Daycare linked to obesity in children
Recently social media has been a buzz with a study done in 2012 which said that findings found that children who were enrolled in daycare or were watched at home by a grandparent were 1.5 times more likely to be obese. Which lead to a new study which released that there is no direct correlation between the two.
Daycare not to blame for increased obesity
BUT WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE, Is this honestly a belief? Are people honestly so blind to facts, that they are reaching at straws to blame putting your child in daycare as a reason for them being obese? For starters if your child is enrolled at a Head Start type program it is FEDERALLY FUNDED, which means that even as a young child they are feeling the effects of Michelle Obama’s healthy kid program… Now in general at this age level I haven’t heard too many complaints about the food, I know that as children age I have seen several rants about what is actually being served, but I have volunteered at a Head Start and at this age level I think that portions, as well as what they are actually serving is a very highly nutritious well rounded meal, and at most Head Starts centers served in a family style setting. My issue with the program and this is first hand as a mom, is that is allows little to no accommodations for children with things like, sensory processing disorder, meaning children who only have a select number of foods they may be willing to eat, are then taught that a good portion of those foods are bad for them, like chicken nuggets and chocolate milk. It is hard enough for these parents to get anything even slightly nutritious into their children, and first hand I now have a 6 year old who is AFRAID, yes AFRAID to eat sugar because it will make him shrink, make his muscles disappear, and make him FAT… Thank you FLOTUS! Programs like Head Start are also closely monitored by once again… You guessed it the Federal Government to make sure that children are getting nutritious options, learning and making advancements, as well as ACTIVE TIME!
But perhaps it is the new mindset that we seem to have here in America that nothing is our own fault. There is no belief that we should have to own up to anything and take responsibility for ANYTHING! So perhaps the child you have, that you sit in front of the television with Netflix streaming Octonauts for 8 hours straight, while you hand them a bag of chips, cookies, or whatever other WONDERFUL (being facetious) option you have, while you sit on your couch and play CANDY CRUSH, PERHAPS just maybe this is the problem.
AND YESSSSSSS… I know EVERYONE jumps quickly whenever someone makes a fuss about things like this, “You’re calling me a lazy parent. You don’t understand you’re skinny. I HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION”. No… I never said you were a lazy parent, so don’t even go there, FACT parenting is hard YES it is we all have those days where Netflix is our BFF, but it cannot be EVERYDAY, and that is the clear cut difference.. And ACTUALLY I probably understand more than you would ever understand, because if you would take a moment to actually have an adult discussion with me rather than immediately jumping on defensive (( Honestly quite unnecessarily)) You would understand that the reason I know, the reason I understand is because I grew up an obese child, I know the very, very, very terrible effects that growing up obese can have on a child both physically and emotionally, AND YES we should treat our children to love their bodies no matter what they look like on the outside, BUT the plain and simple truth is that for every one compliment that you are giving your child at home, THEY are probably getting at least 3 from someone at school whose parents DIDN’T teach them that everyone is beautiful! And physically yes, THERE are some people who are obese who have absolutely no medical issues, except for the majority that is simply not the case and I can tell you that from experience because when you almost have a stroke at 20 years old…. THAT’S BAD! And you are absolutely right there is a laundry list full of medical conditions that do make it very easy for people to gain weight, and difficult for them to get it off and if you have one of those I COMPLETELY sympathize with you! I GET IT!!!
But you are the example you set for your children and that is with everything you do everything you do and do not put into your body (( MATT YOU NON VEGETABLE EATER !!!!! DAMNNNNN YOU! )) And yes things like medical conditions can make this hard! I KNOW!!!! I have a chronic illness, some days I don’t even want to get out of bed because I am so tired, my body aches, but I know that by getting up, GETTING DRESSED ( I think that this one we have extensively covered in this blog and how very much of a pet peeve of mine this one is! )And showing my children that NO MATTER WHAT you take LIFE BY THE HORNS, you run your life, you don’t let life run you, they will be less likely in the long run to become over powered by things. You simply have to get up and start doing little things with your children even if you just start by taking them outside in your own yard and look for things in nature, something is better than nothing!
The Homestead Transformation 