Need your opinions about Change4Life ads aimed at parents

Hi mamas and papas - this is my first post so waves!

I am having a bit of a war re: the NMCA, Change4Life my Local NHS and what the government is doing re: childhood obesity in general.

I'm a mum to a DS who is 4 and apparently 'morbidly!' obese...

Are the Sunday Times still looking to get information from people about this?

I'm also interested to see if anyone elses LO's have been measured under this scheme with innacurate results??

I have an ongoing load of letters between myself, the department of health and my local MP, as I am trying to get accross the point that you cannot neatly group all young children into tick boxes and that measuring their BMI (which is how the Change4Life come up with their research figures) is by no means an accurate way of deciding whether a child is obese or not. By using BMI, people like rugby players would always come up as obese as it does not take into consideration muscle mass, genetics or the persons build in general.

I am a bit stuck and going round in circles and very keen to hear from anyone who is not happy (or even people that feel its all a great idea etc...!) as I said really interested to hear the public opinion on this childhood measurement scheme/change4life

Cx

Patronizing, offputting, and as educational as Eastenders, tbh.

Cakes will KILL you little girl! Eat Ryvita instead! 'tis bollocks. (I'm sure that quote won't get into the Telegraph.)

What they need to learn is the basics- what the food terms mean (rubbing in etc), what the cuts of meat are and how to prepare (esp cheapest ones), ditto fish and veg, make a basic sauce / pastry / loaf / make proper baby food (well why not?) etc etc etc

all the things that then enable you to use a proper cookbook (as opposed to certain sleb ones that are OK for some but generally use 57 ingredients none of which can be bought in asda and at elast one from a specialist store 45 miles away, in tiny amounts that won't keep past Thursday)

The ads are ridiculous, as others have pointed out.

I agree with peachy though, in our primary our dc are taught to make buns, muffins, smoothies, fruit cocktail etc. They start in reception and can make all of these unaided by the end of year 2. Which is great, the whole thing has been funded by the friends who had the kitchen built and equipped and also maintain it, the idea being to give them basic skills and get them interested in cooking.

In our secondary school from year 7 to year 9 our dc are taught to make.... you guessed it... buns, muffins, smoothies... It is laughable. Post year 9 there is nothing unless you take a GCSE in Food Tec. Worse than that (IMO) is the "healthy" angle, for example they are taught that all you need to do to make a flapjack healthy is add dried fruit - not lower the amount of syrup or anything, just add raisins and so it goes on through the course. My favorite lack of education yet was making "healthy" sausage rolls. They had to take in ready made pastry and frozen veggie sausages so they could wrap the sausages in the pastry and cook them. This took two lessons - one to plan and one to do. I mean, COME ON, what on earth is the point in showing a 13yo how to wrap a frozen sausage in pastry and sling it in the oven?

LPP, I think Muffins point was meant more as a social comment than a personal attack. It is true that our children are not taught about food in school the way they used to be and it does, often, leave them unprepared.

LPP valid point although my age groupd did have cooking lessonsat school- shit ones often but lessons- and I think thats important: why should youngsters have to go out and get special classes or whatever, it should be accepted and taught as part of the normnal lifes kills needed to survive. Better spend money on that than poor quality advertising IMO

fish fingers not too bad a meal at all, surely?

and when you have 16 year old parents who have never cooked so much as cornflakes what is the more likely evening meal? fish fingers and chips or a spag bol?

I really disagree with this post, I had DS when I was 17 and had never had to cook before but as soon as he was weaning I learned to cook and he gets a healthy, home made meal every night.

It's nothing to do with age, it's attitude that matters.

Please don't put all young parents in a box.

I think its very ludicrousness - immediate link with small cake and early death - makes it far too easy to dismiss, and get irritated with, and so it backfires. The kids look very healthy - how the hell do you know they haven't just been swimming/playing football/jumping on a trampoline for an hour, and are going to have a great healthy dinner. It's daft.

And if the boy was sitting still reading a book, he'd still not be using any more calories - less, in fact. Should we demonise reading too?

And perhaps the exercise thing could be more positive.
Like showing kids actually enjoying exercise.
The ad doesn't show an alternative to the 'bad' things.

How about tackling the marketing and advertising of frankly horrendous processed foods to children?
What's the point in education if on the other hand we have cereal ads telling us that sugar filled cereals are healthy because they have a tiny bit of fibre in them?
These things are the realdanger - at least a cupcake is what it is. It's not pretending to be 'full of goodness'.

Hmm. I hate these ads - I have an underweight (very) 6 yr ds who eats everything put in front of him, he averages about 8-10 portions of fruit and veg a day, not yet come across any fruit veg he doesn't like but he is asking about everything he puts in his mouth and will I die if I eat this sort of questions.

They need to be teaching cooking, shopping etc in schools, pushing everything in moderation.

I'm a bulk cooker and cook most meals from scratch (helpful as he has allergies) but the odd McD's/KFC etc will not kill him.

save the money on shit advertising and put in place national parenting classes compulsory upon reciept of child benefit.

morons.

eating cake - and then having an otherwise balanced diet.

playing on games console - and having otherwise lots of excersise

PAthetic ad, pretty little girl who is obviously not overfed on junk, rather nice looking cake.

We filled in the how are your kids thing. I filled it on on a Tuesday the day dd does ballet (dance activity good) but because of timings and venue) we all go to McDonalds for tea. Ds is taken home by grandparents to avoid him having to wait in a boring ballet waiting room and plays on computer. The result for him was near on social services being called!!!!

Now on a Wednesday it would have been reversed, ds goes to Gymbobs, dd plays on her ds in the waiting room!!!

I think you are partly right but its more complex; when I tried to book my boys into something similar the different age groups had to be ats eparate venues at the same time.... all venues were out of town based so inaccessible by bus....... the ones they did access instructors etc turned up veryt late making it ahrd for working aprents to wait....... don'tmost famillies have mixed ages / needs?

It was a logistical nightmare and would have been so easy to get right

The problem, IME, with free sports things (which I fully support btw) is the uptake thing, as you say DE,the people who need it don't use it! In our area we have various free or very cheap sports things on and they are always taken up by the sporty active children whos parents are more than happy to get them into as many sporting activities as possible. The children who do little or no sport or who would benefit from the extra exercise from a weight POV do not join in, often because the parents do not want to get them there. I have heard many local children saying they are not allowed to go to these things and it is always the same story. Which is a real shame!

I thinkI see these ads from an unusual perspective.

I have a nine year old son with a suspected eating disorder. Granted a lot fo that is related to an ASD but Dh and I see a MASSIVE worsening when adverts /school healthy eating schemes are run etc.

Why is it alls care tactics? It ytreatrs food as if it is poison, it'snot. A cupcake will not kill you. Not on a Fridayafter school, or in a cafe as a treat. In fact with my kidswho are skinny a home made cupcake on a daily basis is ok.

The parents at school with the obese kids come in at 9 eating chips (WTF do they get them?) and drinking cola. It's not about one treat every now and again, its about never eating anything health, driving everywhere and beingas active as a rock. And that's what kids need to know; too much unhealthy food, too little exercise and fruit veg..... thats what will hurt you.

I'm also interested in why everything is so GIRL focussed? That fern thing advertised about ED's talks about girls.... posts here also.... 1 in 10 people with an ed is male

Scaremongeruing and frightening for children who don't understand the background research to the Ads.
All these campaigns don't work. People who notice and understand them don't need educating as they already know and understand about healthy eating. People who need educating won't notice or take any action to change their way of life.
Free accessable sports/swimming/dance/exercise classes for ALL children up to age 18 would be more effective.

The adverts with the gloop in the tubes/arteries.... now they were effective

so if I eat a cupcake I'm going to die young?
oh bugger.................

that particualr advert is patronising scaremongering - with three DDs who have a mum with weight issues, I'm incredibly conscious of the need not to demonise food, and the message "eat a cupcake and you will die" is not helpful in the slightest.
Haven't seen the questionnaire thing, but maybe thats' becasue I recycle junk mail wihtout properly looking at it. Doubt it woudl be of much use, based on what everyone else is saying.

I am not sure if you are closing the thread Geraldine but I just wanted to add my voice to the others, demonising snacks like these is just pushing the poor body image thing. My children have a varied and healthy diet but I have had to explain to them that a person needs fat to survive along with sugar and various other stuff that is being pushed as "bad" thanks to the education being pushed at school and adverts like these.

Why on earth is the advertising (which is pointless at best IMHO) not being used to get across the idea that fast food (eg the big 'M') is unhealthy or that all of these things should be taken in moderation?

As for the wording I do not want my children being led to believe that they will die if they eat a cupcake or play a computer game. It is beyond scaremongering, it is tantermount to sticking childrens heads down the toilet!

My children do more than the recommended 60 minutes a day excercise (actually more than double that during the week). When they are not doing their sports clubs or walking to/from school etc they should feel free to sit in front of the TV/read a book and relax or have a sugary snack without fearing they are going to become obese when anyone sensible can see they are not in any danger of that!

Oh, seeing as I am on the subject, the "action plan" letter that has come round is not well done at all! I am intrigued to know how anyone else has managed to get anything worth having from it given the ridiculous options allowed for detailing a childs activity and diet.

Phew - that was cathartic

I agree with other posters that it is counterproductive to demonise "unhealthy" snacks. It is absolutely fine to eat a small cake from time to time! Especially if the cake is homemade or from a good bakery and fresh and made with eggs/sugar/butter/flour and no additives.

just watched it again - and the one of the kid playing on the PS2 (or whatever) god I wish my kids sat that still when they were on the Wii (or in the past PS2 - they jump around all over the place and it drives me MAD)

@ that cupcake ad! How to give a kid food complexes! It may be aimed at adults, but those who need the help and listen will take it too far, and those who don't need it are just by it.

I like the portion size advert though because I do know people who it has made stop and think.

DD has been brainwashed with healthy eating, and no advice on all in moderation. Daddy gave her sugar on her cereal and she got very upset about dying as it wasn't healthy . Now, having being against sugar on cereal (despite growing up with it) I have found myself advocating it as she has very little sugar the rest of the time and I think she needs to learn that a little is ok.