Strict Mothers Make Fat Kids?

Children who don't eat with the family and snack on junk food but parents too restrictive can cause children to binge eat. So while monitoring every that goes into your child's mouth and banning all candy seems like a good idea it isn't.
Family meals and eating the food you want to them to eat is a good start. You can't aspect your children to eat healthy if you don't.

This makes sense. I grew up in an authoritarian household where sugar intake was severly regulated - I'd sneak food like crazy! I went to live with a grandparent and gained a significant amount of weight because I ate so much junk. It took me a long time to start eating better and figure out when my body really wanted to eat.

I grew up with authoritarian parents too. There were 5 of us kids, and we were limited in what we could eat. But at age 11, I got a paper route, and everytime I would get money, I would put down candy and junk food like there was no tomorrow! I never brought any home, because I would have to share! It was all secret eating, and created a habit that I still struggle with 'til this day. I hadn't heard this theory before, but it rings true, to me.

Not to be all PC and everything, but it is "parenting" style. So how about changing the headline here to reflect "mothers and fathers," rather than just blaming one, and showing a woman with a ruler as your image?

This is interesting indeed. One other explanation may be that authoritarian parents often require their children to clear their plates, not teaching them to stop eating when they are full.

I am still surprised though. I see so many permissive parents allowing their children to walk around with bags of potato chips. I thought that would be much worse than anything authoritarian parents might do wrong

I was not allowed ANY sugar as a child. As a result, I would "sneak eat" candy bars and anything else I could get hold of. I'm still sneaky.

Randee: The picture is just for fun and to add a bit of excitement to the monochromatic lines of text. If I really wanted to be PC I would have pictures of all races, creeds, colors. I would have a woman wearing a burka, and perhaps 2 dads, or maybe a blended family with a few step-parents thrown in there... however we digress.

Now regarding mothers - here is the weird thing; The abstract for this study (linked in the post) talks about parenting - but makes no mention of father. However it mentions things like maternal sensitivity and maternal expectations and authoritative mothers.

The study co-author notes that there were not enough fathers participating in the study to draw any conclusions.

Where are you Dads?

Jim --

Yeah, I don't really mind the picture. But since there is plenty of discussion on this blog about how image influences reality, just thought I'd throw it in.

I did a click through on the abstract originally and skimmed it, just saw parents and thought I was set, but you're probably right.

Good question on where the dads are for this. And I wonder if it completely throws the results off if you have one authoritarian parent and one authoritative one. Do they cancel each other out?

I'd say the dietary adavantage I gained from non-authoritarian parents was the idea of routine, with flexibility. You ate a low-sugar, low-fat cereal breakfast most day, sandwich lunch, meat and veg dinner, with a sweet snack sometime in the day. But if you wanted to break that occasionally, with a croissant or a sausage roll or a creamy meat dish, that was okay. My parents weren't going to jump up and down about how I can't eat this or that, as long as on the balance, my intake kept me healthy.

I'd be interested to see figures on the number of obese kids who have obese parents. I'd bet the numbers are far higher than *any* parenting style.

I really think the key to avoiding obese kids is to avoid obesity yourself. If you eat healthily at home, there's no need to preach or be authoritarian about any particular calorie source.

My daughter has been a picky eater since she was 18 months old. But a true picky eater is even picky about her junk food - she won't eat just anything that comes her way. She prefers blueberries to potato chips and will take my homemade lemonade over pop any day of the week. No she does not always clean her plate and I don't make her, but I always ask if she has had enough to eat. I buy one treat at the grocery store each week and when it's gone, it's gone. She eats her treat (ONE pudding or ONE bag of sweets) and then happily eats the good stuff the rest of the week. I think children innately understand much more about nutrition than we give them credit for. I also think that a little information goes a long way. The bottom line...eating more of the good stuff and less of the bad is what your body wants. Kids get this, believe me. It's the parents' job to make rules that work for the child and not against her. Parents also need to cook more and drive-thru less. More water, less juice. I am not at all surprised by the findings of this report and look forward to more studies like it.

Just a follow up to that post: I consider myself to be a flexible mom who sets reasonable rules; both for myself and my kids. I cook from scratch at least once a day, my children come home for lunch, I prefer whole to processed foods and apply a few quirky rules of my own like "sure you can have it, we're on vacation". I never use the drive-thru. My children sit down at the table when they eat. Dinner time is at the same time each day and so is lunch. My kids play outside for a minimum of 2 hours each day (less during winter, obviously) and they are well within their weight requirement for their ages. I believe good health for kids comprises alot more than the food on their plates. I also make sure they get as much sleep as they can.

Parents are the people who mostly spend time with the children, and children in most cases imitate a way of walking and the way of body posture from their own parents.

If parents maintain poor body posture, children will most likely, imitate this way of body posture.
If parents walk and run with poor physical balance, children will imitate this way of walking and running.

That’s explaining why overweight or obese parents are more likely to bring up overweight or obese children.

Poor body posture and poor physical balance of the body is responsible for overweight and obesity and as well, for many illnesses.

Just slightly improvement in body posture and improvement in physical balance of the body will quickly bring positive consequence for weight and shape of the body with some degree of rejuvenation of the whole body and as well will improve physical and mental wellbeing.

Some of the comments about 'forced clearing of plates' remind me of a summer camp I attended in gradeschool. The cook was a rough, backcountry sort of man who strongly resembled a cowboy, (boots, shirt, hat). I dont know how he got hired as camp chef, because the food that came out of that kitchens wasn't all that great. This opinion was shared by many of the camp staff members.
Mr. Cowboy-Chef hated to see food wasted. To the everlasting frustration of us campers, he would stand guard in front of the garbage can to make sure we didn't throw any "good" food out. If he caught us, our leftovers were saved in the kitchen for us to finish at the next meal.
Eventually, kids began plotting together ways to sneak their way to sneak their uncleared plates and bowls into the garbage. Some even stopped eating all together. It was one of the worst years of camp I've ever been to. The most envied kids at camp that year were those with food allergies, who couldn't eat the slop the rest of us got! Ever since then, Ive made a point of packing my own little food supply for summer camps.

Forced clearing of plates exists in our country too.Children are told-if you don't clear your plate,you will have an ugly husband.If you don't eat this(usually bread piece),it will cry after you,things like that.