Can you be sued in the future for what your child is eating now?
Picture this: 20-30 years from now, countless adults swamped in medical bills will be suffering from diet-related ailments and unhealthy lifestyle habits that were formed when they were still in their infancy or pre-school years.
In their frustration, they form support groups with other adults who share the same health problems and humiliation due to being obese. Eventually they look for something to blame and finally decide and point their accusing fingers at the ones that played a major role in their developing years- their parents. They might even take Mom and Dad to court and win; as the judge will likely be one their own- himself a victim of bad diet and lack of exercise during childhood.
Such a story may be funny, but believe it or not, it might really happen. Young adults these days have been blaming Mom and Dad for their current problems and health and dietary issues might easily include this. One thing’s for sure, the US government or the American fast food industry won’t be taking the blame for it.
Believe it or not, the diet of a lot of babies and toddlers these days are as actually as bad as those of their chip n dip munching teenage counterparts who dine mainly on fast-food. The American Dietetic Association published a recent study proving this in one of the journals.
It’s sad, but most of the respondents that did report having a vegetable as part of their diet thought French fries qualified as one. A third of the children surveyed by researchers from the Tufts University School of Medicine did not even have fruit and vegetables in their daily.
It’s bad enough that a lot of children these days aren’t getting much exercise sitting in front of the boob tube the whole day watching cable TV, but researchers also discovered that some parents were even pouring soda into baby bottles designed for milk. Cola drinks and other types of carbonated drinks are a major cause of obesity in adults.
As can be expected, 25% of preschoolers are obese and those numbers are increasing every year. Given that eating habits are formed during the ages of 2 and 3, you can bet the statistics will get worse. Most cases of diabetes and cardiovascular disease stem from unhealthy food and lack of exercise in a person’s formative years.
So can parents during these times of fast-food, marathon online games and cable TV do anything about this unhealthy trend? Of course! We all have the capability of influencing our offspring’s lifestyle habits dramatically. Being good role models for our children by adopting healthy eating and exercise habits is a good start.
We’d never know, but down the road, 20-30 years from now, babies that have had the good fortune on having parents that helped them form healthy eating habits and lifestyles will become smart, fit and successful adults. These healthy members of society may even recognize and show some appreciation for the thoughtfulness their parents had in helping them form healthy habits in their childhood. Doesn’t this sound like a way better alternative to a lawsuit?
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