices? Is it too hard or too time consuming for today’s self centered parent to put their children first instead of themselves?
How can you expect children to not be fat when their parents are obese TV remote control wielding couch potatoes. This study only leaves me with questions. Why don’t we hear about the doctors studying the parents behavior in these studies of obese children? Have you ever noticed if the parents are obese the majority of the time the children are obese? Are these parents using the television and computer as baby sitting devices? I think if you want healthy children you need to have responsible parents living healthy lifestyles and by doing so the parents are healthy role models for their children.
There is always someone or something to blame. Don’t blame technology for obesity. Let’s try being accountable. Hold the parent responsible for providing the poor food choices, poor living environment (too much TV and computer time), and failing to live an active healthy lifestyle as a role model for children to follow. Parents need to get of their fat asses and take responsibility for the weight issues they are putting on their children. Maybe then America’s waistline will shrink.
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Tags: computers, family
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March 4th, 2008 at 9:16 am - Edit
YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 9:54 am - Edit
I agree with you in needing parents to be role models for children. My husband and I have always been runners and are now starting to bicycle thanks to our children.
The kids, two boys ages 8 and 10, do not like running, but love hiking and bicycling so now these are becoming our major family activities. We do have a Playstation3 although on sunny days it is not turned on. The boys will protest when we do not allow gaming or tv time. But they soon are interested in outdoor activities when my husband starts giving them choices of family adventures.
My husband started me on reading your stuff. We both look forward to seeing what is next.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:11 pm - Edit
Linda, I think it’s great that you encourage your children to exercise and get fresh air. It’s getting them settled into good habits for later on in life.
WRT parenting, it’s my opinion that some people shouldn’t be parents. If you aren’t going to do everything you can to keep your kid healthy in mind, body and spirit, then you’re failing in your job as a parent, in my opinion. And if you don’t care enough about your kids to see that they’re healthy, well….
March 4th, 2008 at 8:14 pm - Edit
Linda, it sounds like you and your husband are living a healthy lifestyle and at the same time being healthy role models for your children.
Solomon, I concur with you that parents are not doing their job as a parent.
Thanks for your comments.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:12 am - Edit
I was watching a TV show this morning, that was discussing whether the media or parents are to blame for children’s behaviour. One woman argued that “the media is everywhere”, “peer pressure is to blame” and “you can’t always monitor what your children are up to”. I thought at the time that if you can’t look after your children properly, then perhaps you shouldn’t be looking after those children. If you can’t do your job properly, and raise your child to be strong, intelligent, self willed individuals that love and respect themselves, with a strong sense of their own self worth, instead of people that need something outside of themselves to make themselves feel good, then you’re failing in your job as a parent. No other way about it.
People say to me, “you don’t have kids, you don’t know what it’s like”. Which is completely true, I don’t have kids, I’ve never raised any, and I never intend to, because I know that I’m too selfish to make a good parent. I have huge amounts of admiration for people like Linda (above) who is doing a good job of raising her kids. But, I don’t need to *be* a parent to see how difficult a job it is, and neither does anyone else. All they have to do is look around. With TV shows like Supernanny, that show people how to raise their kids (on TV! Of all the places to do it. If I had to go on television and show the world how bad a parent I was, just to get my kid to go to bed at night, I think I’d die of embarrassment), it’s easy to see that it’s a difficult life.
I have no problem with people messing up their own lives. If folk want to take drugs, drink, run off to Vegas and get married to Elvis, power to them. It’s when they start messing up their kids lives into the bargain that I have a problem. Some people are just unfit to be parents, and I think there is no crueller act than to mistreat your kids, either by abusing them, or not raising them to be healthy, responsible adults.
Anyway, enough ranting.
Solomon.