My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

In feeling annoyed at parents of overweight kids

192 replies

noonki · 12/07/2008 19:51

I am not saying that all children should be a similar size and I know that some kids are naturally much tubbier than others. (I was when I was younger). But there are so many huge children nowadays and at the supermarket I hate seeing the crap that their parents are putting in the baskets. I hated being overweight, and think that parents have a duty to encourage their kids to exercise and not to have junk in the house.

OP posts:
Report
TheMonkeyandthePlywoodViolin · 04/05/2017 15:52

I hated this thread 9 years ago too.

Report
carjacker1985 · 04/05/2017 15:58

Even if obesity did automatically always equal unhealthy (it doesn't), then we should still be changing attitudes to how people treat fat people- if you are unhealthy, you still don't deserve to be bullied. When kids are bullied for being fat, it's because our society cultivates an environment that allows this- and it trickles down from acceptable narratives such as "health concerns". Children can be unhealthy for all sorts of reasons, not just because they're fat, and are not bullied about it. Do not pretend that it is all about health.

Report
RudeDog · 04/05/2017 15:59

I actually posted about this recently- I have 2 female friends who have lost significant amounts of weight recently

At the same time their DDs have put on enormous amounts of weight

They deny themselves food whilst their children are encouraged to gorge themselves (recently I saw one eat 3whole sandwiches for her lunch, 4 mini rolls, 2 mini chocolate bars and 2 small packets of crisps, plus a sugary drink )
Her mother must be aware of the calories as she sat and ate a salad...

I almost think the do it to make themselves feel better - either not denying the children or feeling thinner?

Report
StaplesCorner · 04/05/2017 17:31

Rude - apt user name - gosh that was insightful. What an outstanding contribution to the obesity debate.

Report
Willow2017 · 04/05/2017 17:58

OH FFS NOT ANOTHER BLOODY ZOMBIE THREAD
Is there some virus going around 'reanimating' these threads? Grin

User start another thread you are going to get creamed anyway for being a judgemental pratt. The trouble is, parents can only pass on the knowledge they have themselves. They likely have issues too, so wouldn't know how to start with their kids. You have no idea about someone else nor their kids problems.

Report
stopfuckingshoutingatme · 04/05/2017 18:04

whilst I tend to agree, I don't especially like the judgy thoughts that arise in my head on this topic TBH, I am not proud of them.

as for very child that's being overfed, there is a child like a PP who has to take steroids for chronic asthma.

I would fucking hate myself to judge someone for this, if there is even a small percentile chance its not their fault.

I also think that its becoming increasingly acceptable to be rude about overweight people

and starting this thread, its just opens the fucking door for people to indulge.

so you are being unkind, and inflammatory

shame on you OP

This is not a sensible discussion about a very worrying topic, its fat bashing

Report
angryladyboobs · 04/05/2017 21:39

I'm overweight as is my mum.

I was brought up a certain way and my DD is chunky. But very active. She never stops. I'm trying to change the habits I was brought up with so my DD won't struggle with her weight like I have all my life.

Report
northerny · 04/05/2017 22:04

*you dont get fat eagles, or fat horses, or fat tigers or fat ants.

Report
northerny · 04/05/2017 22:05

Fucking fat fingers posted too soon...

I don't care that this is a zombie thread, this is brilliant:

you dont get fat eagles, or fat horses, or fat tigers or fat ants.

(You do get fat horses actually, normally because they are fed wrongly or over fed by stupid humans)

Report
ShelaghTurner · 04/05/2017 22:06

I'm obese. My children aren't although dd1 was fairly chubby last year - she's slimmed down a lot since. And DH is very slim and fit. Guess which one of us tries to feed the girls healthily and which one of us gives them biscuits before breakfast. Now guess which one of us got the blame last year?

I am determined that they won't be fat and miserable like me. DH has never been overweight and doesn't know how soul destroying it is, therefore his incentive to not feed them junk isn't so great. They have him wrapped round their little fingers but guess who takes the flack.

Report
stopfuckingshoutingatme · 04/05/2017 22:20

Fat ants Grin let's just muse
Upon that mysterious concept x

Report
EddieHitler · 04/05/2017 22:38

I'm a fat aunt...

Report
MycatsaPirate · 04/05/2017 22:47

My teen rapidly put on weight once she got old enough to start buying her own food and eating out. You reach a point where things are no longer in your hands. Now she is at uni she is realising that she needs to lose weight and has taken up running, walking and football. I also give her healthy suggestions for lunches instead of pizza!

I think the main causes of obese children are:

portion sizes - feeding small children a portion suitable for an adult (dp was very guilty of this with his youngest and was surprised that I suggested cutting it down a bit)

obesity blindness - literally not seeing that your dc are overweight (dp also guilty of this and it's only now looking back at photos of his youngest that he realises how massively overweight she was aged 9 and that wearing adult sized clothes to fit her wasn't great)

lack of education - I mean properly learning to cook. I don't mean knowing about nutrition, I mean learning to cook everything from scratch.

I really think there is a huge need for some sort of buddy system whereby the older generation with some free time can buddy up with someone younger with dc to help them learn to cook and shop healthily and efficiently. Not patronising, just passing on the knowledge.

One last thing is exercise. You often find people saying their dc exercises loads - they do a dance class/play football once a week and are always out on their bike. That's not really loads.

My youngest does 2 hours swimming, 1 hour athletics, 1 hour rounders, 1 hour cricket, about 4 hours walking plus two hours PE lessons every week. Plus going out on her bike. She is naturally slim anyway but would easily put on weight around her tummy if she wasn't so active. She snacks on tomatoes, grapes and carrots (she is the oddest child I know) as well as the odd packet of crisps or brownie.

No food is a bad food in this house. However, I will say only one small punnet of grapes, only one packet of crisps, only one brownie etc. Because she needs to learn to eat food she loves but in moderation.

Biggest treat for her is a punnet of raspberries.

Report
MaisyPops · 04/05/2017 22:55

YANBU

Someone I grew up with was large and got more and more overweight. Her mother was obese too. Through school they were very "this is how I am. I'm big boned. My mams big so I get that from her" it went on. Got to 30, she started eating better portion sizes, better food and exercising. Lost the lot! Is now the larger end of healthy but looks amazing. Turns out it was a simple 'calories in vs calories burnt' situation.

She now can see that she picked up her idea of normal eating from am overwight family member and the excuses etc. She's said her kids will be brought up on normal portion sizes and exercising so they don't have to do what she did.

Some people do have medical issues. But the vast majority it's just eating too much of the wrong stuff and not exercising enough and having sedentary lifestyles.

Report
thedcbrokemybank · 04/05/2017 23:14

I think we have normalised shit food. Where once crisps, sweets, chocolate etc used to be a treat they are now seen as the norm. And yet I am seen as the "health police" when I refuse to send my ds with a family size bag of doritos in his lunch. I think there are a lot of nutrient deficient kids out there (and not just the overweight ones).
And there is more of everything - seeing some pictures on FB of a friends dc with 15 easter eggs. There is just no need for it all.

Report
ProfessorBranestawm · 05/05/2017 08:14

I'd love to know what the person who woke the zombie thread actually wrote, I missed it before it was deleted

Report
floraeasy · 08/05/2017 14:21

Fat ant!

In feeling annoyed at parents of overweight kids
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.