-
Posted
Thursday, February 26, 2009 3:55 PM
| By
Rachael Larimore
I can't stop thinking about today's article in the New York Times about parents who obsess over food choices, who are sure to serve only organic food and have "5-year-olds ... [who] can't eat an Oreo cookie without being concerned about trans fats." On the one hand, it's tempting to dismiss the whole article as what my Slate colleague Jack Shafer would call "bogus trend-spotting": stories that hype a "trend" that may or may not exist, fueled by anecdotes rather than statistics and filled with vague terms like "many," "more" or "a sign that ..." However, the anecdotes are heartbreaking: A mom worries that her daughter is bulimic, but it turns out the preteen just doesn't like brown rice. When a dietitian tells the girl it's probably OK to order white rice when she eats out, the mom freaks. An 8-year-old is afraid of salt. Kids are afraid to partake in birthday cake at friends' parties.
Now, I will be the first to admit that my kids aren't the world's best eaters, and their reluctance to try new things and refusal to eat vegetables has driven me to tears in the past. And I'll be the first to admit that we could probably do a better job in preparing healthful food in our household. But I've learned that it does NO GOOD to obsess over it. I focus on the bright spots: Our kids drink no pop, very little juice (except for orange juice) and eat almost no candy, cookies, or chips. (I'm pretty sure there's a Ziploc bag full of rock-hard Tootsie Rolls, stale Skittles, and other remnants of Halloween lurking in the back of my pantry.) They eat fast food a few times a year, and even sit-down restaurants are a treat, not a regular part of their week. We talk to our 5-year-old about the importance of eating a variety of foods and about how healthy foods will help him grow bigger and taller, but if he's checking out the cereal box, it's to see if there's a toy, not to read the nutritional information.
It's easy to be annoyed that parents are seemingly passing their own neuroses on to their children, but I think there might be more to it. It's almost like they are passing off some of the responsibility that comes with being a parent: "My kid doesn't eat bad food, so of course he is healthy. I've done my part." The problem is, such strict control doesn't teach kids about making careful, measured decisions—"I'd like fries with my dinner, so I'll eat an extra apple tomorrow"—something that will help them as they grow up and go out on their own. It's impossible not be reminded of Todd Marinovich, a quarterback for USC and (ever so briefly) the Los Angeles Raiders. Marinovich's father controlled every aspect of his son's childhood, famously denying him Big Macs and Twinkies and surrounding him with specialized coaches and a psychologist. Marinovich flamed out, getting arrested for cocaine possession while still at USC in 1991. Subsequent arrests hint of a long struggle with drugs. ESPN.com ranks him as one of the biggest flops in sports. Granted, not every kid whose parents make her eat organic tofu is going to go to college and find a drug dealer, but there is more to raising a healthy kid than what you serve for dinner.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?