I caught up on the first episode of Junk Food kids over the weekend and was shocked and saddened. It followed 4 children and their families outlining their lifestyle, diet and resulting health problems.
The main focus of the programme and the story that stayed with me was Tallulah daughter of Natalie. At 4 years old she couldn’t fit into 8-9 year old clothes and needed to have 8 teeth out due to abscesses and awful tooth decay. Having the teeth removed was probably the most shocking part as Tallulah was left was no top teeth and woke in terrible pain. Her Mum gave her juice in a bottle from quite a young age, admitting it was “easier”. Mum, Natalie was overweight too. She was obviously upset about her daughter but there was a very obvious apathy about her. The Dad was not living with her so she was bringing up her children on a day-to-day basis alone. She said no to chocolate for her children when out shopping but gave in 5 minutes later and let them have a chocolate egg each. Tallulah was only brushing her teeth once a day, if that.
As a Mum myself I couldn’t imagine anything worse. I’m not an ogre (although Nanny and Grandma may say otherwise!). My little girl is allowed sugar-free squash and the occasional cake but usually with meals as advised. I always make sure she brushes her teeth twice a day. Why is this different to Natalie? Would having the support of a partner make life easier? Possibly. But I can bet there are many single parents out there who are not in the same situation as Natalie and Tallulah.
It’s easy for me to sit and shout at the television; I’m a qualified health professional. It’s my job to know what food and drink I should be giving my child. The thing is Natalie seemed to know some of it too. Maybe not everything but we were given the impression she could not be bothered and wanted an easy life. I know from experience and the dental consultant on the show stated patients are very good at giving the right answer to us, if not actually the truth. Natalie got up too late to attend Tallulah’s dental hygienist appointment where she would have been taught to brush her daughter’s teeth. Her daughter, who admitted to waking up in pain her teeth hurt so badly.
In Leeds, where the documentary was filmed, one-third of children are overweight. This is staggering. Health professionals gave their views: it is becoming more acceptable to be overweight, it’s the parents fault for letting their children get into such a state. Is it? You could argue it’s the food and drink companies. There is too much sugar in everything. Fizzy drinks and crisps are convenient. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with any of this but I will say as a parent you always have a choice to say no to your children. Don’t buy these things for your child unless as an occasional treat.
From just watching this first show ignorance, laziness and misinformation seemed to be the main issues in the families. One 6 year old boy had 12 milk teeth out after his mother was told to give him juice. It didn’t say who told her. Another 11 year old boy was diagnosed with fatty liver; a condition just as it sounds and very rare for someone his age, caused by him being overweight. Luckily this is reversible but we saw his Mum dish up large portions of fish and chips, not a vegetable in sight! She stated she was having a “lazy night” the night of his diagnosis. Was she being lazy or had she just not understood the seriousness of the condition or the ways to improve it? You did not see them go straight to a dietitian after the medical appointment for some advice to get started.
Ultimately education is key and it is needed right from a child’s birth. This is not just on weaning, healthy eating and drinking but in general parenting skills. For Natalie she needed the tools to be able to say no to her daughter and get her into a better routine and be generally firm; skills she seemed to be lacking. Combine this with regular dietetic support and Tallualah may have a better chance.
Did anyone else watch this? What are your thoughts?
I always get sad when I see extremely over weight kids. Its our duty as parents to feed them healthy and provide a balance meal they can’t do that themselves. It only leads to problems I don’t think I could watch that show I would just get sad. I don’t even give my kids pop, chocolate or ice cream unless extremely big celebrations are going on and it’s all in small portion. We only satisfy ourselves by giving them a whole ice cream cone they don’t need it and wouldn’t know any difference if they never had it. My kids wouldn’t bat an eye at it while others would hyperventilate Ok rant over. lol Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme.
I used to be very very good with food. No sweets and no chocolates and most of our food are veggies and fruits. I only let my son water and milk is only on lunch time and not near bed time. Then my son started being a fuzzy eater. Most of the days when he is about 3 or 4 he can last the day without eating anything. So I gave in a bit in the sweets. Orange Juice diluted in water. Giving him this already makes me feel guilty. I know I can do better but its just to hard as there are other things that is … all in all I wish that I can be better at my son’s eating. I just cant do it as I dont have support.
I havent seen the show and is now interested in it. Maybe I can get something from it. #sharewithme
It’s so hard when they are fussy as you feel they need to have something. My girl is the same now and I try so hard to keep her diet healthy. I think these were some of the issues on the show; support is vital. I’m sure you do a fine job. It must be hard with no support. Thanks for commenting
Certainly they have selected families for the show that will most exemplify behaviors that the believed audience will most react to.
You say in the show that ‘ignorance, laziness and misinformation seemed to be the main issues in the families’. I think there’s often a whole string of issues that leave parents feeling powerless, exhausted and unsupported. It takes a huge amount of determination, elbow grease and will power to turn habits around and change even an individuals lifestyle, never mind a whole family.
I wondered about the image you’ve used for the post, I didn’t see any credit info anywhere – is this your little one? <3
You are right families are very complex and change is a difficult thing for everyone.I stick by what I said re the families but I think there really isn’t one reason for the problem. So not just the family, or the government or the food companies. It needs a lot of thought and work. Yes, the picture is my daughter; ice-cream on holiday. Thanks for the comment!
I didn’t see the programme but I have heard about it. This sort of thing makes me very sad. I think part of the problem is that parents aren’t taking care of themselves either – it sounds like the mum was overweight, couldn’t be bothered, or wasn’t in the habit of cooking healthy meals for herself so why would she automatically do the same for her kids. I must say I feel angry at these parents – I work hard at keeping my kids healthy, I think it is part of my role as a parent. It’s not that difficult. My kids do get chocolate and we have pizza once a week. They know which foods are healthy and which are not and they know if we say no then it’s because they have had too much unhealthy food already. I don’t really know what the solution is to this problem – the whole nation is becoming more unhealthy, how can we expect anything different for our kids?
You are right. The Mum was very overweight and not in the right frame of mind to look after herself. You sound exactly like how it should be. It’s so hard to blame the food companies but ultimately we have the responsibility. It’s a massive challenge. Thanks for the comment
Wow. I know it can be really difficult to say no to your kids sometimes – I’m definitely guilty of giving in to demands for squash (I get the no added sugar kind) and often crisps (I try and go for baked, etc.). They get to have coco pops for breakfast etc. but other than that I try really hard to make sure they get as balanced a diet as possible and even if it’s baked beans on toast for tea some days I figure that’s better than burger & chips or something else with no vegetables. It’s hard to believe that people could seemingly choose to be ignorant and lazy at their children’s expense. Thanks for linking up to #thetruthabout X
I know it can be so hard but you still do it and it sounds like you make the right choices. It was difficult watching and really knowing who to blame was hard. Very complex amount of reasons and lots to do x
Had not heard of this show before, but after hearing your glowing review I can’t say that I’m sad I missed it!
#thetruthabout
It was very sad. Thanks for the comment.
It does make me sad to see children obese from a young age. I do think parents should be helped and educated.
Totally agree. More needs to be done it’s just hard to know where to start.
i watched this at the weekend too on catch up and was shocked like you. It was sad that Tallulah was in pain with her teeth yet her Mom missed an appointment making her suffer for a further 4 weeks. I know that sometimes we are late but a child in pain you’d make extra allowance to ensure you got there
I did find the show a tad biased though as they didn’t really go indepth on the child who had to have teeth taken out to a high fruit/fruit juice diet. We are told to give our children lots of fruit but with all the natural sugars are these too damaging their teeth? I would have liked it tk address that a bit more instead of showing kids eating sweets, chocolate eTc x
Someone else said that to me; there was a lot of talking about the issues but no education included for us. It’s a good point. Thanks for the comment!
Really interesting post, and this is a topic I could talk about until the cows come home! I’m a huge believer in how much the diet affects the whole body and mind. I write two blogs, one is specific to this subject which you might enjoy 🙂
http://mummytriesgaps.wordpress.com
I will have to check that out. Thanks for the comment.
I watched the start but decided to switch it off! I found it too upsetting to watch. Poor kids!
A few people have said that. The teeth bit was particularly upsetting as they are in so much pain.