Mom’s having a crappy day, kids. Here, have some Oreos
Submitted by Debra Legg on Wednesday, 8 April 2009
4 Comments
Frustrated with the world? Stressed by the times we live in? Fine, but don't take it out on your kids by feeding them junk.
According to the latest research from the It's All Mom's Fault Department, that's what moms with bad attitudes do.
"We found that mothers who were emotionally unstable, anxious, angry, sad, had poor self-confidence or a negative view of the world were far more likely to give their child sweet and fatty foods," psychologist psychologist Eivind Ystrom said in an article at Medical News Today.
Peachy. It takes two to tango - at least, it does stateside and I'm assuming it does in Oslo as well - but one gender is shouldering the blame, not to mention getting none of the credit when things go right.
"At the same time," Ystrom continued, "there was no link between maternal personality and how healthy a diet the child got in the form of fruit and vegetables."
Doesn't that once again put mothers at the corner of Can't Win and Hopelessly Screwed. If kids eat junk, it's our fault. But if they eat healthful diets, it must be happening because the toddlers are savvy enough to rise up and demand their vegetables.
The cliches get worse: Mothers of boys who send their children to day-care were more likely to feed their kids crap. So were smokers who have many children.
Oh, those evil working moms who could stay home and take care of their own kids if they didn't keep popping those puppies out.
The study was quite extensive for research so one-sided - 27,763 mothers of 18-month-olds were asked how much of certain foods their children ate. Only 10 percent of Norwegian children were born to single women in 2007, so it seems improbable that the entire sample was made up of moms going it alone.
There was a token swipe at dads near the end of the news release: "Unfortunately we could not study the fathers, but it is likely that this also applies to them."
Could not study the fathers or did not? It would seem to be a fairly simple matter in a country where 90 percent of the mothers have partners to be able to figure where the dads arefood.
Were they all off enjoying a drink after work while the moms supervised homework and answered the questions? Or were they all snoring on the couch as mom pulled her hair out trying to juggle kids, dinner and the questions?
Those responses are, of course, as biased as the research. As any research will be that insists on looking at only the mother's role in child-rearing instead of examining entire families.
Copyright 2009 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.
Yeah, who funded this BS study?!
It’s all mom’s fault when kids don’t eat right? They should have talked to me. It seems like I’m the only one in our household that cares whether everybody (Dad included) has had their daily fruits and veggies.
And, re: your line about dads: “Or were they all snoring on the couch as mom pulled her hair out trying to juggle kids, dinner and the questions?”
…THAT struck a chord.
Yeah, Donna, been there, done that a few times on the couch-snoring, too. I used to patiently – or not – explain it, “There is only so much ‘relax’ in this house, and when you use it all, I don’t get any.”
Wow, what a one sided study!
I just had to comment that you had me cracking up when I read “because the toddlers are savvy enough to rise up and demand their vegetables.”
After dealing with a screaming tantrum because I wouldn’t let my 3 year old eat her share of the bacon… and everyone elses… The image of her screaming for the green beans was just what I needed.
Funny thing is, Rose, my youngest DID used to steal my asparagus and creamed spinach and salad. But then he turned 3, figured out his brother threw fits about veggies and decided he wanted to be like the cool kid. There is no asparagus love in this house anymore.
Food »
Egg-free strawberry muffins
In part because I live in a place where egg replacer isn’t readily available and in part because I’m tired of toting ingredients when I’m on the road, I’ve been experimenting lately with baking with …
Girl Gone Wonk »
Part of the digital divide will never be bridged – so be it
Two contradictory tidbits from a CNet story this morning about an Federal Communications Commission report on expanding broadband Internet access to more parts of the country:
A third of adults who don’t have broadband at home …
Health »
The first step to solving a problem is knowing you have it
Here’s a tricky one to tackle:
According to an article in March’s edition of Pediatrics, nearly 30 percent of overweight teens don’t know that they’re overweight. And if they don’t know they’re overweight, they’re less likely …
News »
A SWAT for trying to impose values from afar
What’s worse than a YouTube video showing a developmentally disabled boy being bullied?
A court verdict in Italy that finds Google executives guilty of invasion of privacy because the video was posted to begin with – …
Reviews »
YouTube safety mode is nothing special
It’s ironic that Google rolled out Safety Mode parental controls for YouTube in the same week that it made gmail unsafe for some folks in its careless rollout of Buzz.
Some of the early things I’d …
School days »
Lunch with teacher
When we last left Big Guy, his big mouth was causing problems at school on a daily basis. It’s a seasonal issue for him that’s going to crop up just as sure as the teacher …
By the way
08/18/2009 | 1:34 pm
Sometimes life is all about timing. There’s a chance the soldier took his protective goggles off briefly during training in The Box – 1,000 barren square miles at Fort Irwin where soldiers prepare for desert warfare. Then ...
07/24/2009 | 9:47 pm
So there I was last month, stressing until 2 in the morning over Dad’s “welcome home” cake, worried that it would be ugly or dry or have the wrong color stars. Silly, silly girl. If I’d ...
06/12/2009 | 12:05 pm
I’m kind of frustrated this morning because I don’t have girls. I don’t even know any girls young enough to appreciate this. But if I did, I’d be all over the tutu tutorial – say that ...
05/30/2009 | 8:17 am
Poor Boots. He wakes up every morning chirping with the birds and with a cheery greeting. “It’s a beautiful day!” Somewhere along the line, though, the grind of the world beats the beauty out of it ...
05/21/2009 | 11:18 pm
On one level, it’s simple: When you’re about to fall, just let go and fall. Trying to stop the tumble or, even worse, flailing your arms and legs as you land will make it worse. Somewhere ...
05/20/2009 | 9:03 pm
05/20/2009 | 10:18 am
This one landed in my Twitter stream just as Boots was diving into a bowl of … Cocoa Puffs: “New peanut flour warning for General Mills cereals.” Luckily, he’s not the child who’s allergic and Big ...
05/19/2009 | 12:56 am
From the country that wants to censor the Internet worldwide in the name of protecting its children comes another bizarre project, also in the name of “protecting children” The British have launched a database, at a ...
05/18/2009 | 11:38 pm
Do I ever feel like a dolt after my post last night lamenting the difficulties of finding dye-free snow-cone syrups. I went to a Middle Eastern market today to pick up some hummus ingredients and ran ...
05/16/2009 | 8:16 pm
05/15/2009 | 10:15 pm
Six hundred and eight three killed in Afghanistan. Four thousand, two hundred and ninety six killed in Iraq. Many stories of incredible lives, often amazing sacrifices. This is one such story. Army Maj. Steven Hutchison survived two ...
To subscribe