Parents to blame for childhood obesity, says op-ed writer
Filed in archive Health by Melissa Petri on September 16, 2005
The Boston Globe published an op-ed piece that basically blamed all of society's ills (with the under-18 set, at least) on...their parents! Not only does the piece perpetuate the myth that baby boomers pretty much all grew up in intact households, always came home from school to a smiling Mommy with a plateful of home-baked cookies, and were "svelte" (obviously the author didn't grow up the child of Greek immigrants!), but it seems that children today either go to an afterschool program with a lot of junk food or to a home with cupboards bursting at the seams with Ding Dongs. Obviously soccer has no place in this America!
In a letter to the editor, it was noted that everywhere, but in the Northeast especially, most families do not have the luxury the author of the op-ed piece seems to think they have -- namely, that one parent can stay home and prepare the kids carrot sticks and do calisthenics with them so that they become as "svelte" as their 1950s counterparts.
by Nicole via Creative Reporter
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