Actually, this has been on my mind recent;y. I work with both preschoolers and 4th and 5th graders, and in the 4th/5th class yesterday we had current event presentations that included an article about the "5 Worst School Lunches." While I agree that the things on the list (pepperoni pizza, nachos, etc) aren't the most healthy things for children to be eating daily, labeling food as BAD or focusing heavily on calories and fat content (as this article did) can't be good for young children
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All really good points. I totally agree with everything you said.
I think what scares me the most is how young these girls are (as young as 3!). It makes me feel like the push for thinness in our culture is so deeply ingrained that we are passing on that message in so many ways without realizing it.
Everywhere I go I hear mom's talking to other women about how much they hate their bodies, and they're talking right in front of their kids. Little kids, even bigger kids, take the images and scripts that they see and hear and replicate them; this is childhood development 101. if a behavior works for them in any way they'll repeat it. its not cute or funny when your five year old cries or moans about how her belly is "fat."
i know this is an oversimplification, but parents NEED to beware of the examples they themselves set for their kids, and what they let their kids come into contact with.
Also, rewarding kids with food drives me NUTS.
It's been hammered into my skull that I cannot let my students or other children I know and work with understand that I have an eating disorder or value my weight. Its hard to balance everything, but I always try to have my kids see me eating something healthy every time I see them and redirect compliments about my thinness.
sry for the rant. i needed to get on my soapbox ^_^
It bothers me too, because it sets up food to be more than "just food." This unhealthy connotation is inescapable in our culture, but the "food as reward" aspect of it is potentially dangerous. It sets up the association that good behavior = food, when in reality, they're completely unrelated. Regardless if my (hypothetical) child did their homework or not, they should still eat the same amount and variety of food.
It's tricky, because food is already loaded with emotional connotations, good and bad, bestowed upon us by advertising and culture. But I do believe that food should not be used as a reward, under any circumstances, because it can breed an (even more) unhealthy attitude towards food.
Yes, I do. It's perfectly natural to enjoy food. I just don't think food should be used as a reward (or a punishment), because then enjoying food can become contingent on "good behavior."
It's possible that food could be used as a reward with no ill effects. But my experience, in recovering from an eating disorder, has been that equating food or certain foods with 'success' or 'being good' is detrimental. It sets up this whole values system in my head -- do I 'deserve' this cookie? Have I 'earned' it? Personally, I believe that regardless if a person (especially a child) has been 'good' or 'bad' behavior-wise, it shouldn't really have any bearing on whether they can eat a cookie. Eating a cookie should be simply that -- eating it, for the pleasure of it.
I may not be the best person to explain, since I am still struggling with that myself, but this is my view of it.
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I think what scares me the most is how young these girls are (as young as 3!). It makes me feel like the push for thinness in our culture is so deeply ingrained that we are passing on that message in so many ways without realizing it.
Reply
i know this is an oversimplification, but parents NEED to beware of the examples they themselves set for their kids, and what they let their kids come into contact with.
Also, rewarding kids with food drives me NUTS.
It's been hammered into my skull that I cannot let my students or other children I know and work with understand that I have an eating disorder or value my weight. Its hard to balance everything, but I always try to have my kids see me eating something healthy every time I see them and redirect compliments about my thinness.
sry for the rant. i needed to get on my soapbox ^_^
Reply
Reply
It's tricky, because food is already loaded with emotional connotations, good and bad, bestowed upon us by advertising and culture. But I do believe that food should not be used as a reward, under any circumstances, because it can breed an (even more) unhealthy attitude towards food.
Reply
Reply
It's possible that food could be used as a reward with no ill effects. But my experience, in recovering from an eating disorder, has been that equating food or certain foods with 'success' or 'being good' is detrimental. It sets up this whole values system in my head -- do I 'deserve' this cookie? Have I 'earned' it? Personally, I believe that regardless if a person (especially a child) has been 'good' or 'bad' behavior-wise, it shouldn't really have any bearing on whether they can eat a cookie. Eating a cookie should be simply that -- eating it, for the pleasure of it.
I may not be the best person to explain, since I am still struggling with that myself, but this is my view of it.
Reply
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