To not understand why some parents make such poor food choices for their kids?

[Quit4me]

I was standing behind a mum with 2 children in a queue the other day. One child was a baby laying almost flat in a pram aged about 3 months. The other was around 6. The baby was really sweet smiling out of the pram which is what drew my attention to them. Then she grizzled and the mum said ‘whopps sorry I took away the milk buttons didn’t I. She was feeding her (the baby) milkybar buttons. Quite a lot of them.
I then noticed that that the mum was overweight, the nan who was also with them was overweight and most sadly the 6 year old was very overweight /obese.
Why would any mum be feeding their 3 month old chocolate? Obviously the whole family and little girl could have had a medical condition but Barring that why don’t parents see that feeding them sugar and too many processed foods early on is creating so many health problems for their children?
It makes me actually quite angry and sad for the children and I cringe seeing it.
Yes I know it’s none of my business directly, but this is everyone’s business because it’s a huge problem for the UK and is going to increase multi fold in the coming years.

@Ileflottante

The OP is not a new poster so I’m not sure what to make of this thread. You seem, however, to be very accurate in your ageing of the children.

Obviously a little baby should not be given chocolate. It sounds like, if this is true, then it is down to a distinct lack of education on the subject. Which is why, on a separate note, I cannot understand why how to live and feed yourself healthily, as well as an understanding of managing finances, is not taught in schools.

Exactly!

First Aid should also be taught, can save your life.

@Badabingbadabum

Whether this is a goady post or not, what I do find interesting is how I was given baby rice at a very young age, juice, sweet baby purees, chocolate, sweets growing up etc. My mums' generation ate sweets, pop, puddings as well but no where near as many people were overweight or obese as they are now.

No one is going to agree that giving a very small baby chocolate is a good thing but I don't thing small amounts of sugar occasionally is the cause of the growing number of obese people in the world.

Yes....I had aunties who fed me sweeties . and dad bought lemonade or ginger beer.the Aunties were like rails, as were we.

It was very very rare to see a fat person.

What is causing obesity epidemic?

Someone suggested it was palm oil..but back in the day people ate lard...{Boak}

I did once comment on a woman with a frightful cough buying £50 worth of cigarettes....as a 20 something, and she told me to mind my own business 😂

No op you have got the baby age wrong. You can't possibly guess every baby/child age correctly just by looking at them!! Everyone grows at different speed. I know children in year 6 that look like they are the same age as my child in year 3, but they are not!!

That baby could easily be a small 6 month old. Have you forgotten what 3 months old look like and how they behave? Certainly not how you described.

My son looked 3 months at 11 months. He was premature and tiny. He still needed to eat.

[quote Quit4me]@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe - I’m not sure why you have said ‘discussion, why does that even mean’? It means it gets talked about?
Why shouldn’t it get talked about? Obesity is a health crisis that is getting worse? What are your thoughts on reversing that over the coming decade? Will not talking about it make it all better?
Why must I be goady for wanting to talk about something? I’ve not insulted anyone or spoken out of turn, just described what I saw.
This is a public free discussion forum so I am perfectly allowed to discuss something that upsets me and ask others their opinion about it.
To others asking about the babies age, it was between 3-4 months from my experience. She could suck me swollow the buttons because she was propped slightly on a cushion and wedged each side and the buttons were being put into her mouth to melt. I suppose I was sad because it’s everywhere that babies only drink milk until 5 / 6 months, and also that the older child was very obese made me sad seeing her move and play.
If that makes me goady then so be it[/quote]
It's FOREVER getting talked about and always accompanied by mythical events and incidents. What does banging on about it, on a forum, actually achieve?

What are my thoughts on reversing that in the coming decade? More investment in finding out the root causes of eating disorders and tackling those with practical and peer-reviewed expertise, ongoing help in the form of making access to good foods and help with childcare issues to improve access to exercise. If we can waste billions on myriad activities as a govenrment, we can put in a bit to help here. We could actually take a whack at sorting out the UK's MH crisis at the same time, you never know, it might be illuminating and shed some light on these 'chocolate-guzzling-imbeciles'.

You're allowed to post what you want and I'm allowed to post a response which I did. Yes, I think you're goady. You just want to judge fat people. HTH

What's there to discuss? What you are going to achieve is load of handwringing and berating the feckless ignorant poor. It's not going to solve anything but it will bring you a sense of group smug satisfaction.

Well of course, unless you are secretly leading a government health initiative but I think that's unlikely.

Oh and OP, if you quote me again, please could you separate our comments. I don't want yours attributed to me in any way. Ta ever so.

[quote Quit4me]@imalmostthere I’m saying 3-4 months to give some leyway. I was actually wondering if the baby was even 3 months when I was in the queue but of course all babies are different. I was there for a fair while and in my experience no older than 4 months and most certainly not at a weaning age[/quote]
Your experience is literally having a child - you're not a professional. That baby wasn't 3 months old. You just wanted a goady post - give it up.

How do you know it’s to do with poor food choices? It could be health reasons they’ve gained weight, the child may be overweight not fantastic but just because a child is overweight they won’t always stay that way . There’s enough education for it too change.
Sometimes it can be a vicious cycle .
My son was an ideal weight before covid. However due to covid , personal issues and a knee injury for my son some weight has been gained and he’s conscious of it . None of it due to crap food choices . He’s more sedentary then ever because of having to use a crutch. These things sometimes happen. Looking at the bigger picture is a must

Of course the baby shouldn't be fed chocolate. But perhaps the mother finds it extremely difficult when out with two children. The baby plays up etc and this is just a one off occasion just to have baby be content and not scream the place down.

I remember when my two children were toddlers, it was a nightmare going shops with them, I would give them a lolly just to keep them quiet and avoid any tantrums, the last thing I needed was them crying screaming and everyone staring at me! They never had a lolly at home. The shop was the only place I'd give it. They loved it as for them it was a special treat that they don't get at home. So once every fortnight they would have a lolly, would hate to think someone like you would judge me on that and assume I must give theM 10 lollies each day and plenty of other sweets! Far from it. You don't live with them so don't judge them.

I do hope the poor accused mum doesn't read this and recognise herself and her children.

You have no idea if the baby was even 3 months, my daughter weighed 8lb 1 oz at 6 months !
Some newborns were bigger than her !

You could easily be wrong.

My daughter was premature and severe IUGR and was tiny. She was 1 when she weighed what a typical 3m old might weigh, and only had 2 bottom teeth and little hair, she could have been easily confused with a much younger baby. She still easily fits 6-9m clothing at 18m old.

If course it wouldnt be ideal to be giving a 1 year old milky buttons but I gave my daughter them when she had vaccines, she had birthday cake on her birthday. She would also go bonkers if something was given to her 4 year old brother and she wasnt given any!

What is there not to understand. It comes down to lack of knowledge that chocolate or not a 3 month old just isn't ready to be chewing/digesting complex food and perhaps finances - it's cheaper to eat crap though not filling in the long-term than it is to put together a veg-based puree or whatever.

Mind your own business

*It's not that though.

Things are made so differently.

A shop-made biscuit or cake from the 70s-80s is a WORLD away in terms of what is actually in it and the effect it has on our bodies. Even leaving out that stuff was (relatively) more expensive and sweet things were more likely to be home-made or locally bought, the direct comparisons - like a chocolate biscuit bar from Tesco then and now - the difference is HORRIFIC, and we just don't really understand that. The reason it's more horrific - cost.

High fructose corn syrup is a good example. It's a cheap way of sugaring food. That's what your kids are eating now when they have a cheap-ish mini roll or a slice of shop cake. In the 70s, you ate glucose sugar. The difference is hideous. Here:
*I never knew that ? Chocolate bars were bigger back then as well, is they why chocolate doesn't taste as nice ?
If this is the case shouldn't we be campaigning that these things are made like they used to be then ?

Sorry i copied and bolded someone elses post , but the app keeps posting it as unbolded today for some reason

Now, OP, you will be told to mind your own businesses and that the mum is depressed or suffering from mental health issues and can't afford a proper food.
There is no excuse. The information about dangerously high sugar consumption and benefits of 5/day is shoved down our throats every day from TV, newspapers etc. Everyone is aware, some people choose to ignore it. Broccoli cost less than chocolate buttons. I remember a pediatrician once told me they only really seriously assess overweight babies and toddlers if parents are also overweight.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe
Thank you, you have actually given it 2 mins thought and placed some thoughts of interest into the discussion. That’s what I was aiming for.
Also, putting HTH at the end of a post is one of the most passive aggressive things you can write on here.
Nowhere have I been scarcastic, mean or name calling.
Just because people dont believe th child wasn’t 3 months old, doesn’t mean she wasn’t. I am telling you what I saw but really I am trying to get a wider sense of the picture not just this one lady!

@donewithitalltodayandxmas

*It's not that though.

Things are made so differently.

A shop-made biscuit or cake from the 70s-80s is a WORLD away in terms of what is actually in it and the effect it has on our bodies. Even leaving out that stuff was (relatively) more expensive and sweet things were more likely to be home-made or locally bought, the direct comparisons - like a chocolate biscuit bar from Tesco then and now - the difference is HORRIFIC, and we just don't really understand that. The reason it's more horrific - cost.

High fructose corn syrup is a good example. It's a cheap way of sugaring food. That's what your kids are eating now when they have a cheap-ish mini roll or a slice of shop cake. In the 70s, you ate glucose sugar. The difference is hideous. Here:
*I never knew that ? Chocolate bars were bigger back then as well, is they why chocolate doesn't taste as nice ?
If this is the case shouldn't we be campaigning that these things are made like they used to be then ?

I definitely agree with this. I was a kid in the 70s and I remember how things tasted then. The modern day counterparts of some of these products are unrecognisable really.

Corn syrup is one thing that I am fanatical about avoiding; I don't buy products with this in there but often I've picked up something that looks appealing, found corn syrup in the ingredients, and regretfully put it back.

If there ever was a good reason for Brexit and make something positive come of it then bringing back British manufacturing and excluding some of this toxic and harmful chemistry in our food would make it worth while for me. If we're autonomous now, we ought to be able to do that.

Have a OP

Your missing out asterixes at the end if there is a new paragraph you need to add at end of each paragraph @donewithitalltodayandxmas*

Even if OP has got the baby's age wrong. Is it ok to shove buttons into any aged baby especially as the sibling/relatives were all obese?

Why do these threads always get shouted down/removed? We have a real problem with obesity in this country (especially with the covid risk now) so why can't we talk about it?

How were you close enough to see the baby? What happened to social distancing

If you can't see a baby from 1.5 to 2m away you want to go to Specsavers.

Because it is easier to dole out chocolate bars to bribe children ro behave, instead of being the parent who says No consistently, and bringing up children to accept discipline. Short term win, but obvious consequences - obesity.