From the Sydney Morning Herald comes this important news item, presented at the Pediatric Academic Society’s annual meeting: Kids get obese because of dad, not mom.
Here’s the first two paragraphs:
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THE parenting style of fathers, but not mothers, determines whether a child becomes overweight or obese, ground-breaking Australian research has found.
The study of 5000 four- and five-year-olds showed children whose fathers had permissive or disengaged parenting styles had a higher risk of being too heavy.
First off, hey, isn’t that a nice Mother’s Day present! Second, as a dad, I get it. This may change over time, but for now, it does seem that, for the most part, dads are expected to set the boundaries, and if they don’t, the wheels come off the wagon. And I’m a lenient dad, so I see this first hand. And it reminds me, yet again, that I have to be the bad guy, which I hate. So go read the rest and then come back here and comment - How does this affect your family?
3 responses so far ↓
Slouching Mom // May 15, 2007 at 5:29 am
First off I need to qualify my comment by saying that I have not read the study yet.
But: I hate studies like this. Because what isn’t covered by “permissive” and “disengaged” parenting styles?
Karen // May 15, 2007 at 7:28 am
I just read the article and I find it hard to believe. Mothers’ parenting styles had no impact? Men potentially exert greater influence on the food available? They found what they found; I’m not disputing their results, but it seems like this article must have oversimplified or something. Here’s my uneducated, oversimplified theory: Fathers with permissive or disengaged parenting styles give children whatever they ask for, whether it’s good for them or not. Whereas even a permissive mother will avoid creating more work for herself by allowing a kid to get on a sugar high. Wait, did I just rephrase the article in more accusatory language?
Susana // May 15, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Overweight kids
Nearly one in four children are overweight in the U.S. If your child is one of
them, it’s time to do something about it. You as the parent have the responsibility to control your child’s eating habits and activities.
Not sure if your child is overweight, click the link below for free results.
Tips for Parents to help their overweight child:
· Reduce their time playing video games and watching television, which are both sedentary activities.
· Be active with your child whether it be bicycling, walking, bowling or a hike in the park.
· You be the role model by eating healthy foods and limiting unhealthy snacks in the house.
· Try to limit your eating out habits and make more nutritious meals at home.
· Give them healthy snacks like frozen yogurt, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, dried fruits, nuts, angel food cake topped with strawberries or breads and crackers made with enriched flour and whole grains, served with fruit spread or fat-free cheese
Now you can get your child’s weight on track and build their self-esteem, read more at the link below for great info.
http://naturalsupply.blogspot.com/2007/05/overweight-kids.html
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