to think this is the root of the obesity crisis?

[Somethingorotherorother]

It seems like on every single parenting thread, about bedtimes, sharing, behaviour, potty training etc there are huge numbers of people advocating bribing your child with food for good behaviour. Giving sweeties in the morning for every night a child stayed in bed. Sweeties for every poo on the potty. Sweeties for every day a child didn't bite their sibling. Sweeties for good behaviour at mealtimes. Sweeties for getting dressed in the morning.

Is it just me or is this absolutely batshit crazy!? People are suggesting this like it's a great way to get your kid to behave, but surely it just teaches them incredibly unhealthy eating habits (ie i deserve an edible reward for each unpleasant task) that carry in to adolescence and adulthood the idea that junk food is a normal part of the everyday diet?

It also strikes me as really lazy. Bribing a child with a pack of Haribo is much easier than, say, bribing a child with a fun outing or one-on-one time, which is what we used to get as kids for particularly good behaviour/achievements.

I read somewhere recently that 65% of UK adults are overweight, and tbh reading the way some people are bringing up their kids on here, i can't see that figure improving any time soon.

I watch loads of cooking programmes. DH does 99% of our cooking.
I just find them soothing

I actually think the amount of homework children as young as 5 get now goes somewhere to creating this problem.

I wonder if we would see a difference if there was no homework in primary school and parents were encouraged to not hot house their children academically and instead get them to play out or exercise or do lessons in dance or martial arts etc

I know with 2 dc who had SENs and left to their own devices would have spent hours each night sitting down trying to write sentences to complete their homework they would have ended up much heavier than they are if I hadn’t done their homework for them whilst they were doing a physical activity.

In what era was one on one time used as a bribe for good behaviour??

Is that a fact or an opinion? If it's a fact could you reference your sources?

Well we know that the vast majority of people have a limited repertoire of dishes that they cook day in day out. Cookery programmes are mostly about entertainment.

@pallasathena

@LaurieMarlow Is that a fact or an opinion? If it's a fact could you reference your sources?

I think obesity is so complicated.

Has any one seen man V food? I think there is a culture to supersize every thing. Even if you go Mac Donald’s they ask if you want to go large. If you buy a burger it’s less that £2 to add on fries and and drink. High sugar and carb foods are so addictive as they alter your bodies chemistry which make you want more of the same. There was a massive drive in the 50s that said grains and dairy should be the foundation of a healthy diet. It’s not.

Mental health can play a huge part of obesity, when your depressed you want comfort food which is usually high carb/high sugar which give a fleeting moment of happiness.

Poverty effects obesity because in reality most people who are skint are not going to live of pulses and swede when you can buy a frozen pizza for £1 which your kid will eat

I've never seen bribery with sweets being recommended on mumsnet! I have however seen a perfectly healthy diet critisised for having too much fruit (too sugary) when there's about 2 pieces of fruit per day .

I think causes of the obesity crisis are much wider ranging than the odd bit of child bribery.

1/4 of a button!!!??? That's ridiculous... surely even a toddler feels fobbed off with that?

@Poppyismyfavourite
Tbf she was only 20 months and she wanted to potty train (older friend told her she was a baby because she wore nappies, and they literally came off the next day with hardly an accident).
But yes with #1 1/4 a chocolate button was a treat.
#2 first solidfood was a chocolate button (given by #1, before that she'd been refusing solids) and she definitely wouldn't have been fobbed off with 1/4 ever.
#3 wouldn't have done anything for less than a packet.

If you met them now (all in their teens) you would immediately be able to tell from the above description who was #1 and #2.

But none of them are overweight or especially sweet tooth. In fact #3 would choose fruit as a general rule over chocolate.

@Starlight39 you've obviously never seen me give advice on potty training. If the OP is correct I am single handedly responsible for setting many a young child on the road to obesity, including both of mine.

Lots of reasons. Like them desserts loads of restaurants serve piss me off as they are 3 or 4 deserts in one, so a milkshake with brownies and a donut on top freak shakes they are called. Thats normal now. Huhe portions of food are normal now. Rarely anyone cooks from scratch now so full of sugars and salts and msg and other stuff, fried food is the norm now when it wasnt a normal every day thing. Attitudes to food have massively changed. If you served a healthy sized meal to a toddler now many people would be horrified by how small it looks.

I started binge eating as a child partly because my parents were so strict with treats. Not sure where that fits into your theory.

I have recommended the chocolate button potty training method on here too. And I stand by it! Because moderation, small amounts, and a chocolate button as a reward is fine IMO and better than either ridiculously strict anti-sugar hysteria or and excessively sugary diet.

started binge eating as a child partly because my parents were so strict with treats. Not sure where that fits into your theory.

That's also true with quite a few in my friendship group. I remember my best friend at my 6th birthday party ate so much food she made herself sick because she wasn't allowed it at home. A bit here and there is more of a healthy balance imo.

to think this is the root of the obesity crisis

Yes, YABU to think that.

The reasons are many and varied and cannot be boiled down to a nice, neat little "people bribe their children with food" theory.

I think lots and lots of small changes have accumulated to make big differences.

I think how little walking kids do, generally, is a big part of it. I walked to school every day, 25 minutes each way. After school I was out with friends and even just walking to "go in" for various friends then go to the park or the library or the shops I walked for a good hour. By the time you add in walking around school, playtimes etc that's 2 hours a day just walking.

Then you had 2 PE lessons a week plus any exercise at Brownies or clubs. Then it was cheap to swim here so every weekend (and most days in the summer holidays) my friends and I trotted off to the swimming. From around age 10. Not to mention hours, in the summer, cycling aorund "exploring" (still not entirely sure what we thought we were going to find in our average town!).

Children don't have the same activity levels or freedom now. Kids are driven to school because they are allocated one 6 miles away. They don't play out in the same way. Even my kids who play out more than many (because according to my neighbours I'm neglectful and allow it) don't spend half as much time out as I did. You certainly don't get kids of 10/11 going off cycling and swimming for whole days like you used to do.

Snacks are more prevelant. The quality of ready meals has decreased massively as well as them being more common. It's cheaper now to buy 6 bags of crisps than it is 6 pieces of fruit.

Parents also work more so kids are in childcare more. So rather than home from school and out to play, kids have to be in childcare, so not running about or cycling, later because it's expensive to live.

I think the obesity crisis has much more to do with the normalisation of fast food as food people eat now on a daily basis. Of course this only my personal experience but when I was younger I ate fast food as a treat, maybe once or twice a month.

I moved overseas for over a decade and I have since returned to the UK and I've been absolutely shocked at the explosion in fast food in this country and the frequency that people eat it. The UK has truly become a fast food nation. I know there are many complicated factors involved such as socio-economic factors, less time to cook meals etc.

Sadly I don't think there's an easy answer.

No, I don't think this is that huge an issue.

The only thing I've regularly seen people suggest treats as a reward for regularly is with potty training. I doubt potty training is behind the obesity crises.

I do think that the whole snack/treat culture is a problem. It sometimes seems like every activity has a snack, and people go on believing kids can't wait between meals far beyond when that is actually true. People are also very reluctant to refuse food to kids.

It affects how kids experience food, they often don't really understand their own hunger cues, eat when bored, and don't have any practice or ability to control the desire for immediate gratification. In fact our whole consumerist culture rewards demands for immediate gratification.

@Rainbunny

I think the obesity crisis has much more to do with the normalisation of fast food as food people eat now on a daily basis. Of course this only my personal experience but when I was younger I ate fast food as a treat, maybe once or twice a month.

I moved overseas for over a decade and I have since returned to the UK and I've been absolutely shocked at the explosion in fast food in this country and the frequency that people eat it. The UK has truly become a fast food nation. I know there are many complicated factors involved such as socio-economic factors, less time to cook meals etc.

Sadly I don't think there's an easy answer.

Yes, there has been a big shift. My mother didn't eat fast food until she was a teenager!

I made a share pack of those Milky Way stars last three weeks when potty training DD. 1 for a wee, two for a poo. It was the only time I used sweets.

@CandidaAlbicans2

The attitude of offering high energy foods as treats/snacks/bribes is one factor but by no means the root cause. Obesity is extremely complex and can be broken down into the following sections and subsections:

1. Biology - broken down into 25 subsections, including genetic predisposition to obesity; the digestion process; fat metabolism; side effects of medicines.
2. Activity environment - 13 subsections, including access to opportunities for physical exercise; costs of physical exercise; dominance of sedentary employment; perceived danger in environment.
3. Physical activity - 11 subsections including degree of innate activity in childhood; parental modelling of activity; level of occupational activity.
4. Societal influences - 17 subsections including availability of passive entertainment options; education; exposure to food advertising; peer pressure; perceived lack of time; smoking cessation; social acceptability of fatness.
5. Individual psychology - 10 subsections including demand for indulgence/compensation; food literacy; stress; self esteem.
6. Food environment - 17 subsections including cost of ingredients; female employment; standardisation of food offerings (similarities of processed foods).
7. Food consumption - 15 subsections including alcohol consumption; convenience food offerings; food abundance; fibre content of food and drink; portion size; rate of eating; tendency to graze.

All in all there are 108 contributing factors to obesity, so no wonder it’s so difficult to solve.

I think you've earned some one-on-one time with the OP, Candida .