Honey, We're Killing the Kids

As I was typing up previous post about Morgan Spurlock's "Don't Eat This Book", I was watching the TLC show "Honey, We're Killing the Kids" that I've recorded on DVR. It is in a similar vein as the other books and movies that I like. The show takes some parents and children and analyzes their diets. The show uses age progression simulation to show the parents what their kids could look like at age 40 if they continue on their current course. It's mostly a scare tactic, but it looks to be very true. Of the age progressions that I've seen so far, I know people that look exactly like that or worse.

The one episode that I watched, the parents looked to be fairly healthy, but there were tons of crap in the house. Nothing but sugar, candy, treats, soda, etc. The kids didn't listen to the parents, TVs in the bedrooms, healthy foods for dinner didn't exist often, and things like that. Grandparents were earning the love of the grandkids by bribing them with sweets. Sounds very familiar to how I grew up.

There is very attractive older female doctor that sits with the parents and develops a plan for the parents. The kids resist at first, but they soon learn to like the healthier options. It's almost immediate when the kids stop taking in so much sugar. They are much more well behaved. TV was cut to about 2 hours per day, exercise was encouraged, eating together and doing things as a family were encouraged. You know, things that actually promote relationships within the family.

I liked the show. I think a major problem in America is that parents use the boob tube to babysit their kids. This is easy for the parents and the parents get into the habit of taking the easy way out to get their kids to behave. This actually makes the situation worse for the parents. I always had a TV in my room and I could eat whatever I wanted. Therefore, I ate a lot of junk and I never listened to my parents. Luckily, I just had enough smarts to grow up well behaved and not get into trouble. Also, I figured out that a diet of burgers, pizza, fries, and shakes was going to make me a fat ass. I changed my ways, started exercising more, eat more healthful foods and less junk, and cutting out alcohol. I couldn't do this overnight, though. I've probably been on a health kick for years now. I'm getting better and better and hopfully, one day I'll feel like everything that goes into my body will be healthy and nutritious. I'll develop these habits and hopefully, I'll pass on these valuable lessons on to my kids.

What will make me succeed at this? Everyone tells me that raising kids isn't easy. I know it's not. It's about choices and sacrifices and I believe that I can make the choices and sacrifices to be the best parent that I can be.