In the course of an interview today I had the opportunity to observe an interesting exchange between a mother and her 2 year old daughter. Interesting, in the sense that it gave me a reason to pause and think about the roots of obesity briefly and the factors we as parents promote by encouraging overeating, and eating what we would all consider the wrong kinds of foods. It’s a surprisingly common approach to children’s behavior and in this case the child was acting fine; she was making faces at me and acting goofy, but nothing out of the ordinary for a 2 year old. The mother made the remark to her daughter, as we were discussing her 2 year old daughter’s health, that if she’s good during the interview, she would be rewarded with a trip to McDonald’s.
The mother in this case was herself obese (roughly 5’4”, 250lbs) and it struck me that the reward to the child might possibly be rewarding the parent as well. So what did I learn from that short exchange? Food is being given to children as a reward. There’s nothing fancy or scientific about it. There is nothing profound to say, other than the carrot being dangled in front of this small child is a trip to McDonalds. More than that, it’s teaching the child about a reward system which offers up fast food at the end of that sequence of promises.
The mother in this case was herself obese (roughly 5’4”, 250lbs) and it struck me that the reward to the child might possibly be rewarding the parent as well. So what did I learn from that short exchange? Food is being given to children as a reward. There’s nothing fancy or scientific about it. There is nothing profound to say, other than the carrot being dangled in front of this small child is a trip to McDonalds. More than that, it’s teaching the child about a reward system which offers up fast food at the end of that sequence of promises.
Turning the universe upside down, what would happen in The Land of Nutritionally Correct Foods, if the mother offered up something simple like an apple or an orange as a reward if the child’s behavior was exemplary? More to the point, why in any circumstance are we offering food rewards to children based upon good behavior?
1 comment:
I reward my child with a trip to McDonalds, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I am contributing to bad behavior later in life for him. For my son (who is 3), McDonals Playland is the reward. He gets a hamburger with apples and chocolate milk. I eat a salad. He gets to have fun after he eats. What is SO unhealthy about that????
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