blog entry #8

            When you walk into a fast food restaurant and look around what age group do you see? I bet your answer would be families with children and a few teenagers. Fast food companies tend to target children when they advertise. We all know that fast food isn’t the right choice for us to eat but we do it anyways. If our parents never exposed us to fast food it most likely wouldn’t even be a choice for us. Parents have the ability to control what their children eat.

            If children grow up in a home filled with healthy foods they are more likely to stay away from fast food. If a parent is constantly feeding there child healthy foods they will become used to it. For example growing up my parents made sure every meal I had was proportioned the right way with the right foods. I would have my carbs, which would be whole wheat, or brown rice my vegetables and lean protein like chicken breast. I was never exposed to fast food as a child. My after school snack would be whatever was in the pantry which was mostly filled with fruits. My friend in elementary school was the complete opposite. Her mom would drop off McDonalds for her during lunchtime. When I had play dates at her house the only snacks she would have would be chips like Cheetos or cookies. I wasn’t used to having those things on an everyday basis so my mom would make sure I had some type of fruit or carrots with me if I got hungry. Ten years later we are still friends and I have definitely seen the difference in our eating habits. She is addicted to junk food because she was exposed to it all through her childhood. She is overweight I am still the same from when I was as a child. I still stick to my fruits or veggies when I’m hungry. I have good eating habits because my parents taught me to eat the right way growing up and she has bad eating habits because her parents exposed her to unhealthy foods as a child.

            It is important for parents to educate their children on the importance of eating healthy foods. Children do not understand the difference between what is healthy and what isn’t. They just know what tastes good and what doesn’t. If you give a child an apple and you give them French fries most likely the child will choose French fries, because well lets face it French fries taste better. What the parent should do is explain to the child the difference between the two. They should tell their child if you eat an apple you would have more energy as opposed to eating French fries. They should explain the importance of eating foods that are good for our bodies and will help us live longer. As opposed to buying them a happy meal whenever they are hungry. This is a technique that can be used to control what your children eat.

            Advertisements can lure children to wanting fast food, parents should discourage them from these advertisements. Children watch TV on a daily basis well most of them do. Commercials appear all the time especially on the channels that kids watch like Disney channel and nickelodeon. They would see a really cool toy from McDonalds. Obviously in order to get the toy you have to buy a happy meal. The child’s first instinct would be to get the happy meal for the toy. What parents should do is use it as a reward. For example I babysit a six-year-old girl. She hates certain vegetable and gives her parents as well as me a hard time to eat them. What we would do is ,we would tell her for every new vegetable she eats she would get to go to the toy store and pick out a toy. Don’t let advertisements get to your children use the same effect they use to get them to eat healthy.

            Parents do have control over what their children eat. Having healthy foods in your home affects how your child will grow up eating. Educate your children on how important it is to eat healthy foods. Use the same technique advertisements use to get them to eat the right way. It’s really up to you parents. Is what your child eating on a daily basis important to you?