It's The Parent's Responsibility

Who's the parent anyway? This is the question we need to ask when we see these news casts about how McDonald's is making our children fat. I was about to write about the tax code when I saw a piece on the news talking about parents complaining about fast food restaurants latest marketing tactic...video games. We've all seen them. BK had a series of them featuring The King. Now, many cereal and "kid food" manufacturers are joining in with free, online games.

Is this really the cause of childhood obesity? Hardly. Parents need to get their heads out of their rears and realize that they are the decision makers in the house. If a 5 year old kid is eating a Happy Meal every day, it's not because he drove himself to the restaurant, pulled out his bank card and bought himself a meal. It is YOU who is taking your child there. It is YOU who is buying the food. And it is YOU who refuses to say no to your child so she won't throw a tantrum. With this in mind, the only one to blame for your 100 lb 5 year old is YOU. Compounding this problem it the fact that parents have removed physical activity from their kids' life. They refuse to support Physical Education programs in schools because they don't want their kids to suffer a little rejection. What is so wrong with a child learning to accept that he's not the fastest runner, or the most flexible gymnast or the best linebacker?

Honestly, it has nothing to do with the kids. The problem is that parenting has gone out the window. It's all about giving kids everything without teaching them about what really matters; responsibility, working toward a reward, earning what you get and, most importantly, dealing with disappointment when you just don't get your way. These are important lessons. The real world does not shield you from these frustrations and it is up to us as parents to teach our children how to deal with it.

Thinking back to my own childhood, I was lucky enough to be raised by a set of parents who had their priorities straight. My parents were not raised with money and, although they have done well for themselves, they didn't feel the need to spoil their children as a way to live life vicariously. They could have had the big house with the expensive cars and given us the latest and greatest. Instead, we would get what was fair and their money was invested in our education, not toys. We had the opportunity to travel and see how people lived in less privilege parts of the world and the country. Of course, growing up we didn't quite get this and would occasionally ask for an Atari or Nintendo- it was the 80's OK? I never did get a video console until I was able to buy my own. What I did get were plenty of books, building models and other toys that required using your brain.

I am not saying that parents shouldn't give things to their kids. However, no parent should give in to every little whim. There is no need for a child in grade school to have a cell phone. There is no need for a 12 year old to have the most expensive digital camera available. There is no need for a 16 year old to die, and kill a friend, by crashing a $38,000 sports car they are not experienced enough to drive. Common sense, as with most other things, is imperative in parenting. The most important thing we can teach our kids if common sense. It will keep them out of trouble, help them cope with disappointment and give them a way to analyze the situation they are in, good or bad, in order to make the best decisions.

Being a parent is not about blaming the television, fast food, sports, teachers, friends, society, the neighbors or anyone else for what happens in our kids' life. It is about living up to the responsibility we accepted by bringing this little life into this world.