Fat kids... Is it child abuse? /rant on

[Kaneman]

My wife and I took our son to the zoo last week and as is the case when I go into public with large groups of people I was amazed at how fat many of the kids walking around were.

I'm not talking about chubby kids who's height has yet to catch up with their weight. I'm talking about really obese kids with no apparent sense of appearance or health. Kids who's very large buttcracks were showing out of their amazingly large jeans, kids with stains on their faces and their shirts. Kids wolfing down ice cream and cotton candy like they just spent a week doing Survivorman. Not just fat, but sloppy, you know what I mean? The way they walked, they way they interacted, the way their clothes hung off of them...ugh.

There were just so many of them, it seems like more and more everytime I go out. I want to know why letting your children get themselves into that state isn't child abuse? I love HoHos and Little Debbie as much as anyone, but come on man, these kids would have to be eating them at breakfast lunch and dinner to get as fat as they are. At about the half way point we sat and watched what looked like a 12 year old girl in excess of 200lbs eat an entire giant cotton candy. She had fat rolls on her ankles. WHAT THE FUCK?!? Is a child to be responsible for their own nutrition and exercise? No, that's what parents are for, and I would be in favor of hers being punished in a way that motivates them to get their daughter outdoors and doing something.

I want to know when someone in charge decided that PE and recess were no longer necessary. My step-son gets 15 minutes a day for recess. 15 minutes....that's it. They don't even have P.E. every day so some days the school system honestly expects them to sit still and learn without any exercise whatsoever. We're talking about rambunctious boys here, come the fuck on...COMMON SENSE GODDAMNIT!!! What is wrong with these lazy fucking administrators that think its ok to not run the shit out of kids before they sit down to learn. Oh wait, we don't need exercise cause we can just get our kids all doped up....that'll shut 'em up.

My problem isn't politically correct. I don't care about their health, their well being, the nation's "swelling" healthcare problem or a myriad of other reasons to do something about this...I just get fucking grossed out watching extremely fat people eat. I'd rather be in the smoking section at a restaurant (which I actually hate) than to have to sit next to a fat family wolfing down all you can eat beef ribs at Riscky's BBQ (that was yesterday BTW).

So we're not supposed to make fun of them because its a condition, its a disease. Well I say fuck that, every other facet of society condones and coddles them providing absolutely no motivation to turn Jon and Kate off and get off the fucking couch. Now, I'm no tin-foil hat kinda guy...but at some point you have to wonder if there is a conspiracy afoot to dumb us down and fatten us up so that we're easy to control. Or maybe the media and so forth are only catering to an already dumbed and fattened society. I guess its a question of which came first. But if you're really, really fat...and your wife is really really fat, and your kids are really really fat and you're next to me in a restaurant, or at the amusement park or wherever you can expect me to have a disgusted look on my face and you may even overhear me say something to my wife about your condition and what a shame it is. Hey, tell you what, if you think you can take me in a fist fight then get your fat ass up and do something about it. Otherwise, consider a lifestyle change.

/rant off
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Drug tests

[wildchild]

I agree somewhat about the weight issues of kids. seems today it's way too easy for parents to say watch tv or play video games then to go out and do anything with their kids.
before anyone says well mommy has to have a job now days. they can still go hang out with the kid at night after school and work. mom and dad that is.
many times the problem is mom and dad are divorced and both are more worried about finding their next ex spouse rather then worrying about their already born spawn.
as far as the drugged up kids issue, yep why do we need to let them exercise. the school gets more funding if they can prove your kid needs to be turned into a zombie for his own safety and the safety of others around them. I don't think I've ever been so ready to physically punch a school administrator as I was the day they brought that subject up for my son. seems they weren't sure how to "handle him". He would get wound up on days when they thought it was too cold to go outside for recess so they would sit at their desk all day instead. No inside recess just take a break at your desk.
i work on a computer and cannot sit at my desk all day without going out of my mind.
luckily for us my son's teacher was one of the people who had to sign off on the rec and she refused. Gotta love the few old school teachers that are left in the system. she looked at him and looked at me with a very slight wink she asked me "so is it alright if I spank him if he gets out of line?" I said sure no problem. No more problems the rest of the year.

[Papa_Complex]

I wouldn't call it abuse, so much as neglect. Prepared foods that are chocked full of wonderful stuff like sugars and trans-fats are just so much easier for today's narcissist on the go to toss in the microwave, then throw in the general direction of the kid.

The kid wants something? Give it to him. Otherwise he might start whining about it and make it impossible to hear what Jack Bauer is saying to THIS terrorist he's threatening with a broken bottle. Can't have that. Then you wouldn't know why he was electrocuting the next guy's balls and you'd lose the entire storyline.

Schools can't let your kid do anything physical anymore. They've been sued so many times that they think they're the subject of a Johnny Cash song. Now they preemptively let them turn to goo so that they won't be named in a suit that would make them go to court, thereby missing out on Jack Bauer taking a candle to some government mole's junk. And you can bet the rug rat would be screaming for some Ho Hos by the time they got home too.

[Fleck750]

My son was pretty overweight till a few months ago. Peer pressure got to him, and the promise of female companionship.

So we watches what he eats, is working out after school and has lost 40lbs. I'm proud of him.

It's hard when they get in school and you can't watch everything they put in their face. But putting your foot down at home and setting a good example is more important.

[Kaneman]

Wildchild,
I had an issue like that at my son's daycare when he got in trouble for not following directions and being "disruptive." He's a very well behaved and well mannered kid, but I listed respectfully to what they had to say.

After they were done with their piece and were expecting me to agree with them and let them know I'd take care of it I gently asked how many wind-sprints they made him run at recess that day. They told me it was too hot to go outside (I thought that's what water was for?) so I told them if he gets in trouble on days that they actually provide an adequate amount of exercise to let me know.

Now, are you saying the school actually tried to force you to put your kids on drugs? Man that shit is crazy. I saw a kid the other day (an acquantance of mine) who's pupils were more blown than any pothead I've ever met. I asked him why his kid was so high (the poor lad couldn't even respond to questions), he told me "he has ADD)

Wow.
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THE CIGAR BOSS

[the chi]

Its just sad, but I too think alot has to do with the crap they put in food these days, and the tendency to let the children stay inside and "dormant" instead of having to play outside and make up games and entertainment involving activity versus sitting in front of the tv stuffing their faces with chips and soda.

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by Fleck750

It's hard when they get in school and you can't watch everything they put in their face. But putting your foot down at home and setting a good example is more important.

I don't totally disagree with that, but from my point of view I know I grew up eating pizza and burgers and drinking Dr. Pepper and all that. But at the same time I was always out doing something. When I lived on the ranch I was out riding my dirt bike, chasing cows or hunting stuff...when I moved to the city me and my friends would play street hockey or ride bikes for hours a day (even in the heat of the Texas summer). We would chug Koolaid and eat ice cream and hit the pizza buffet and probably eat 2,000 calorie meals...but it didn't matter because we didn't sit inside all day.

Did we play video games? Fuck yea we played video games, but we spent most of our time doing active things.

You know, I almost NEVER see kids playing outside anymore and I live in a very kid filled neighborhood.
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INDIAN RECIPES

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by The Chi

Its just sad, but I too think alot has to do with the crap they put in food these days, and the tendency to let the children stay inside and "dormant" instead of having to play outside and make up games and entertainment involving activity versus sitting in front of the tv stuffing their faces with chips and soda.

I really do think it has little to do with diet and more to do with a severe lack of physical stimulation. I know me and all my friends ate all kinds of shit food, but none of us were fat. There's no way that we ALL just happened to have high metabolisms that could handle that kind of food...we just stayed active.

Even now we eat burgers, tacos, fast food, pizza, pie, ice cream, snow cones and such and are all in good shape. Case in point, we just ate waffles, bacon and greasy eggs for breakfast but will be taking the dogs on a 5 mile walk in a bit.
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Chrysler lx platform specifications

[Rider]

You got it right. It's the lack of physical activity. People need to "unplug" their kids and get their ass outside. The amount of sugar that are in foods today doesn't help either. I read an article a while back that said Americans eat 5 times as much sugar(carbohydrate of any kind) as they did in the early 1900's.
That's a lot of damn sugar.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

I really do think it has little to do with diet and more to do with a severe lack of physical stimulation. I know me and all my friends ate all kinds of shit food, but none of us were fat. There's no way that we ALL just happened to have high metabolisms that could handle that kind of food...we just stayed active.

Even now we eat burgers, tacos, fast food, pizza, pie, ice cream, snow cones and such and are all in good shape. Case in point, we just ate waffles, bacon and greasy eggs for breakfast but will be taking the dogs on a 5 mile walk in a bit.

Thats what I said.

The lack of activity combined with the crap food is a bad combo.