Should we ever tell our children that they re fat??

[Moonbird]

But is it our job to prevent our children from encountering personal criticism, hurt or offence or is to teach them how to deal with it in preparation for adulthood?

 

How do we reconcile the fact that by making 'being fat' normal - by not criticsing it - we have created a situation where our kids will suffer more health problems in adulthood, and die younger, than we will?

 

Have you also noticed how, since we became so senstitive to peoples senstitivities, the people of this country look to the state to nanny them more and more? We are raise people to be more and more frightened and whose only strategy for coping with lifes difficulties is to reach for the nearest packet of hobnobs or bury their face in a tub of Ben & Jerrys.

 

When will the politically correct experiment end... it's killing us!

 

I am not suggesting that we should make being fat normal or that it is ok to let a Child be overweight, you misunderstand me.

The point I made is that a Child most of the time does not have the choice of what they eat, they eat what the Parent provides and they know no better.

 

The whole key to the problem is educating the parents about giving their Child a healthier lifestyle and not vilifying the Child, I don't think that treating others with sensitivity is a bad thing.

 

You do make at least one very good point that I would pick up on, you said " We are raise people to be more and more frightened and whose only strategy for coping with lifes difficulties is to reach for the nearest packet of hobnobs or bury their face in a tub of Ben & Jerrys" I agree, this is down to Parenting skills, a Parent that does not know how to cope well and does not have good self esteem finds it difficult to teach what they obviously don't know themselves, so make up their own coping strategies...comfort eating is one of them, drinking, OCD and other things also, coping skills are something that needs teaching to our Children so that they in turn can teach them to theirs.

 

We should be supporting and investing everything into our Children, they are the future of the Human race, they deserve the very best Teachers and support staff that we can provide and although no doubt I will be called for saying so, we do not always get the best, and there are many reasons for that happening I'm sure...but those formative years are just so important...

 

No matter what People may choose to think I hold no malice to Teachers they have a hard job to do they are under paid and under valued, but a Teacher is such an important influence in a Childs life and they must get it right.

[Goon]

Perhaps you shouldn't leap to conclusions based on very little evidence.

 

Perhaps. But given the evidence before me, I will go with that.

[babyblueeyes]

We should not tell our children they are fat because it can damage a childs feelings and cause more harm they will start to develop eating disorders,most of you think its harsh to tell them that but having doing a childcare course at college we would be damaging their emotiomal development and social develpoment like most of you on here I agree with instead of saying to your child your fat or you put weight on etc we could say as a family let's go on a healthy lifestyle and stick to it

[Olive]

How do we reconcile the fact that by making 'being fat' normal - by not criticsing it - we have created a situation where our kids will suffer more health problems in adulthood, and die younger, than we will?

 

 

Whilst this is a valid viewpoint, you're assuming that the cause of all this increased obesity is the prevalence (ergo normalisation) of the obesity itself. We don't know that is the case.

 

As far as I know, it's never been desirable to be large (unless you count some South Seas Island cultures). Even George IV was ridiculed for his gluttony.

 

Fat kids (not that there were many) were teased mercilessly when I was at school, but it didn't make them any smaller.

 

Obesity isn't causing obesity - not by itself anyway - there are other causes: diets high in sugar, kids guzzling sugary drinks by the gallon, years of terrible school meals, or no school meals at all, takeaways on every street corner, BOGOF deals on processed rubbish. The list goes on and on.