Children today

[sfs982000]

These 2 quotes bring up a particular point that particularly burns my butt, these were from another thread regarding recruits being too fat to serve in the military and I didn't want to get sidetracked on that particular thread.

"They feed our kids crap, that's why they're sick and fat!"

OK, so pack them a lunch and don't let them eat the crap. And try to remember, it's one meal a day that they eat at school. What are you serving them for breakfast and dinner? What exercise are you making sure they get?

"Our kids don't listen to us, they do what they want to!"

Then you are a lousy rotten parent and no mistake.

It really burns my butt that some parents today are sooo lazy that they rely on everyone else to raise their children (that includes grandparents raising their grandchildren, but that's for another thread). It may make me sound like a bad parent in some folks eyes, but as far as my kids are concerned, I own their butts until they're 18. If they don't do what I expect of them then they're punished for it. I'm not talking about physical punishment, but losses of privileges, etc.... It seems like some parents today are scared of being parents for fear of what other people will think of them. I know that this is a sensitive subject and I'm not trying to offend folks, it's just me getting on my soapbox.

 

[girlbug2]

It would help a lot if parents today weren't villified for spanking their kids. That's a time-honored method of discipline that for some reason became redefined as "CHILD ABUSE" by Generation X.

 

[Nomad]

I strongly agree with your sentiments, and as a parent have watched several amazing kids who have been pretty much ruined by poor parenting. This definitely includes some child obesity cases, as well as families where the kids run roughshod over the parents. What's really sad is that I believe these were completely preventable if the parents' chose to do the hard job earlier... now I'm not sure if the problems can be fixed; certainly not without a LOT of work and probably some serious outside counselling.

One that drove me absolutely bananas was hearing that a 10 year old child of a friend of ours was "refusing to go to school" WTF?

How did they ever get the idea that this was in any way optional?

My kids are well aware that pulling a stunt like that simply wouldn't work, because we set boundaries while they were young, and were consistent in enforcing threatened punishments. My wife and I also present a united front, even if we may disagree on some aspects of rules or punishments in private; that's something that the kids don't need to see, and frankly, I've seen other kids use that sort of thing as a wedge to cause further conflict in the family.

Ultimately, the single largest influence on any child is his/her parents and family situation. If he or she goes "wrong", that's the place to look first and hardest... It's very easy to look at some of the "ills" of society (cafeteria lunches, violent TV shows or video games, drugs, gangs, and so on ad nauseum) and give them the blame when it frequently lies closer to home.

 

[Touch Of Death]

Perhaps P.E. should be more emphasized in the schools. It's not unreasonable for the government to take a more forward approach considering that relying on parents, to do it themselves, is not working.
Sean

 

[MJS]

It would help a lot if parents today weren't villified for spanking their kids. That's a time-honored method of discipline that for some reason became redefined as "CHILD ABUSE" by Generation X.

Couldn't agree more. There is a difference between slapping your kid on the rear once or twice and literally leaving marks. When I was younger, I'd get that 'look', and if I didn't take heed, I'd get a whack on the ***.

Today, you even dream about doing that, the kids are calling 911, and DFC is knocking on your door. Go figure.

 

[MJS]

These 2 quotes bring up a particular point that particularly burns my butt, these were from another thread regarding recruits being too fat to serve in the military and I didn't want to get sidetracked on that particular thread.

"They feed our kids crap, that's why they're sick and fat!"

OK, so pack them a lunch and don't let them eat the crap. And try to remember, it's one meal a day that they eat at school. What are you serving them for breakfast and dinner? What exercise are you making sure they get?

"Our kids don't listen to us, they do what they want to!"

Then you are a lousy rotten parent and no mistake.

It really burns my butt that some parents today are sooo lazy that they rely on everyone else to raise their children (that includes grandparents raising their grandchildren, but that's for another thread). It may make me sound like a bad parent in some folks eyes, but as far as my kids are concerned, I own their butts until they're 18. If they don't do what I expect of them then they're punished for it. I'm not talking about physical punishment, but losses of privileges, etc.... It seems like some parents today are scared of being parents for fear of what other people will think of them. I know that this is a sensitive subject and I'm not trying to offend folks, it's just me getting on my soapbox.

Typical case of the people having kids, and never taking the blame or responsibility for them, doing as you said, expecting others to do it. Of course, kids learn what they live, so if the parents dont care what they eat, neither will the kids. If the kids dont listen, its because the parents dont know how to be parents.

 

[Satt]

Children...:whip1:

 

[Stac3y]

I do think that schools have a responsibility to provide only healthy food, but if a school isn't doing that, parents need to get active and get that changed, and send lunches with their kids until it is.

 

[dancingalone]

I do think that schools have a responsibility to provide only healthy food, but if a school isn't doing that, parents need to get active and get that changed, and send lunches with their kids until it is.

It's tough to do that with the budgetary pressures they are on. I believe they have in general a target price of no more than $1.50 a meal for the base offering. Given that, the school cafeterias often resort to cheap solutions like fried fish sticks and such which offer at least the minimum requirements in protein and other nutrients. Unfortunately, I don't think the government requirements mention things like cholesterol or sugars which are obviously important in considering a healthy diet.