# First Lady talks about daughters' weight on TV



## Judge_Dre (Feb 3, 2010)

This article was just posted on Shine.Yahoo.com. 
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/pare...-weight-if-it-s-for-the-national-good-579635/

*
Is it okay to talk about your daughters weight if its for the national good?*

*by Mira Jacob*

Two weeks after announcing the unnerving news that childhood obesity has tripled over the last 30 years, and unveiling her own initiative to combat it, Michelle Obama has offended critics by discussing her own wake-up momentwhen the family pediatrician told her that daughters Sasha and Malia were becoming overweight.

In my eyes I thought my children were perfect, Mrs. Obama said at the January launch of her initiative. I didnt see the changes.

While innocuous to some, this comment has set off both valid and not-so-valid criticism in the blogosphereeverything from calling the first lady well-intentioned-but-misguided to hinting that she could be tipping off her daughters future eating disorders. Even with one-third of American children classified as overweight or obese, several critics are far more concerned with Michelle Obamas anecdotal use of her daughters.

Jeanne Sager, a writer for Strollerderby who admits to reading everything through eating-disorder glasses says she feels worried for the girls because their mother has taken an extremely touchy subject out into the open.

She goes on to say, On the brink of teenagehood, Malia Obama is at an especially precarious position. With a naturally changing body, the idea that she has to face the world debating her fat puts her at higher risk for an eating disorder.

In a post that delineates the difference between what is accepted in the eating disorder world vs. "the outside world," Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh of the Huffington Post writes, I am sucker-punched to read that our First Family put their daughters on a 'diet' because they feared 'obesity' and no doubt will be lauded for itThis is not an eating disorder issue, however, and it should not be only us who know this and speak out about it. These are medical, social, and ultimately self-defeating errors in thinking that do harm to all children and all of us. I am very sad today.

Jezebel brings up the fair point (via Fox News Channel contributor Michelle Malkin) that perhaps in revealing that her children have had weight issues too Michelle Obama is exposing her children to scrutiny at an early age. Judging from the over-scrutinized lives of other White House daughtersfrom Amy Carter to Chelsea Clinton to the Bush twinsthats one fate the Obamas might want to avoid whenever possible.
Mrs. Obama also sat down for a revealing interview on The Today Show (see clip below), where she talked about keeping Sasha and Malia grounded, finding time for dinner, and handling the pressures of being a style icon.


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## superodalisque (Feb 3, 2010)

Judge_Dre said:


> This article was just posted on Shine.Yahoo.com.
> http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/pare...-weight-if-it-s-for-the-national-good-579635/
> 
> *
> ...



i would have put my daughters first over the national interest. i wouldn't talk about thier size or put them up for national scrutiny like that. women especially have more than enough people judging thier bodies. i think they should be taught early that its thier private business between themselves and thier doctor. if Mrs. Obama wanted to discuss weight she should have discussed her own in my opinion and respected the privacy of her girls in the irresponsible press environment that we have.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 3, 2010)

I liked to imagine that Michelle Obama was smarter/better than this......

Kids first....don't go on the national media criticizing your daughters. Bad move....very bad.

Oh and I never realized that "perfection" had a weight limit.....*my* bad...

My father ridiculing me out in public over my weight or eating habits never made me thin, btw.


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## Paquito (Feb 3, 2010)

I expected way more from Michelle. Way to call out your own daughters, who are constantly bathed in the spotlight and under public scrutiny, and going through difficult life stages. 

Way to class it up Michelle.


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## toni (Feb 3, 2010)

This doesn't surprise me. They will stop at nothing to push an agenda. I find it sick that she does not know where to draw the line.


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## musicman (Feb 4, 2010)

This is indeed sad, but the goal of the "war on obesity" is to re-define all fat people as being "sick", so more money can flow to drug companies, WLS doctors, diet scammers, and insurance companies, who will "cure" those poor unfortunate people. Once someone is defined as sick, we are justified in doing anything we can to help them, because they are unable to help themselves. If that includes throwing our children under a bus, either literally or psychologically, then we have to do it to help others, right? It's good to see Michelle doing her part to serve her corporate masters. Her children are just unavoidable collateral damage.


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## BeaBea (Feb 4, 2010)

superodalisque said:


> if Mrs. Obama wanted to discuss weight she should have discussed her own in my opinion and respected the privacy of her girls in the irresponsible press environment that we have.



This says it all in my opinion!
Tracey xx


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## Dr. Feelgood (Feb 4, 2010)

superodalisque said:


> i would have put my daughters first over the national interest.



This is why you will never be a First Lady. Instead of 'the national interest', though -- is more hysteria about BMI really in the national interest? -- let's say 'politics'. In politics, when you're drawing a lot of flak, you try to distract people by getting them to think about something other than what you're doing (or not doing). Right now the President is under fire, not only from the right (as ever), but from those who supported him and are disappointed that he hasn't magically brought about an economic boom yet. What better time to encourage America's national pastime -- worrying about your weight? It has the extra advantage of being confessional ("I let my babies get fat!"), and we _love_ repentent sinners! It also helps form a bond with their constituents: we may be the Presidential family, but we have to struggle with our weights _just like you!_Like GEF, I had hoped Michelle Obama was better than this, but smarter? I'd call her dumb like a fox.


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## stan_der_man (Feb 4, 2010)

I'm personally very disappointed in some of the directions that Pres. Obama (and now Mrs. Obama) have been going with health care reform... this included. First these recent "findings" by a panel backed by the Obama administration that women supposedly don't need as many mammograms for beast cancer screeming which they presently receive, a number that most professionals in the medical industry have supported in the past. My sister died of breast cancer as a matter of fact, because her cancer wasn't caught in time. Now this sudden emphasis on weight loss by Mrs. Obama relating to her daughters. I absolutely supported the idea of organic food, growing gardens, and eating healthy, but advocating weight loss across the board like this strikes me as being odd. I'm definitely sensing that Obama is acquiescing to the interests of the insurance industry, and maybe now even the interests of the diet industry...

I voted for Nader BTW... I bet his wife wouldn't have done that.


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## Weirdo890 (Feb 5, 2010)

Oh boy, what a sad state of affairs this is. Honestly, you would think she would want to keep that private. :doh: The whole world doesn't need to know about her children's medical history or any issues they may be having. I agree that she's only setting up her children for more scrutiny from the media, as if the family didn't have enough issues to contend with.


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## kioewen (Feb 5, 2010)

musicman said:


> This is indeed sad, but the goal of the "war on obesity" is to re-define all fat people as being "sick", so more money can flow to drug companies, WLS doctors, diet scammers, and insurance companies, who will "cure" those poor unfortunate people. Once someone is defined as sick, we are justified in doing anything we can to help them, because they are unable to help themselves. If that includes throwing our children under a bus, either literally or psychologically, then we have to do it to help others, right? It's good to see Michelle doing her part to serve her corporate masters. Her children are just unavoidable collateral damage.



Very well put. This is a new low. Plus Michelle's appearance suggests that she's quite gym-obsessed herself. I feel sorry for those daughters, even ultra-privileged as they are.


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## Alison (Feb 6, 2010)

I really don't see the big deal here. She just said that the doctor warned her about their BMI numbers. If she didn't say anything and the girls gained a lot of weight she would be criticized for doing nothing while they got that large. I believe she only wants to promote healtheir eating. No matter what anyone says I'm sure there is someone out there that will miconstrue it to fit their own agenda or beliefs.


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## Paquito (Feb 6, 2010)

But all she's doing is focusing on the BMI numbers. She's only started this regime since the doctor's visits. There's nothing wrong with wanting to promote healthy eating, but children should be learning that no matter what, not just if they're getting into the "danger zones" of BMI. 

And if I was one of the Obama girls, and my mom was going on a national circuit with my personal weight as her headline, I would be pissed. I'd feel hurt, betrayed, and humiliated that the entire world was hearing about my personal business. Especially in this weight-conscious society.


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## stillblessed23 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hmm, this is where the cycle starts. I wont even go into how much, " In my eyes, I thought my daughters were perfect," offends me. I remember when my pediatrican classified me as "overweight" when I was 8 years old. I was about 70lbs then and 10 lbs over the weight for my height. My family went crazy. 

My aunt put me on diet after diet. This ultimately broke down my metabolism, and mixed with puberty, (and my inner desires to be a chubster anyway lol) played a hand at making me a very plump 240 lb sixth grader. 

I love my body, but in retrospect, had my aunt simply encouraged me to join a sport, and to have fun, instead of keeping me cooped up in the house every afternoon and weekend, and taught me to eat in "moderation," my weight might not have gotten so out of hand, so young. I don't know the exact reason of why I wanted to be fat when I was a child, perhaps it was because my aunt (who was about 400 lbs btw) hated it so much. Her hate probably made me want it even more. The last thing we need are more parents thinking that rediculing their children, and forcing them to diet is the answer. It is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons that childhood obseity is skyrocketing. 

Children begin to tie their emotions to food once this rediculing takes place, children eat what they want in order to rebel or to feel better, and then they face redicule from every angle. I am not saying that this will happen to Sasha and Malia but I know personally, the things my family said to me about my weight, hurt much worse than anything a peer could say. The problem lies in thinking, oh no my child is fat- I'm a failure as a parent and a person, let me tackle this before it becomes worse. Trust me "causing" your child to gain weight, putting a hand in their physical "imperfections" is miniscule compared to some of the things I have seen and heard some parents do when it comes to their children. That is the mentality that makes the situation "worse."


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## thatgirl08 (Feb 7, 2010)

I'd be so fucking mad if my mom was like HEY WORLD, MY DAUGHTER IS FAT AND NEEDS TO LOSE A FEW. It's disrespectful. If she wants to talk healthy eating, talk healthy eating.. don't throw your kids under the bus to make a point.. can you even imagine that pressure? I hated when my parents would put me on a diet and I'd feel so much pressure to lose.. can you imagine that except times a few million because THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS WATCHING YOU. jesus. No thank you.


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## exile in thighville (Feb 7, 2010)

musicman said:


> This is indeed sad, but the goal of the "war on obesity" is to re-define all fat people as being "sick", so more money can flow to drug companies, WLS doctors, diet scammers, and insurance companies, who will "cure" those poor unfortunate people. Once someone is defined as sick, we are justified in doing anything we can to help them, because they are unable to help themselves. If that includes throwing our children under a bus, either literally or psychologically, then we have to do it to help others, right? It's good to see Michelle doing her part to serve her corporate masters. Her children are just unavoidable collateral damage.



yes. yes. yes.


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## JMNYC (Feb 12, 2010)

First ladies have it rough in that they are picked on for what they do and what they do not do. 

This is an issue Ms. Obama hopes the least possible people will be offended by.

War on drugs? Nancy Reagan already solved that problem with "Just Say No" 25 years ago.

Keeping young girls from being impregnated before they are emotionally, financially and physically able to care for their offspring? No---too hot a topic. 

Literacy for children? So they don't all grow up? Thinking a statement is followed by a question mark? Not. 

Stopping childhood obesity---hell, yea. Who's gonna come forward and say they're pro-childhood obesity?

Don't worry, though. Sashia and Malia will pay her back. Watch.


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## disconnectedsmile (Feb 12, 2010)

toni said:


> This doesn't surprise me. They will stop at nothing to push an agenda. I find it sick that she does not know where to draw the line.



this sounds like Hyde Park material.


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## toni (Feb 12, 2010)

disconnectedsmile said:


> this sounds like Hyde Park material.



Congratulations


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## Jay West Coast (Feb 13, 2010)

If I wasn't capable of cognitive dissonance, I'd so be a Republican right now. Very lame.


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## t3h_n00b (Feb 20, 2010)

Green Eyed Fairy said:


> I liked to imagine that Michelle Obama was smarter/better than this......
> 
> Kids first....don't go on the national media criticizing your daughters. Bad move....very bad.
> 
> ...



Even the smartest people seem to lose their marbles at the thought of weight (particularly when it involves female bodies). There is a tremendous amount of terror instilled in the hearts and minds of our society. I really hate it.


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## Seraphina (Feb 20, 2010)

t3h_n00b said:


> Even the smartest people seem to lose their marbles at the thought of weight (particularly when it involves female bodies). There is a tremendous amount of terror instilled in the hearts and minds of our society. I really hate it.



I think it's just sad that we can't celebrate the differences between each other. Like fat is really something to be scared of? Well yes it is in this society and then we wonder why we have kids who have no self-esteem and no self-respect. It's not really the media's fault there is a body perfect society but it is parents' fault that kids grow up with no idea how to have any self-worth based on anything but their weight. Part of me says that Michelle Obama was trying to be helpful but she is as guilty as anyone else of treating "fat" like it's a dirty little secret and why should it be because it's not anything to actually be ashamed of. I just wish that the rest of the world would get that.


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## Eastern_Shadow (Feb 20, 2010)

*“In my eyes I thought my children were perfect,” Mrs. Obama said at the January launch of her initiative. “I didn’t see the changes.”
*
Thats pretty messed up for a parent to say~ no matter the subject, saying your child isn't perfect in your eyes, especially to the masses... if I were them I'm not sure how I would react...


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## collared Princess (Feb 21, 2010)

I know that I have to work very hard at repairing my son's out look on food and weight thanks to school and tv..
He used to look at labels on cans constantly and ask over and over if this food is health or not..I have to reprogram him everytime there is a "New Health" class..mind you the boy is 14 weighs 125 and is 5'7 
I agree that this is only going to cause eating disorders..


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## kayrae (Feb 21, 2010)

I don't think there's anything wrong with your son looking at the labels of cans to decipher whether food is healthy/unhealthy. I mean, maybe there is if he's obsessive about it.


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## mossystate (Feb 21, 2010)

Sometimes kids don't know what the hell to think when they get two widely different set of ' shoulds '.


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## KittyKitten (Feb 24, 2010)

The part that disgusts me is the MD thinking those girls are "overweight". Sad. Medical doctors are so behind, even scientists are rethinking that 'fat is unhealthy' bullshit argument.

Medical doctors will prefer you to be a stick size.


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## onlyssbbw4me (Feb 24, 2010)

Its amazing how the media rarely if ever uses the words "overweight" "plump" "heavy" or "chubby" anymore... 

It seems nowadays that if a person is over 120lbs, immediately they use the word obese or morbidly obese to catagorize EVERYONE.

...Totally ridiculous


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## MattB (Feb 25, 2010)

JMNYC said:


> snip
> 
> Don't worry, though. Sashia and Malia will pay her back. Watch.



This is the first thing I thought of too. It will be interesting to see if Michelle continues to use them as an example going forward. There's nothing wrong with advocating healthier lifestyles, but she has definitely threw her girls under the bus. They may be the 'First Family', but they are a family first, with all the issues included...I hope the girls don't get too hurt by this, I can only imagine what it would be like to grow up in the White House in general...



onlyssbbw4me said:


> Its amazing how the media rarely if ever uses the words "overweight" "plump" "heavy" or "chubby" anymore...
> 
> It seems nowadays that if a person is over 120lbs, immediately they use the word obese or morbidly obese to catagorize EVERYONE.
> 
> ...Totally ridiculous



Using alarmist terms gets viewership and readers. Rule of thumb for anything is 'follow the money'*. They wouldn't get get much attention if they came out with stories titled "Americans Getting Fluffier"...

*BTW- I'm very much a pro-money capitalist, I'm just against those who use it for evil!


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## moore2me (Feb 26, 2010)

And if Michelle Obama hadn't already made a giganto mistake by dissing her daughter(s) in public - she made another equally horrible error. . . . She teamed with our ex-Governor Huckabee to launch her campaign against childhood obesity. My God, woman - have you no shame? I thought you were smarter than the Huckster's followers. 

This is the man who made Arkansas schools measure and send home BMI and fat indexes on elementary kids. And then give recs on how to fix kids that were too fat. 

He wouldn't let teachers give out (or moms bring to school) party treats like cupcakes or cookies! I guess it was okay for a Valentine's day elementary party to pass out religious material (related to his religion). 

And Michelle will probably also want to get on board with his former platforms on not teaching birth control to teens (just abstinance - good luck with that!) and teaching the Christian fundamentalist version of creation along with the THEORY of evolution in public schools.

I have a great idea that will help Michelle and her hubby gain some Republic points to add more acceptance with their health care agenda. *Why don't you appoint the Huckster as Surgeon General? * I wouldn't worry about his not being a doctor - he could be appointed an honorary doctor of divinity at the school of your choosing. (Just fund them a little of your weight loss grant money.)


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## mithrandirjn (Feb 27, 2010)

It was a poor choice of words on the First Lady's part, and I wouldn't blame anyone for taking offense at the implications of "perfect", but I think it's pretty safe to say she didn't mean it the way it came across.

"Perfect" could be interpreted any number of ways, from an innocent "I always figured they didn't have any health issues whatsoever to worry about", to a more malicious "I thought they were perfect, not fatty-fat-fats!".

I don't think she meant anything by it, but she DEFINITELY made a poor choice in diction.

The bigger issue, as was already said in this thread, is that there's still this continuing blind over-reliance on BMI as any kind of helpful measurement of overall health.


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## mossystate (Feb 27, 2010)

mithrandirjn said:


> "Perfect" could be interpreted any number of ways, from an innocent "I always figured they didn't have any health issues whatsoever to worry about "..




What weight related health issues did the little girls have? I confess I did not read everything.


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## mithrandirjn (Feb 28, 2010)

mossystate said:


> What weight related health issues did the little girls have? I confess I did not read everything.



It may not be any, but just hearing about obesity risks will trigger off horrors in some parents' brains.


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## moore2me (Mar 2, 2010)

mithrandirjn said:


> It may not be any, but just hearing about obesity risks will trigger off horrors in some parents' brains.



It reminds me of *The Music Man*, when Professor Harold Hill sold the parents of River City on a boys' band to keep the lads out of the wicked pool hall. (Saying they used swear words like, "So's your old man!")

The problem was the kids were never in the pool hall as charged and the Professor was a con man who knew nothing about bands, he just wanted to steal the parent's money and run.


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## mithrandirjn (Mar 6, 2010)

moore2me said:


> It reminds me of *The Music Man*, when Professor Harold Hill sold the parents of River City on a boys' band to keep the lads out of the wicked pool hall. (Saying they used swear words like, "So's your old man!")
> 
> The problem was the kids were never in the pool hall as charged and the Professor was a con man who knew nothing about bands, he just wanted to steal the parent's money and run.



Hah, yes, I was in that show back in the day, and always appreciated the Simpson's parody of it, as well. 

In all honesty, childhood obesity IS something, in my opinion, that should be addressed, because children aren't going to be informed enough to take steps to live healthier lives even if they're bigger (too often, you're dealing with parents who allow their children to overindulge on anything, and I'm not just referring to food).

Your habit forming process begins extremely early in life. If you learn to be sedentary as a kid, that's going to be a tough shell to bust out of. If your eating habits early on offer little in the way of nutrition, it's likely you'll continue those habits for quite awhile. These are much bigger problems than kids putting on a couple pounds.

Obviously, this isn't true of every case, but, again, kids aren't usually in control of what kinds of food their parents provide them with, aren't always in control of how much exercise they can get (considering how freakin' busy we make our kids these days), and thus aren't truly in control of what kind of health habits they develop early on.

All that said, there's never a reason for a kid to be singled out over weight, to be ostracized for it, etc. You don't teach healthy habits by teaching shame.

It's a microcosm of the greater problem in this society when discussing weight as it relates to overall health: obsession over the most visually obvious part of the equation, the fat itself, completely clouds what SHOULD be the goal, getting people to make healthier choices and to take care of themselves, while simultaneously not feeling ashamed of their size and/or appearance.


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## collared Princess (Mar 9, 2010)

I think a much much much better cause for the first lady would be hunger and the homeless here in America..I mean there are towns with people living in tents with not enough food..
There are so many more important things for her to do


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## mithrandirjn (Mar 9, 2010)

collared Princess said:


> I think a much much much better cause for the first lady would be hunger and the homeless here in America..I mean there are towns with people living in tents with not enough food..
> There are so many more important things for her to do



A fellow Jerseyan! 

In all honesty, she probably IS doing something concerning hunger/homelessness, but she's limited in what influence she can have. The changes needed to address those problems have to come more from legislation, I would think.

Unfortunately, like it or not, childhood obesity is an honest to God major issue that should be addressed. We're currently embroiled in a health care crisis; I'm NOT about to say that's the fault of fat people, but it certainly has been driven by people developing very unhealthy habits that, frankly, can be overcome if dealt with early enough. 

Again, that's not pointing the finger at big people, especially big people who take better care of themselves than many thin people out there. But kids who become obese (and I'm not just referring to BMI-obese, which doesn't compensate for a kid who just grows faster or is naturally bigger than the other kids) likely aren't engaged in healthy habits. Hell, there are ton of non-obese kids who have terrible health habits, and that should be addressed, as well.


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## lypeaches (Mar 10, 2010)

Monday night I went to Subway which is in combination with a Baskin Robbins. Whilst I was waiting for my sandwich to be assembled...a mother with 2 young girls came in...I'd say 6 and 9 years old. They were standing back, studying the menu, trying to decide what to get. The 6 year old started bugging her mom..."can I please get the apple slices? please please please". 

Her mom asked, "why do you want the apple slices?" 

"Because they're pretty", the girl replied, "there's green and red and yellow ones. Please can I have some apple slices?" 

"We have apples at home", said mom. "We came here for ice cream, so you're having ice cream."

Little girl said, "but I don't want ice cream, I'd rather have apples"

Mom replied, "sorry, no, you're having ice cream". 

Now, I realize that there may be some weird back story to this conversation, some bizarre rational, but it just sounded so wrong to me, I felt like I had landed on another planet.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Mar 10, 2010)

lypeaches said:


> Monday night I went to Subway which is in combination with a Baskin Robbins. Whilst I was waiting for my sandwich to be assembled...a mother with 2 young girls came in...I'd say 6 and 9 years old. They were standing back, studying the menu, trying to decide what to get. The 6 year old started bugging her mom..."can I please get the apple slices? please please please".
> 
> Her mom asked, "why do you want the apple slices?"
> 
> ...



That back story is called control, Lypeaches. Control is that mystical thing that some of us mothers like to think we have.....and act a bit nutty over when we have 6 year old children as our bosses 

Mom sick of children constantly changing everything up and never listening methinks. However, she did seem to lose some logic in that quest......

Seriously though.....it thrills me when ONE of my girls wants those apples slices at McDonalds. You should hear what an idiot I sound like carrying on about how wonderfully sweet apples are....:blink:


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## CleverBomb (Mar 11, 2010)

It should be noted that "unhealthy" food (heavily processed, high-fat, high-cholesterol, HFCS-laden stuff) is cheaper and much more available than "healthy" food. 

A sound diet isn't for the faint of wallet. 

-Rusty


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## mithrandirjn (Mar 11, 2010)

CleverBomb said:


> It should be noted that "unhealthy" food (heavily processed, high-fat, high-cholesterol, HFCS-laden stuff) is cheaper and much more available than "healthy" food.
> 
> A sound diet isn't for the faint of wallet.
> 
> -Rusty



No argument here. It's a sad fact of life at the moment that the food industry in this country is predicated on just about anything BUT offering food with actual health benefits. We've even gotten to the point where generations of adding various crap to crops around the country has caused corn to lose almost all of it's nutritional value, unless you buy it organic.

That being said, it's still entirely possible to make smarter choices. It does require some education, something sadly denied some people, though in a day and age where almost all of us have 'Net access, we should be able to at least partially educate ourselves. 

I'll always admit: the system is stacked against people. Restaurants like to pump their food full of junk that causes your body to forget to tell you it's full, so there are times when even your body's most basic defense against unwise choices, the ability to say "I'm done", is being denied.

However, that's where educating kids about better choices early on in life comes in. Frankly, there should be more done to actually fix the damn food industry, but that's going to take years to tackle.


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## lypeaches (Mar 11, 2010)

Green Eyed Fairy said:


> That back story is called control, Lypeaches. Control is that mystical thing that some of us mothers like to think we have.....and act a bit nutty over when we have 6 year old children as our bosses
> 
> Mom sick of children constantly changing everything up and never listening methinks. However, she did seem to lose some logic in that quest......
> 
> Seriously though.....it thrills me when ONE of my girls wants those apples slices at McDonalds. You should hear what an idiot I sound like carrying on about how wonderfully sweet apples are....:blink:



Yeah, my parents do the same thing, going on and on about how sweet the strawberries/watermelon/peas/corn/fill-in-the-blank with whatever the fresh produce is. "Just like candy!", they'd pronounce, which would prompt great eye rolls from us kids. Still, I do have an appreciation of fruits and vegetables to this day. 

As to the control issue, or otherwise...it's why I would never say something to a parent, because I know that things are often not as they appear.


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## fatgirlflyin (Mar 11, 2010)

lypeaches said:


> Monday night I went to Subway which is in combination with a Baskin Robbins. Whilst I was waiting for my sandwich to be assembled...a mother with 2 young girls came in...I'd say 6 and 9 years old. They were standing back, studying the menu, trying to decide what to get. The 6 year old started bugging her mom..."can I please get the apple slices? please please please".
> 
> Her mom asked, "why do you want the apple slices?"
> 
> ...



LOL she probably would have threw a hissy fit at home after eating one apple slice, especially with her sister right there eating her ice cream.


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## mossystate (Mar 11, 2010)

My parents just served the food, right from the start. That seems so novel an idea these days. No, " now, here is a vegetable...you might not like it, but just try it...please, honey?! ". Was not forced on us, it was just naturally and normally presented. I am sure I didn't like some things, but that is the way it goes with anything in life. I have an almost 4 year old nephew, and he is a piiiiiicky little booger. When he turns that magical 4, he is no longer going to be as coddled as he is with the food thing. Should be fun times around that house.  I can already hear his tummy growling.


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## mithrandirjn (Mar 14, 2010)

Huh, looking back, I think my parents caved too easily on my refusal to eat a lot of fruits and veggies as a kid, which is odd, since my parents weren't typically ones to just let me get away with anything or just give into whatever I wanted. I was a REALLY picky eater (basically only wanted to eat peanut butter for about an entire year when I was 5...and it had to be a specific brand, and I could tell!), so maybe they tried and just couldn't break through. Once my dad got diabetes when I was a little older, our family started making sure we had more greens on the table, so I finally started eating them more.

I eat a lot more veggies now and have worked on eating more fruits, but I recently went on a much healthier-eating kick (had a blood sugar level scare while taking some medication), and it's crazy how my body's reacting to the changes after the years of less-than-stellar eating habits...and I'm only 24, and my eating habits weren't _completely_ out of hand or anything.


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