Should Parents Be Fined For Their Fat Kids?

[youngmafbog]

Things are now becoming ridiculous, something must be done or the NHS will break in years to come let alone the personal misery of some.

So should parent be made to shoulder responsibility instead of simply blaming others or something else?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3183851/Children-young-TWO-sent-NHS-fat-camps-tackle-obesity-crisis.html

[VHG]

I was down in Bournemouth a few days ago.

I was sitting by the pier and a family walked past me, mother, father, and two children (about 10 or 11 years old - boy and a girl).

The mother was HUGE (the father a bit over weight) and they were drinking a tin of "coke" each, but it was normal coke not diet coke - you could see by the colour of the tin.

Both children were also drinking non-diet coke, and both were REALLY over weight.

I sat there and thought what hope have those poor kids got, already overweight at 10 or 11, with parents who probably have no idea about calories, fatty foods, bad diet and so on.

The parents did not look too "bright" and you do wonder even if they were taught about good diets and so on would they even take any notice of it.

Those two kids will probably have a "weight" problem for the rest of their lives.

[Gromit]

A premature death is punishment enough.

[ladyalex]

Should parents be fined for their anorexic kids?

[wired]

It is another form of child abuse,similar to VHG's observations we noticed three families on Friday where the whole family were obese and all were eating whilst walking to the car park in a large retail area.
The future problems that they all face is frightening , can their GPs not be aware of them?

[Elina]

Educated .. Each new mother .. a booklet on healthy eating .. what & what not to fed a child .. Is that too simplistic? Healthy eating/ cooking classes for new mums? I don't know, education is the key though. Follow that up with teaching young children in classes what's good & not good.

[Elina]

'Education/ feed'

[ummmm]

It doesn't always work like that, VHG, I'm thin, my kids are thin, my maternal family are all thin, my paternal family are chubby but nothing worrying, but my sister and niece are obese.

I lived in a pub so had access to coke whenever I wanted it. Said pub was next door to a chip shop, so I ate chips on a regular basis, along with crisps and anything from the sweet cabinet.

Why did my sister get so fat and I didn't?

My conclusion....portion size.

[bhg481]

Next time it shows a hospital on the news, just notice how many of the nurses are overweight.

[Elina]

There was something on the Tele recently about snacking while viewing. It was said people who snack while watching t.v do not register the portions they eat as they're not concentrating solely on what they're putting in their mouths ... so there's no conscious stop button.

[Gromit]

The problem for the NHS is not fat people, it is more people living longer.

If these fat children have a heart attack and die in their 40's, they will save the country a packet. But if they live to beg 90, then they will cost us more.

[bhg481]

Dead right, Gromit. I think that government campaigns against fatties/smokers etc should stress a life of disabilities rather than early death - it might put more people off.

[Sqad]

Gromit:

\\\If these fat children have a heart attack and die in their 40's, they will save the country a packet. But if they live to beg 90, then they will cost us more.\\

But they do both Gromit.

Fat kids develop diabetes, they then have a life on hospitalization and Insulin therapy. Many admissions for complications of diabetes. Develop angina, angiograms, byepass surgery, more hospitalization....diabetic clinics, Cardiologists, then they develop Chronic Kidney disease....................need i go on?

Obesity in kids is an explosive problem.....and the NHS hasn't the funds.

No, fining the parents is not the answer.

[pixie374]

Fining isn't the answer. It's the mindset. Probably only education will work eventually.

[bhg481]

Parents like to give their children "treats". When I was a boy a treat was eg, a bag of crisps/Mars bar or similar less than once a week. Nowadays treats are handed out several times a day so, really, are no longer "treats".

[pixie374]

I don't think that's true at all Bhg. I think it's portion sizes. Every overweight or obese friend I have, also overfeeds their children. Often with adult portions.

[cassa333]

I think it is a combination of things. Portion size and the readiness of high calorie snacks is the start but Coupled with lathergy and laziness as well as the blame culture you have the perfect storm.

Red bull is sending me blind so give me ma gastric band. I am so fat I can't work, give me money to buy even more until earthy foods. I show my love for my children by not careing properly for their health.

There are very few people that can legitimately say they have a medical condition that makes them fat that everything else is an excuse.

[VHG]

>>> Each new mother .. a booklet on healthy eating .. what & what not to fed a child .. Is that too simplistic?

My wife works for a charity and has to visit "problem" families.

One house had a mother with about 6 kids, smallish house with a HUGE flat screen TV which was always on (sound and vision).

Even when my wife was trying to talk to the mother about her problems the TV stayed on in this small room, and it was hard to talk over the TV noise.

When my wife suggested the woman go to a "parenting" class the woman snapped back and said "I don't need to be taught how to be a mother"

I guess this was based on the fact she had 6 kids, but it reminded me of the saying "becoming a mother is easy, BEING a mother is difficult".

Some people you can never teach and even if you told them to go on a course about food and diet they would not go (and how can you make them?). Fine them, and they just say they cant afford it.