Why is it not OK to feel hunger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Control a weight percentile?

How weird and scary.

Exactly what I thought! That sounds very abnormal. I hope this post is made up.

All I meant is that I listen in at the feds office, and I expect them to all stay above in height, with a lower number in weight. That is, thin, yes thin. I want my kids to be thin. It is not a crime. They do not need to snack all day. Even the healthy snacking is a dangerous habit. Allow the body to be little bit hungry every now and then. I am sure that my kids know nothing about real hunger. I bet most kids in the US know nothing about real hunger. Even the chubby kids in WV that we bring lunches to in the summer.

Of course it is not a crime to want your kids to be thin, yes thin. Anybody can legally want anything. However, it is not a good sign, in my opinion, that you want your kids to be thin-yes thin, rather than, for example, healthy.

Also, if you want to understand how there can be people who are overweight and also experience hunger, please read up on "food insecurity". Food insecurity is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. You could start here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx

I am thin, and my kids are healthy. They play sports and they do so very well.
No one has explained why the people like myself and the war survivors that I know, who were food "deprived" as kids are not obese now. Now one. I know tons of holocaust survivors in my family. They saw starvation as kids. I know others from my country who are my age who did not get fed the quality of food we see, and they are not fat. I guess they aren't food insecure.

OP you are insane. I have holocaust and depression survivors in my family as well and some research is now showing that there is a 2nd generation epigenetic effect of obesity from childhood starvation. My generation in my family has all struggled with weight in adulthood, despite being active and coming from a family that is naturally slender. So it's also fair to say there are other factors at play.

You need to talk to someone. You are setting your kids up for a lifetime of unhealthy issues with food.

[Anonymous]

Mom of growing teen boy here. As a "tween" your boy should be getting all the nourishment he needs. Normally at this age boys will get a little chunky at the waist. This is totally normal and they will lose all that chunk when they shoot up. You are depriving him of necessary nourishment to develop properly. And I agree with other posters that you are setting him up for eating disorders in the future. OP you sound like you need som serious therapy...I would say this is bordering on child abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the reason he is interested in events with lots of food is because you are denying him food all of the time.

Do you realize that one way to cause a food obsession (and then eventually a weight issue) is by too much denial?

You are making food the coveted apple he can't touch.

The people I know who have the healthiest relationships with food and maintain a consistent healthy weight are the ones who don't have rigid restrictions or warped ideas about food. They eat when they're hungry. They eat in moderation, but they eat what they want.

You are only going to make your kid overeat when you aren't around because he'll fear that's the only time he can really eat what he wants and feel satiated.

then help me to understand why there are so many fat kids around? All of my friends who grew u overseas with big time restrictions, or went through a war or the great depression (older friends) are thin! They now have access to all the food they want, but they do not overeat.
I tell my son that he should never want to feel full. Just eat enough and don't commit one the sin of gluttony (we aren't religious, just conscientious).
On that note, I see why some religions insist on an occasional fast.

That is a crazy ass thing to tell a child. Sure, it's fine to feel hungry before a meal, but then you should eat until you're full.

You are harming him physically by not allowing him to eat enough and harming him emotionally by giving him a very disordered relationship with food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of growing teen boy here. As a "tween" your boy should be getting all the nourishment he needs. Normally at this age boys will get a little chunky at the waist. This is totally normal and they will lose all that chunk when they shoot up. You are depriving him of necessary nourishment to develop properly. And I agree with other posters that you are setting him up for eating disorders in the future. OP you sound like you need som serious therapy...I would say this is bordering on child abuse.

Again with the "abuse." What is it about this thread that brings out the drama queens?

I'm not OP, by the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:American children snack too much. It's fine to feel hungry. I'm inclined to think it's good for them.

It may be good, or she may be keeping them leaner than God meant their bodies to be. That isn't very kind, and sets them up for food issues once they leave her control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard from everyone that I am being a bad mother by letting my kids go "hungry".

I think that's telling. If everyone is saying the same thing to you, maybe you should listen--not that you're a bad mother, but that there's something wrong with your methods.

I also wanted thin children. I was too controlling, and I still have to bite my tongue not to criticize. When my kids went to college, a couple of them put on a good deal of weight when given free rein. If for no other reason than that, consider moderating your approach.

I've learned to love the (grown) children I have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What country did you grow up in, OP?

Curious because many of my friends/relatives who grew up in poor countries, and who grew up knowing hunger, actually tend to err on the side of forcing their kids to eat TONS from an early age and fret about them being too thin. They do anything to cajole and bribe their kids (who I personally feel could afford to miss a meal, because I am similar to you, OP) to eat-- and not things like broccoli, but things like chicken nuggets.

We did not feel that we knew hunger.
What you don't understand is that in the 1960s, food was not all over the place. Drug stores sold drugs, gas stations sold gas. You went to the supermarket for food or the outdoor markets. If you wanted cookies, you started with flour and sugar...My family was upper middle class and we never felt deprived. However, on occasion, maybe 6 times a year, I don't know for sure, we would get caught in some kind of circumstance that made it hard to get food. So we really were hungry. Not a little hungry, but really bad belly pains. The little ones would cry, we just knew to not make a big deal out of it. My parents never stopped to get something, since that was not so easy, we would just drive home and eat. So, yes I felt more hunger than my kids. I only know of one experience where my dd was so excited to go out with her friend that she forgot to eat before leaving home. They went to the Kennedy Center and somehow, they did not get food. She cried when she came home, and to this date, I can't get her to go there again. That is the only time I know of my kid getting really hungry.
My parents are well educated, so when we moved here, my mother never fed us junk. She knew about trans fat back in the late 70s. She was really suspicious of what was going into our food, so her skepticism limited our choices.

There's a difference between being hungry on a few occasions b/c food isn't available and being unsatisfied on a regular basis b/c your mom has decided you need to go hungry to be thin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This obsession of always having a snack ready, packing snacks wherever you go, or making a special stop for a snack, is way out of control.

I understand doing this when kids are small because it's easier for the parents, but really, it's fine--better, even--to be hungry before a meal.

There's a fine line with my daughter (7) -- if she gets too hungry before a meal, then she'll start crying over some imaginary issue and I can't get her to calm down enough to eat. I've gotten good at coming up with small, nutritious snacks to keep her mood steady.

When my girls are hungry before dinner, I give them the veggies from dinner to gnaw on while I keep making it. If that means they eat raw broccoli instead of roasted, that's fine. If it means they eat carrot sticks and sliced green pepper instead of brussel sprouts it's fine.

Gnaw on?
Can't you just say you give them veggies to snack on?

[Anonymous]

Here's why:
1. When you were a kid, you went hungry despite your parents best efforts to feed you. Your DS is hungry because you choose to make him that way. Your teenager knows the difference and will hate you for it.

2. He will go to school, a friends, and eventually college and eat what he wants. You can't control every bite he eats for the rest of his life, so you teach him healthy habits.

3. You are setting him up to binge eat every time he manages to slip out of your control.

4. You will have a teenager who will do everything in his power to do all of his socializing away from your house-- because that is where the food is.

So basically, in addition to making him miserable, you are setting him up to have a bad relationship with you and unhealthy relationship with food.

[Anonymous]

op hates short and chubby people.

[Anonymous]

Kids should only be offered one snack a day, maximum.

[Anonymous]

My kids eat when they want. I bring snacks everywhere. Some days my 6 yo dd will out eat me. She is tall and thin.

If your kid isn't overweight op, please please do not with hold food. Especially from a growing boy teenager. Seriously, wth is wrong with you?

Op, what is your height and weight and measurements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, if you want to understand how there can be people who are overweight and also experience hunger, please read up on "food insecurity". Food insecurity is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity. You could start here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx

I am thin, and my kids are healthy. They play sports and they do so very well.
No one has explained why the people like myself and the war survivors that I know, who were food "deprived" as kids are not obese now. Now one. I know tons of holocaust survivors in my family. They saw starvation as kids. I know others from my country who are my age who did not get fed the quality of food we see, and they are not fat. I guess they aren't food insecure.

OP, you are missing the point. The point is not that food insecurity makes you fat. The point is that

1. food insecurity and hunger are not synonyms
2. it is possible to experience food insecurity, as well as hunger, and also be fat.

[Anonymous]

OP you're being too controlling with food. Your son says he's hungry and you admitted he is thin. Did you tell your pediatrician you're limiting food?

Kids eat a lot at this age. It's one thing to say no unhealthy snacks or for a kid to experience occasional hunger due to a lack of food availability but that's it. We had a dietician tell us we can choose the foods to offer but the kids choose how much to eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat when they want. I bring snacks everywhere. Some days my 6 yo dd will out eat me. She is tall and thin.

If your kid isn't overweight op, please please do not with hold food. Especially from a growing boy teenager. Seriously, wth is wrong with you?

Op, what is your height and weight and measurements?

Your kids may not be fat now but you're likely raising kids who will be unable to stop putting food in their mouth. It simply isn't necessary to eat all the time.