Pizza, Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, Whole Milk and Fruit Snacks are something elementary kids are very familiar with. A typical school lunch consists of chicken nuggets and french fries, or mozzarella sticks and full fat milk. And somehow there’s an obesity epidemic in this country? Well, who’s at fault? Is it right to blame the kids who don’t know any better when it comes to nutrition?
A third grade student at PS-29, Gwendolyn Williams was told she was overweight by a letter from the Department of Education. The letter was not intended for her eyes, but her parents. The purpose was to inform them that their daughter was one pound overweight. However, curiosity got the best of the nine year old and she peeked into the envelope and unleashing toxic thoughts into her tiny head. Was she fat? That night when her mom was tucking her in, she told her mom, “The school told me I was fat. Is this what they mean?” she asked as she jiggled her thighs.
Why has fat shaming become so prevalent in our society? Telling someone their fat won’t make you any slimmer or fuller. Does bringing someones insecurities to light provide you with a sense of accomplishment? Have we really stooped so low as a society to labeling children? Be sensitive with your tongue. Words hurt and cannot be revoked.
Rather than make children feel guilty that they are doing something wrong by labeling them ‘overweight’ when they aren’t yet a teenager, why don’t we educate them? Many adults don’t understand proper nutrition values. Why is this? Because, most people have never learned growing up. There is much debate over the macronutrients that is proper for your body. Many people believe we should eat more protein than fats, while others believe we should have an equal amount of fats, proteins, and carbs. Fad diets only make misinformation about nutrition worse by further changing the numbers.
For children, labels should not exist, but we should be teaching them proper habits without making it an obsession or a fear. Make exercising fun for your kids, not a chore! Make sure they get at least an hour a day of outdoor exercise. Get them away from the video games and social networking, and outside with a ball. Like the good old days. Food should not be looked at as a reward, but fuel to run your body. Do not enforce the ‘you can’t leave the table, until your plate is cleared’ rule. This leads kids to become out of touch with their bodies as adults, losing the ability to tell when they are hungry and deciding when they had enough. Junk food is OK in moderation. Eliminating it completely leads to binge-ing, and that’s not good either.
As they get older, teach your children about healthy eating. Help them learn to read nutrition labels. But make it so it’s a life lesson, not something they obsess over. This is what can lead to eating disorder tendencies. It’s a sensitive subject, as kids are very impressionable and must be handled very carefully.
Words hurt. They last longer than physical wounds, because they can never be forgotten once they are uttered. Labels are burned forever in memories and can cause permanent lifelong damage. Be careful how you talk about people and don’t be too quick to brand someone with a label. Think before you speak.
