Parental Influence

Hey y'all,

I'm just gonna dive right into it. It's been a long day! Today I am going to talk about the influence that parents have on children that have lead to the increasing rate of childhood obesity. Did y'all know that kids spend on average six hours in front of the TV or video games every DAY?!?!* I don't know about you, but I find that crazy! And why do you think kids do this? It's because they let them and they have allowed for their children to form this bad habit! Also, according to Michelle Obama on a FOX News interview, kids "snack three times a day, on top of their three meals a day."* Parents are responsible for setting the trends in their children's eating and physical activity habits! If we continue to set these trends for our kids to be lazy and be non-physical their whole life while over eating, it doesn't surprise me at all that the childhood obesity rate is increasing!

Another thing parents do to continue the trend is reward their children with junk food. For example, have any of y'all seen a parent ask their child to do a chore, and in return they go get ice cream or candy for their kids? Sadly, my parents are guilty of this. haha. But it needs to come to a stop! The constant intake of junk food isn't helping the situation out!

Also, have any of y'all ever been forced to eat your vegetables at the dinner table? Some parents do this to make sure that their kid eats healthy, but parents need to create a new tactic because all this does is make the kid have a negative mindset to trying new foods! I believe it is necessary to make kids try new foods and eat healthy, but parents need to make sure they are putting a positive emphasis on the healthier foods that way kids are more likely to continue eating them!*

Alright, well that's about it for now, I'm off to a Biology study group! Whoo! By the way, an * indicates a work cited which will be below (informal, if you want a direct link I can post it). I couldn't figure out how to link it in my words because I was having problems with the site staying linked to it. As for now, I'll see y'all later!!

Sources:

Green, Gregory and Reese, Shirley A. "Childhood Obesity: A Growing Phenomenon For Physical Educators."
Fox News Channel Website. "Snacks Mean U.S. Kids Moving Towards 'Constant Eating'."
Savage, Jennifer. Fisher, Jennifer O. and Birch, Leann L. "Parental Influence on Eating Behavior: Conception to Adolescence."