To think the public have the society they deserve

Who said anyone was ‘scared’?

Ffs.

OP you just need to look at any threads on Mumsnet about weight. If you are size 10 or below then you must have an eating disorder. Try to limit UPF’s = eating disorder. Cook from scratch = eating disorder. Enjoy a nice salad = eating disorder.

People are so terrified of ‘eating disorders’ which to them only mean anorexia and bulimia (neither of which are characterised by the things above) that they can’t see the one that is currently a problem, chronic overeating.

I know I get sick of the ‘living off of a lettuce leaf’ line that gets trotted out ad nauseam because of course if you are not massively overweight then this is simply what you must live off.

Sorry long way of saying I agree but you won’t get many positive responses on here.

I don't think eating disorders are the main problem facing British children today. Red herring.

It isn't comparable to people actually going without food and getting thin because of it. Maybe there's low income but that being poverty is a subjective take

Gosh, you seem very angry. I replied to you because I was addressing what you said 🤷 in a civil, well-mannered tone. No idea why you've responded so rudely.

You've made some wild assumptions about people who don't share your opinion raising children with eating disorders, but then said it's "insane" to acknowledge the (proven) link between a diet high in UPF and cancer. It's not a debate, we know that this link exists.

There may not be a state ordered way to raise a child, but there are absolutely parenting choices that are illegal, unethical and would attract either social services or police involvement because they are harmful to children. I just posed the question whether failure to meet a child's basic nutritional needs should fall into that category.

It's just a discussion. You don't need to agree but as an adult you should have the ability to disagree and have a conversation without being unpleasant. And if you aren't open to conversation and debate, it's very strange to spend your time on a forum.

I think this attitude is a wider problem than just schools, people balk at being told, guided, advised - whatever you want to call it - when it's something that they believe will impact on them negatively (it doesn't have to do that, just they believe it will) because their actions are affecting others negatively and they're being asked to modify that behaviour.

Yet will fully expect that someone else is told/advised/guided and changes their behaviour when that someone else's behaviour is negatively affecting them.

As I said in a pp, many seem very unwilling to cooperate, even over the smallest things, yet expect full cooperation (often through a 3rd party like dr's, teachers, the police to enforce) for them.

Add to that the emotional overreactions that seems to permeate daily life (people are 'devastated' by what actually are small inconveniences that are just part of life) and the constant need to blame, be compensated when something doesn't meet often impossible standards and you've got a society that demands consideration for themselves but doesn't have any responsibility for also showing consideration towards others, it's no wonder we're where we are.

Nobody is obese because they are poverty stricken. They are obese because they shove crap down their gobs day in day out. There is massive poverty in many third world countries yet none of them.areobese

I mean, we know that there is a link between poverty and obesity because that's what the data show. As for comparisons to third world countries, if they had affordable and easily accessible UPF then you'd likely see a similar situation.

There are lots of reasons for the link between obesity and poverty in the UK and I'd be well up for a good natured discussion on it, but you don't seem open to that.

I think being a responsible, considerate parent does make you a better person.

Which in turn would, hopefully, pass down in genes and make the next generation as considerate, and so on.

Alas that's probably not going to happen, the entitlement will carry on whilst parents continue to instill the "do as you like" attitude into their DC.

Yes I don't think that is poverty

Regarding social media and people's behaviour. Look at the behaviour demonstrated in EastEnders. People endlessly arguing and in a state of conflict and angst. Ongoing dramas and over the top behaviour. I haven't watched it since 1998 when I had ds1, but I'm aware of what goes on in this and other low brow programmes.

People might laugh and claim shows like this are harmless and to get a grip, but I know I'm right. I've lived long enough and I've observed the changes over time.

@Helloworld56 But some people don't see the children's school as an authority

I remember Jamie Oliver's School Lunch fiasco when some parents began pushing 'turkey twizzlers' through the playground railings.

I remember a good few years ago when Jamie Oliver was tasked with making school meals healthier. It didn't work. Mountains of healthy food were being thrown away every day while pictures emerged of parents at the school fence passing over parcels of burgers and chips to their children. So you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
Nobody is obese because they are poverty stricken. They are obese because they shove crap down their gobs day in day out. There is massive poverty in many third world countries yet none of them.are obese.
As I said in another post, modern day culture seems to dictate that nobody is expected to take responsibility for themselves.
Pretty sure plenty pps will be handing me my arse on an extra large dinner plate, so cracked on

Gosh, I really don't see how this is overstepping or bossing. I would be grateful. Not that my kids never eat junk. No forbidden foods in our house. But good to have healthy daily meals as far as possible.

This is exactly why I’d seethe at being bossed around about a lunchbox - because my DD has been subject to bullying and they very much take a “nothing we can do” stance. I’d take exception to the concept of clamping down on lunchboxes but not bullying

My school doesn’t have rules about no chocolate or crisps. Totally ludicrous to comparing it to sending a child in non-uniform

TBH I don’t care what other kids do or don’t get. Not my problem. It’s also quite worrying we live in a society where where are scared to tell our kids other people have different things and they can’t always have the same as them

I appreciate that schools are trying and there are good reasons to ban certain foods from lunchboxes, but giving out giant bags of haribos as prizes and encouraging a Friday treat is giving entirely the wrong messages about food.

I have a dc with ARFID and we were very limited in what we could give him within the limitations of the school lunchbox rules - in the early years it had to be a sandwich and not anything eaten from a flask with a spoon. Yogurts were banned because they stained the carpets. Couldn’t bring a smoothie because only liquid allowed was plain water. No bananas or satsumas because teacher ends up opening them. My other dc was in a class where there was an allergy to seeds, nuts and dairy. Obviously we were happy to support those needs but it would help if they’d lighten up on some of the other less fatal restrictions.

Started secondary with recommendations for healthy lunches (although no outright bans) and then they brought in an external company to offer lunches with the most extensive array of junk options you could imagine.

But not their problem, they should stick to teaching right? Surely if a child is a bully that’s the problem of their parents? Or do you just want teachers to step in when convenient and back off when you say so?

Unironically, that's exactly how teachers behave in cases of bullying. "Nothing we can do! They come from troubled background! bla bla bla! Just make sure you teach your child to never defend himself!"

Good point. It's not just some kids being fed a shitty diet of food, there's lots of their parents overdosing on a shitty diet of media bollocks.

True. My DM’s teeth were never good, but her sister - same parents, same childhood diet and environment, had perfect white teeth, and still had them all with hardly a filling, when she died in her mid 80s.

So if they shouldn’t overstep why do the same parents insist the school help with their kids mental health issues?

Maybe because the school is the primary cause of those issues? Think bullying, think exam pressure, etc.

That's not correct. Preventative denistry is extremely important for dental health. Sugar is not the only cause of dental issues. Problems occur from the way teeth are situated in the mouth which impacts plaque build up and ability to clean; and from genetic factors. Advice and support had declined hugely over recent years and typically requires a proactive search rather than accessing services offered with take up encouraged. Advice changes and can go against what common sense or instinct might suggest (for example that fruit juice, with its healthy reputation is damaging for teeth, or when is the optimum time for brushing around meal times) Not everyone has the ability or capacity for self education and services are failing to meet the needs of these families.

You can't reason with stupid, but actually I blame media, social and mainstream, for the idiocy of the vast majority of the populace. Just look at the low-brow rubbish that people consume. Celebrity gossip, footballers and their partners, soap stars, and mindless crap like Big Brother, Gogglebox, Love Island, etc. These individuals and the uneducated shite they spout are held up as examples of beauty and success in modern Britain. We are reaping what's been sown.

That is a symptom of the nanny state. If people want to load up their bodies with rubbish and do a terrible job of raising their kids, let them. The NHS is open to abuse by design. Mistakes have to be made to ensure they're never made again. Society can't progress without learning first hand why certain ways of living are a bad idea. And humans are quite silly creatures anyway. If you see a giant red button with 'DO NOT PRESS', you can't tell me with a straight face that you don't want to press it. You know you shouldn't, but curiosity will get the better of you.