The Responsibility Falls On the Parents

In his essay, "Don't Blame the Eater," David Zinczenko notes that children are being taken in by the numerous fast food advertisements and as a result, there is a rising epidemic of childhood obesity and other health issues running rampant throughout society. He adds that the fast food companies have an obligation to inform the children, whom they are marketing to, of the potential ills that could result from eating a fried chicken sandwich and fries or a Happy Meal (Zinczenko 1). But is it the fast food companies' responsibility to educate on the importance of eating nutritional foods or the parents? There is an argument to be made that the parents have a considerable amount of control over what they purchase for their children to snack on and consume.

The need arises for parents to establish good eating habits. Our society for much of the last 20 years has adopted a microwavable, instantaneous operation. This has translated into children's eating habits partly because the parents are not taking the time to properly educate their children on the importance of eating right and better. The litany of reasons for this are vast, but for the purpose of this essay, there will be a few that will be discussed.

First, parents need to provide a quality assortment of foods for their children to choose from. When visiting the grocery store, parents should purchase products that are healthier and that engender the need to cook at home ("Establishing Good Eating Habits"). This of course puts the responsibility on the parents to be vigilant and diligent about what they are purchasing for their kids. Furthermore, parents need to educate their children on the essentials of eating the sufficient daily recommended fruits, vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates rather than stopping by their local fast food provider and buying up a meal that is composed of nothing but fat, grease and salt. Children more or less want these items because there is not a lot of variety of foods at home for them to choose from and this can be rectified by parents taking more responsibility in the grocery purchasing department.

Second, parents need to be more diligent and vocal about their children's dietary choices. As far as the diligence factor, it is very easy to obtain a decent amount of information on the harmful aspects of fast food. Numerous health studies have been performed on the hazardous additives and preservatives swimming within the tasty Big Mac or #4 Combo Jack in the Box meal. While the fast food companies should publish this information in their restaurants, the information is available - but people and more so, parents should and must look for it. Zinczenko asks if "we [should] know better than to eat in fast food restaurants" (1). Well, yes and no. Children only know what they have been taught - either by advertisements or their parents and if the parents are unaware of what they are feeding their children due to lack of diligence then there lies the core issue.

Regarding being vocal, parents should speak out against the marketing campaigns of fast food restaurants that use everything from cartoon characters to conditioning children that eating fast food is cool to elicit dollars from parents. Parents have a responsibility to ensure that these fast food restaurants cut down on their provocative advertisements and offer healthier choices and options. This speaking out should be done regardless of whether they cease purchasing fast food for their children or not. Parent should not be afraid to speak out despite the fact that "research shows food advertisements work and that cultural beliefs and social eating habits are deeply entrenched" ("Pediatricians vs. Junk Food Giants") in our society. The skyrocketing data on obesity and other health issues is startling and must be dealt with and as with all reasoning’s regarding children, it begins in the home.

That is not to say parents have not already spoken out because as Ludgwig and Nestle state in their article in JAMA, fast food companies have adopted healthier choices and offered more nutrition education programs both about their products and the importance of eating right to ensure communities are informed (1808-1809). Yet, that does not negate the fact that not enough has been done and that the responsibility of making sure children are eating properly is on the parents. Whether the fast food companies do anything or not to create healthier alternatives is a non-issue because the parents ultimately are making the decision to purchase the products or simply not educating their children on the need to let the fast food go.

Yet, many make the argument that while parents share the brunt of the weight in ensuring their children have proper food education, the children have minds of their own as far as what they opt to eat. The child has to take some of the responsibility. "If it is mealtime and the child chooses not to eat, [the parent] should not try to make him or her eat nor should they only cook the food the child likes" ("Establishing Good Eating Habits"). In doing this, the parent puts some of the responsibility on the child to think about what they are eating and develop better food habits rather than running to the local Pizza Hut or stopping at KFC on the way home from school. From there, the child is able to decide whether they want the fast food or not. But that argument still gets back to the importance of parents educating their children on the need to eat better and taking charge of what they are buying and cooking for their children.

In the article "Stop Overindulging Your Children," it states that parents often do what they feel they must do to satisfy their children's wants. A survey performed by the Center for a New American Dream found that children between the ages of 12 to 17 ask their parents a total of nine times until the parents give in. Noted as the nag factor (Rigby 1), parents seemingly give in to their child's demand rather than properly educating them on the difference between a need and a want. So the child nags for some fast food until the parent gives in and buys it. But if the parent knew what was actually lurking in that food wouldn’t they want to cease giving in to the nag factor? The answer is not so clear-cut.

Given society operates on a microwave, instantaneous way of living, parents are doing what they feel is right, or rather easy in an effort to satisfy their children's wants and often because they feel they do not have enough time to cook a decent meal for their children. It is not that the parents want to purchase the fast food products, but they do not have the sufficient quantity of time to prepare something healthy for their children due to working late, etc. That does not absolve the parent of their responsibility, but it is an indicator of why there are excessive rates of health issues in the United States and worldwide. However, that is more or less an excuse of the parents to shift the responsibility on the child or the fast food restaurant, when it is something they themselves should be doing. A parent should never be too busy not to make sure their child receives a healthy meal.

It is difficult to ascertain whether or not parents are truly seeking to take responsibility for educating their children on the importance giving the many reasons why fast food dominates the eating habits of many. While it can be argued that fast food companies are taking advantage of the microwavable, instantaneous society by using slick marketing techniques with the children and that parents are ignorant of what the food ingredients are, the parent ultimately is the sole factor in the child’s eating habits because they are more often than not the ones purchasing the foods for them and in essence, contributing to the growing epidemic.

Works Cited

"Establishing Good Eating Habits." The Regents of The University of California, 2013. http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/education/establishing_good_eating_habits/index.html.

Ludwig, David S., and Merion Nestle. "Can the Food Industry Play a Constructive Role in the Obesity Epidemic?" JAMA vol. 300, no. 15, 2008, pp. 1808-1811.

"Pediatricians vs. Junk Food Giants." Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 2013. http://www.pcrm.org/search/?cid=220.

Rigby, Jill. "Stop Overindulging Your Children." FamilyLife, 2008. http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/parenting/foundations/character-development/stop-overindulging-your-children.

Zinczenko, David. "Don't Blame The Eater." The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/23/opinion/don-t-blame-the-eater.html