To think the public have the society they deserve

[GoodnightAdeline]

Just read yet another post in our town mums’ Facebook group about the ‘lunchbox letter’. In essence a local primary has written to parents asking them to stop putting sweets and other garbage in their kids’ lunch boxes and all hell has broken loose. ‘How dare they tell my what to feed my child’ ‘tell them to fuck off’ ‘we’ll give the kids an eating disorder’ ‘my kid will only eat cheese strings and cola bottles, do they want her to starve’ etc

It was the same with the ‘your child is overweight’ letters, the ‘please send them in with water not Prime’ letters, the ‘please watch them as they cross the road after school because we had a near miss the other day and are getting complaints’ letters.

After a million such posts with defensive, vitriolic replies I’m beginning to think, why bother improving the NHS/dentistry etc? Why bother helping people who won’t help themselves.

YES I KNOW I’M BEING UNREASONABLE but the above mindset just seems so prevalent it depresses me to unreasonableness!

A GP isn’t an all knowing oracle, who is able to cross all disciplines related to health, welfare and nutrition. If you want detailed supplements advice, you’d need a specialist.

Ok so what is a bigger problem, obesity or anorexia?

Also children are fat because parents don't let them play outside anymore.

I also think this is a far bigger factor than junk food when it comes to childhood obesity. It’s not like kids in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s had super healthy diets (my mum used to make us jam and sugar sandwiches 🤮) and it’s gone downhill. However from what I see most kids don’t get nearly as much exercise as they should be getting, they’re allowed to be idle and I find hermit parents encourage hermit children.

Totally agree.
Some people are more than happy to bleat on about their rights but give no thought what so ever about their responsibilities.

Then they have the nerve to complain about NHS waiting lists.

Sorry what’s the point of this question exactly?

Is it a competition?
Or are you saying one is collateral damage to resolve the other?
Or are you saying whichever is the most common is the only one to focus on?

I also think portion sizes. People act like I underfeed my 4 year old because she has 1 slice of bread as toast for breakfast, and my 1 year old eats half a banana at a time. There’s no portion differences between adults and children now

Of course we don't have the society we deserve. If we did we'd have separate societies into which we were allocated a place based on our qualities. We have the society that has evolved in accordance with what best suits those with the power to shape it, and each one of us navigates that the best we can. Yes, some people make unwise choices within that context, because people come with a wide range of personality types and intelligence levels, but a few mums kicking up fuss about being told what to feed their kids are not the cause of the health and dentistry crisis in the UK. They just provide a handy smokescreen for those who are.

It’s not a few. If the average at our school is anything to go by its millions. And if millions of children are sucking on bottles of squash at school and probably worse when they get home, wouldn’t you agree this IS a factor in dental decay?

Having a half a banana rule doesn't stop you from being The Public.

You prove my point I'm afraid. Thinking that social media and google means that you dont need to rely on the professional's opnion - oh dear!!

As for vitamins and suplements, GPs dont have the time to spend delving into those, most wont take them themselves, because they know a healthy balanced diet should cover most of those. The only one outside of that being Vitamin D.

It stops me from being this public.

If what you see when you look at Facebook depresses you to the point of unreasonableness, that's maybe your cue to stop hanging out on Facebook.

Yes, as a society we get what we deserve.

How many people do you see bragging on social media about how they have gotten a free meal by saying it wasn't delivered etc. When my hello fresh order went missing, they told me the driver took a photo of it as evidence and sent me the photo. I replied with a photo of me at my door showing a totally different colour and they still declined it. If there weren't so many scammers it wouldn't have been an issue.

Same goes for sites like vinted, ebay etc. so many scammers trying to make quick money that when a genuine person has an issue its treated with suspicion.

Look at all the anti vax stuff that goes around on social media. We now have record cases of measles, whooping cough and other treatable diseases but the ones who shout loudest are obviously right. I have a friend who denied covid existed based on 'overwhelming evidence' from a conspiracy type page. She was medically trained and we had lost friends to covid.

Social media and 24/7 connectivity has created huge unrealistic expectations on youngsters to be slim, tall, perfect skin, popular etc. How many kids can have a conversation without their phone being in their hands.

The internet whilst a powerful tool is also abused by those with their own agendas. Imagine if those alive in ww2 had internet access and how many people would be supporting Axis powers?

Everyone wants to be right and has their own little confirmation bias. I am willing to learn and discuss and admit when I'm wring but i posted in a sub forum on this site to understand views to learn and understand and was basically shut down and abused by others with only a couple of people posting actual evidence and willing to discuss/explain to help expand my knowledge.

The public depress me and that doesn’t stop at Facebook.

I don’t think anorexia is anywhere near a big enough problem to hold it up as the reason we shouldn’t teach kids about healthy eating.

I agree with you. Apparently plate sizes are getting bigger too which subconsciously affects how much food people dish onto their plates

As for vitamins and suplements, GPs dont have the time to spend delving into those,

So a doctor can't say anything basic about vitamins, as they have no time. But a schoolteacher is somehow a dietician now?

Neither you nor I have the slightest notion of how many children are 'sucking on bottles of squash' do we? Whether this is in the context of otherwise good or poor dental hygiene, the genetic factors that also influence dental health, the impact of an otherwise good or poor diet, calcium intake and so on. So its impossible to gauge its impact on society in isolation.
If you want us to consider it seriously as a significant contributor then you need to provide more information on numbers for whom this is 'the norm' across society and consider the impact of other factors, such as increased difficulty in accessing dentistry, reduced early years advice and support and so on.

Other kids don’t get ‘treats’- it’s a fair way of doing it. School has rules; home doesn’t. Would you also send your child in to school in a Nike tracksuit and £200 trainers, instead of their uniform?

You just reframe it; it’s not forbidden’, it’s fair.

People are angry because they're sick of being told what to do/say, among other things. You don't make peoples' lives better by telling them what to do, you lead by example. Life is stressful and already complicated enough without being dictated to. All too often the symptoms of a problem are addressed instead of the root cause.

We wouldn’t need the dentistry to start with if we looked after our teeth. They’re rejecting the advice and support, that’s the point.

Judging people on Facebook and "othering" yourself as above them comes from a need to feel superior, it makes you feel better for a little bit but then you have to see them at the school gate/in the supermarket/when you read The Daily Mail. It's a cycle, and a habit and dirty one at that.

You can create your own little microcosm of half portions of fruit, and clean noses and piano lessons, but it doesn't really make you a better person. It's an illusion.

Wouldn't it be nicer to stop running from your own feelings of inferiority and accept that everyone is different, and know that there is much greater strength in generosity of spirit rather than social climbing?

You can be a poster child for your dentist and still have bad teeth. Genetics play a role in oral health as much as hygiene standards do.

Other kids don’t get ‘treats’- it’s a fair way of doing it. School has rules; home doesn’t. Would you also send your child in to school in a Nike tracksuit and £200 trainers, instead of their uniform?

If i could i certainly would. I would rather buy my kids more sensible and more comfortable clothing than that ghastly uniform i'm forced to spend money on. That's one of my pet hates - you'd think that once you bought that uniform it should be fine, than somewhere in mid-term they decide to 'crackdown' on some made up nonsense and here we go - 'school' shoes apparently wrong and please buy new. You can't plead low income because the current shoes are somewhat higher end. Not speaking of some flashy £200 Nikes, speaking of Kickers. And please don't start about compassion for "the poor". If it was the case, supermarket uniforms should be enough, not the triple priced shite from specialized shops.