Kids set up for failure?
i was on my commute to work this morning at around 8am, and i looked up to see a woman push her small child onto the train. the little girl was probably about 2 years old.
in one hand, she was clutching a ziploc bag full of fruity pebbles. in the other hand, a tootsie pop. at 8am.
really lady? that's what you give your kid for breakfast? REALLY?
i was waiting for her to pull out a can of mountain dew with a nipple on it and hand it to her to wash it all down. i stared in horror for a few seconds and then went back to my book. just couldn't help thinking how that poor little kid doesn't stand a chance of developing healthy eating habits.
yesterday, a woman sat next to me with a small toddler on her lap and handed him a large bag of funyuns, which he proceeded to chow down on for a good 20 minutes.
don't get me wrong, i'm not the type to say a kid should never ever have fruity pebbles, lolly pops or junky snacks...but that just blew my mind. are people really still that clueless when it comes to nutrition? why, when there are so many healthy options to feed your kid, would you choose such nutritionally worthless snacks? i mean the lady this morning had obviously brought the cereal from home so it wasn't a case of being on the run and having no options.
has anybody else experienced things like this? i'm not a parent but i certainly hope that when i am, i am able to better watch out for my kids health. i know kids can be picky and fussy, but is there ever any reason to give a two year old a bag of sugar and a lolly pop for breakfast?
Original Post by hayleymajayley:
Original Post by hotfuss:If my mom had to go at 8am and decided we couldn't have it, just because it was early she would have to deal with the pain of us whining and complaining and it would probably be easier to let us have it then and remind us that we already had a treat when we asked for something in the afternoon. I doubt that 1 8am lollipop doomed us.
Okay this just sounds ridiculous to me. Oooh the pain of whining and complaining! HORRIBLE! When having a kid you've pretty much committed to a minimum of 18 years of whining and complaining.
do you have kids? can you honestly say you NEVER decided it wasn't worth the fight and just gave the kid what he/she wanted just to get past it? Is the occasional lollipop seriously that ridiculous?
Original Post by floggingsully:
I think Mountain Dew is a totally appropriate breakfast drink for a kid, you're supposed to eat a green thing every day and this is a great way to get it out of the way in the morning. The fruity pebbles are a great way to take a bite out of those 2-5 servings of fruits and lollipop is obviously just desert, there is nothing wrong with eating desert especially right after such a healthy meal.
Isn't Mountain Dew yellow? Even better, the yellows can be hard to get!
Original Post by purespark:
I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses. Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller? Nope. All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
this is exactly how i intended this post. i also find it funny that everyone who is defending this mother is coming up with excuses that are a total stretch, but I'M the one being crazy for making assumptions that the mother just gave it to her for breakfast.
is it possible that it was her grandma/the bank teller/the mail man/santa clause? yes, it's possible. is it really all that likely? nope.
Original Post by purespark:
I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses. Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller? Nope. All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
Yes. AND, if we look at the bigger picture, it's even scarier. It's not just about this one mom and whether this was a one time thing. It's about simply noticing a trend. And that trend is scary, because alot of parents DO do this on a daily basis. It IS one of the reasons why we are an overweight nation. People are told "it's none of their business" and let parents parent how they want. But that's how we got into this mess. Now we are stuck with a generation of parents who never learned to eat right themselves and are passing that on to their children. It should be our business. We should make it our business. As a nation, we ARE setting our children up for failure. The schools should make it their business when deciding how to teach health classes. Man, I could go on and on....
Original Post by jules817:
and the mother knew she dropped it. i saw her look at it when i hear it hit the floor, and then deliberately step over it as she exited the train.
Gr. Litter bugs. >_< Litterbugs disrespect all of the people who live, walk and gaze upon this earth every day. Everytime I see someone litter I want to blow the whistle on them. That's a horrible thing to teach your child from a wee age,imho.
Edit: Sorry. I have zero-tolerance attitude to litter.
Original Post by purespark:
All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
I too would be shocked to see a child with with that much sugar at 8 am, but if all it took was one or two occurrences of something to "set an example" for a child, I want to know why my oldest still argues with me over math homework.
Granted, for all we know, that's the only thing that child's mother ever bothers to give her for breakfast. Coming to that conclusion based off one data point doesn't make a lot of sense, IMO.
Original Post by santonacci:
Original Post by purespark:
All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
I too would be shocked to see a child with with that much sugar at 8 am, but if all it took was one or two occurrences of something to "set an example" for a child, I want to know why my oldest still argues with me over math homework.
Granted, for all we know, that's the only thing that child's mother ever bothers to give her for breakfast. Coming to that conclusion based off one data point doesn't make a lot of sense, IMO.
I agree.
Original Post by jules817:
Original Post by purespark:
I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses. Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller? Nope. All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
this is exactly how i intended this post. i also find it funny that everyone who is defending this mother is coming up with excuses that are a total stretch, but I'M the one being crazy for making assumptions that the mother just gave it to her for breakfast.
is it possible that it was her grandma/the bank teller/the mail man/santa clause? yes, it's possible. is it really all that likely? nope.
I really don't think that many of these scenarios are a "total stretch". I can see why you would think that it would be horrible on a daily basis. I can also see many situations where it would be a once in a while occurance. Give people the benefit of the doubt, for your own sanity.
Yes, I have seen chubby children eating ice cream. I have seen six year olds with their thumbs in their mouths. I have seen adults pick their nose. It is scenery - I have no control over it, so there is no reason to worry over it. Do you worry about an adult that you see eating a candy bar in the morning? I guess I just don't have time to worry about strangers - I'm too busy worrying about my own life.
As for the OP, and many others, I am glad that she will raise her children to have a good nutritional beginning. That is truly awesome.
well at 8am the bank is out. Because they don't open until 9 or 10 anymore. **** banks.
Original Post by peaches0405:
Original Post by purespark:
I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses. Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller? Nope. All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
Yes. AND, if we look at the bigger picture, it's even scarier. It's not just about this one mom and whether this was a one time thing. It's about simply noticing a trend. And that trend is scary, because alot of parents DO do this on a daily basis. It IS one of the reasons why we are an overweight nation. People are told "it's none of their business" and let parents parent how they want. But that's how we got into this mess. Now we are stuck with a generation of parents who never learned to eat right themselves and are passing that on to their children. It should be our business. We should make it our business. As a nation, we ARE setting our children up for failure. The schools should make it their business when deciding how to teach health classes. Man, I could go on and on....
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy? This is basically the plot of the movie, but incompassing all aspects of society. Basically, the stupid, less educated people will bread more, leading to a stupider and stupider race. Plus, its a really funny movie.
Original Post by enchantingimage:
Original Post by jules817:
and the mother knew she dropped it. i saw her look at it when i hear it hit the floor, and then deliberately step over it as she exited the train.
Gr. Litter bugs. >_< Litterbugs disrespect all of the people who live, walk and gaze upon this earth every day. Everytime I see someone litter I want to blow the whistle on them. That's a horrible thing to teach your child from a wee age,imho.
Edit: Sorry. I have zero-tolerance attitude to litter.
Hi. I honked and flipped off the a-hole in front of me when they threw a cup out of the window. I wanted to ram my car into their **** camaro.
*sigh*
ok, you guys all have a lot more faith in people than i do, that's for sure. you go ahead and assume it was just a special treat day where she got nothing but sugar for breakfast and i'll go ahead and assume she is teaching her kid horrible eating habits.
maybe i'm cynical, but looking around at the overweight kids i see everywhere, i'm not going to feel bad about being that way for a second. and maybe i'm judgemental, and maybe one of those other scenarios is the truth, but if it quacks like a duck, and it looks like a duck...
Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:
well at 8am the bank is out. Because they don't open until 9 or 10 anymore. **** banks.
move to canada! the branch i work above is open at 8 :P
hell, maybe it was my co-workers who gave the kid the candy.
Original Post by hotfuss:
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy?
Camacho 2012!!!
Original Post by hotfuss:
Original Post by peaches0405:
Original Post by purespark:
I just think a lot of our responses are reading too much into this, and making an awful lot of excuses. Does it matter if grandma gave the kid the lollipop, or a bank teller? Nope. All this is about is that Jules was shocked by the kid with the double fistful of sugar at 8 AM, and worries about what kind of example that sets.
Yes. AND, if we look at the bigger picture, it's even scarier. It's not just about this one mom and whether this was a one time thing. It's about simply noticing a trend. And that trend is scary, because alot of parents DO do this on a daily basis. It IS one of the reasons why we are an overweight nation. People are told "it's none of their business" and let parents parent how they want. But that's how we got into this mess. Now we are stuck with a generation of parents who never learned to eat right themselves and are passing that on to their children. It should be our business. We should make it our business. As a nation, we ARE setting our children up for failure. The schools should make it their business when deciding how to teach health classes. Man, I could go on and on....
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy? This is basically the plot of the movie, but incompassing all aspects of society. Basically, the stupid, less educated people will bread more, leading to a stupider and stupider race. Plus, its a really funny movie.
'breed'
I think it is a perfectly normal thing to observe people and draw conclusions from what you see in that moment.
So many people say 'butt out' and 'don't make assumptions' 'you aren't the mother you don't know'. But I think its a normal human thing to people watch... and think about what you are looking at.
It's silly to think people shouldn't have opinions about strangers.
I judge strangers all the time. I create stories for them. I watch their actions and their lack of actions. It doesn't mean I'm a fortune teller and psychic - but it does make me think about society as a whole watching the trends and behaviours from the masses.
My opinion on the OP's post - to see that kind of thing at 8am is a disappointing trend.
Original Post by santonacci:
Original Post by hotfuss:
Has anyone seen the movie Idiocracy?Camacho 2012!!!
we are all doomed to sitting on our couch/toilet all evening watching Ow, my balls and eating processed cheese from a giant bucket and drinking brando from water fountains. We should just give in now.
People-watching is one of my favorite pastimes. Especially in Vegas.
Going by some of the replies and the accusations against jules it really doesn't pay to care.
And I am glad I don't, if you want your kids to grow up with a mouth of bad teeth go for it, if i see your kids running for a busy road i'm whipping out my camera phone, if i see your kid fall and smash their face on the pavement, i'm walking on by, if i see someone trying to abduct your kid i'm turning a blind eye..being cold heart is great it makes you void of any feeling of responsibility.
Take care of your kids, or don't it's up to you but don't put up lame excuses or blame others when and if you are held accountable after all you are the parent and therefore responsible.
Original Post by jules817:
ok, you guys all have a lot more faith in people than i do, that's for sure. you go ahead and assume it was just a special treat day ....
Jules, it has nothing to do with "faith in people." I'm NOT assuming it's a special treat day, nor am I assuming a lifetime of disordered eating. I don't know, and there's no way for me, or anyone, to know based off one 20 minute observation on a train.
My point here is coming to conclusions with very little data. But then as a statistics geek, that is kind of a pet peeve for me.
"If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae on our hands."
