Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Crisis of Conscience
I believe in everything in moderation. I try to practice that as well, although I fight my natural urge to take everything (and I mean everything) to the extreme. Ask my husband about my feelings on Cool Whip. I believe it's ok for kids to have sugar once in awhile, or pizza, or a root beer float. Heck, I make lollipops for a living. At the market on Thursday I came up against a problem that I haven't been able to resolve. Two children, a boy and a girl, came up to my booth to buy lollipops. They were not just chubby but fairly seriously overweight. With their mother's blessing they bought 5 lollipops, immediately unwrapping one each and popping them in their mouths. I watched as they shopped the rest of the market. These kids were probably 8 and 10 years old. In an hour they consumed two of my lollipops each, 5 honey sticks each and a soda each. This was before they ordered dinner from the food truck. My heart broke for them because they were never given a chance to be healthy. They will have a host of health problems, probably already do, and it's not their fault. I can't stop myself from feeling guilty for selling them the lollipops and yet I know that I can't pick and choose who I sell to. Most children who buy my suckers are excited because it's a big treat, a once in awhile chance to eat a watermelon cow. These two children weren't excited, they were addicted. I'm angry at their mother, and angry at a country where nutrition and real food are reserved for the wealthy. I'm not sure how to resolve my part in their tragedy, because it really truly is a tragedy.
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This is a tough one. But all you can do is what you're doing. Teach your children how to live healthy lives and pray for the kids of less caring parents. You may get the opportunity to give those parents advice -- and you may not. But you are selling TREATS. You're not trying to tell people that your suckers are meal replacements, or that they'll keep you healthy the more you eat them. You don't have a part in their tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing that you can do, unfortunately. As Americans it is our right to breed indiscriminately, We are not required to know how to take care of the children that we bring into this world. I personally think that all teenagers/twenty somethings should be required to take parenting classes. We have to have a license to drive a car, but we can kill our children with ignorance at will. Hmmm... Just remember that this is not your responsibility, you are doing the right thing by your children.
ReplyDeleteI am often teased for my stance on Mt Dew (I "lovingly" call it Rat Poison and my son has been well versed in the health problems that such things in excess can cause) but I'm proud on the occasions when we're out to eat, that he usually orders milk or water.... my "rants" have been successful. There unfortunately isn't much you can do except exactly what you have said; teaching your own children healthy living from the beginning and knowing that they will do so with their own someday. Everything starts with one simple action. I think a huge downfall in this country's health started when they quit teaching Home Ec in schools... nobody is taught how to cook their own nutritious food anymore and thus depend on the convenience foods that "gave birth" to this blog. Why go to the trouble of making your own pizza dough and sauce when you can just pick up the phone? It's sad, really....all we can do is educate our loved ones and hope the knowledge ripples.
ReplyDeleteand wow, there are some run-on sentences there.... sorry, it happens when my soapbox is out! :)
DeleteHoney you can't take that onto your shoulders! It's sad and horrible, but in no way your fault or responsibility. If it makes you feel a bit better think about them buying six lollipops made with crappy chemicals and artificial sweetners.... SEE! It could be worse ;) - Tam
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that this mother probably would have thought they were healthier if they were "sugar free". No Home Ec because it's old fashioned, and no nutrition classes because that's a hippy idea. In France they not only provide a 3 course lunch but they also send home ideas for dinner to round out the nutritional needs of the kids for the day. Here we feed our children sports drinks and "teas" that contain enough sugar and chemicals to kill a horse and think it's healthy because it's not soda. Sophie doesn't like soda, she never developed a taste for it because she never had it. Sorry about this rant, I just get so angry at parents sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI took Caleb and his sister Sammy to a 6 class series of healthy cooking called "Family Matters" taught by the health department. They loved it; we made a recipe in class every week out of a workbook/cookbook, and they had so much fun. It was free, and they sent us home every week with enough ingredients to make it again. While the food was cooking the instructor did activities with the kids to teach nutrition, label reading, etc... The sad thing was that there were only four families there. :(
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