Stop Abdicating Responsibility April 16, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Food & Drink, Health & Wellness.comments closed
I stumbled into a disturbing comment this morning on a blog post about school lunches. In pertinent part, the comment read:
Obesity in children is at an all time high. If parents choose to feed the children junk, that’s ok. But the institutions that are supposed to serve the well being of our children should know better.
Wow!
Did he actually say that parents . . . you, know, the people who CHOSE to bring children into the world . . . are LESS responsible for their OWN children’s well-being than our government institutions???
Did he actually say, “If parents choose to feed their children junk, that’s OK?”
Because, quite frankly, it’s not.
Neglecting a child’s nutritional needs is a form of child neglect, on par with neglecting to take them to the doctor or dentist.
And when parents neglect the needs of their own children, they have no business complaining when institutions (such as schools) follow their lead.
When it comes to the well-being of children, institutions should be secondary. Parents should be primary.
If we want to maintain hard-won freedoms and personal autonomy, we need to stop abdicating responsibility for our lives.
Parents: If your children are overweight, don’t waste time and energy blaming the school system. Instead, tell your kids to turn off the TV and computer games, and go outside and play.
And when dinner time rolls around, set a good example for them by serving delicious and nutritious low-fat fruits and veggies on a regular basis.
Related posts & resources: The Farcical Campaign Against Corpulence & Being An Accountable Human
Spirit Lights The Way 