Dieting for Kids

I was torn when I watched this story on ABC News about mother, Dara-Lynn Weiss, who put her 7 year old daughter, Bea, on a diet after learning that she had gained 26 pounds in one year and was diagnosed by her pediatrician as clinically obese.  She wrote about it in Vogue magazine this month.

The diet is called Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right and teaches children to choose foods and gauge nutritional value based on color, rather than calories: "green light foods are nutritious, yellow light foods are eaten in moderation, and red light foods are occasional treats"

In one part of the article which the public found most controversial, Dara-Lynn talks about a birthday party her daughter attended.  Dara-Lynn and her daughter agreed ahead of time that she was allowed a slice of pizza and a piece of cake, however, when her daughter then approached the dessert table for more sweets, Dara-Lynn intercepted her and told her that she had already eaten what she they had agreed upon and wasn't allowed any more.  Sometimes this resulted in a "heated discussion" as her daughter argued with her to have more.  Some readers considered this public humiliation.

Bea started out at 4'4" (52 inches) and weighed 93 lbs.  I'm trying to visualize, so my son is 54 inches and weighs 65 lbs.  You can see below the child on the right:

I don't usually voice my opinions during Feedback Friday, but I'm still trying to figure out what the issue is here?  In my house that is called parenting.  Am I alone in this opinion?  I'm trying to picture my son above 2 inches shorter and almost 30 lbs heavier and not thinking we had a problem.

It's Feedback Friday...

Do you agree or disagree with Dara-Lynn Weiss' decision to put her daughter on a "diet"? (is "diet" the trigger word here? would you feel differently if the word "diet" wasn't used?)

Do you monitor what your children eat and does it matter if you monitor for health or for weight gain?

Have you ever had an argument with your child in public when you have said no to sweets?

Blog Addiction - Feedback Friday

This week's episode of House (you can watch it here if you missed it) caught my attention, as the storyline followed an avid blogger stricken by a mystery illness.



The patient was obsessed with blogging every detail of her life, going so far as to ask for readers' opinions regarding medical decisions. Her husband felt threatened by her behavior and begged for some privacy.

Now, I'm not a blogger to that degree and certainly leave much to the imagination when it comes to my children and marriage, but there was still some cause for thought as I tried to view my own blogging habits objectively.

I'm embarrassed to say that I sometimes lose perspective. After watching this episode I tried to ask myself, do things in my daily life get neglected or put on the back burner in order to record events on this computer? Am I getting enough in return to justify the time and energy, and why exactly am I motivated to form these web friendships? Is it wrong of me to mention what Tricia or Jennifer or Shelly, Foxy, Janet, Wendy, Craig, Dawn, Amanda, Danielle, Teri, Sabrina, Sunny, Lisa, Lori... said in conversation and think of them as my friends?

I know I have to keep myself in check when it comes to this particular part of my life. I have to carefully evaluate how much is too much information and how much time is too much time - I tend to get sucked in. I have to remember that comments and followers don't define me as a person and reel it in when I strive for more more more. I have to remember to keep up with real life and real friends. I have to know that I can't depend on the thoughts or comments of others to bring me up or tear me down. I know this, but why do I always have to remind myself?

I love this blog, I love writing and interacting, being creative and inspired, and the friendships I've made, but I catch myself going overboard sometimes when dinner isn't ready or when "Anonymous" rears her ugly head and I feel personally stung.

Am I alone? Do you play this balancing game between web life and real life? Do you ever have trouble compartmentalizing blog and real life or get sucked in and have to pull back sometimes? Do you talk about your blog friends as if you all just met for coffee last week? Am I delusional?

It's Feedback Friday, let's talk bloggy.

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Feedback Friday - Strangers Disciplining Your Children

If you know me at all, you know about my multiple personality disorder. I call her "Mama Bear" and, girl, she can mess you UP! I find myself speaking up and doing things in situations I would have never imagined in defense of my boys. I'm fair, strict, and discipline them when necessary...just don't YOU do it for me. It's just one of those things that sets off my switch (you know, the one that rhymes with 'witch'?).

Well, I got this article from Mom Logic yesterday, and I knew it was a Feedback Friday post in the making: (excerpt from Mom Logic)

"This happened to a Georgia mom on Monday. Sonya Mathews' daughter, Paige, was crying in the store when 61-year-old Roger Stephens told Mathews that if she didn't make her kid stop crying, he would. When little Paige continued to cry, he walked up to her and slapped her across the face several times. After he did it, he told Mathews, "See, I told you I would shut her up."

Mathews screamed at him and called for security. Another shopper stopped him. He was arrested and charged with cruelty to a child, a felony, and is being held without bail. Paige suffered no injuries, except for some redness in the face."

Now, something on a smaller scale happened to me once in a restaurant while we were vacationing at the beach about 5 years ago. We were having a wonderful night, The Big Guy and I were enjoying a drink and talking and the kids were playing and giggling quietly. They were playing a game where they were blowing on each other with a straw (I don't know, I guess it seemed fun). I can remember sitting there thinking, this is a great night.

Well, out of nowhere a lady at a neighboring table approached my kids and sternly scolded them for playing this game "Put that straw down! You could poke someone's eye out!" Then she walked away and returned to her table.

Have you ever heard someone say they "saw red"? Well, I became so angry at this lady for butting in that I saw black! I was so enraged I began to cry. Man, I hate that. The Big Guy kept trying to talk me down and then he made the fatal mistake of taking the boys to the bathroom.

I got up and spoke to the woman (through tears) and tried to make the general point that: if you want to say something to my kids, you gotta go through me first. (there were lots of "how dare you"s and "where do you get off"s amid sniffles and snorts). I'm pretty sure I made my point. But, in the end, it ruined my entire night.

Have you ever experienced this? Did you react as strongly? Is there a situation where you would ever discipline someone else's child while they were present (unless they were hurting your kid)? What on earth would you have done to the man in Walmart? (I would have put a beat down on that dude. They would have had to tear me off from him...just sayin'). Come on, let me have it with some Feedback!

**Don't forget my Tutorial Linky Party next Tuesday! I'm calling on all my creative readers to help me out during my vaca by entertaining my readers with some cool tutorials. Don't let me down!**

Oh! And check out this opportunity to share where you were on September 11, 2001, this mom has it together and this should have been my Feedback Friday post for today. Go to Where Were You on 9/11? to post your response..