Emergency Budget: tax credit cuts for millions

flea72

its a simple equation eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight

whether you eat 1000 calories of banana or 1000 calories of penguin bar, the effect is still the same, where weight is concerned

people buy into the myth that eating junk food makes you fat. it doesnt, its the quantity you eat and the calories you dont expend that makes you fat

if you think a bag of crisps is so bad for your kids, just ask your grandparents what their school pack-up consisted of. usually bread and dripping, with some fruit if they were lucky. look in most lunchboxes now, and its a lowfat yogurt, rice cake, celery and houmous, and a box of raisins. all things that on their own sound healthy/natural, but overall contain more calories than a slice of lard on toast

yes, there are packets of crisps that contain 100s of calories, but there are also ones that are under 100 calories per pack, much in the same way, i could choose between a large banana and a small one

but as ive already pointed out, it doesnt matter whether a banana has a better nutritional content than a packet of crisps, if you are teaching your kids its ok to eat fruit instead of choc/crisps the end result is still the same, if they dont burn it off

we'll still be here in 20yrs asking where it all went wrong, even tho little johnny never ate choc or went to Mcds, unless the school day allows our kids to become more active

F

claire111

I fail to see why this is so complicated.

It is calories in - calories out.........

If your little one does a paper round/milk round, walks 3 miles to school and another 3 miles home and then goes fruit picking or gathering wood for fuel each and every day he or she will need more calories than the child who gets dropped off in the car and likes to watch tv sometimes after school....

Food is fuel and that is all it should be. Now if your fuel is laden with nutrients then that's a further health benefit.

Gemstar30

I have been reading this and not many have touched on one thing that would encouarage exercise. Walking to and from school.
I live in a medium size village where the vast majority of homes are no more than 2 miles away from the primary school. Yet the number of vehicles that park outside the school at 8.30 - 9.00 and again from 2.45 - 3.15 is crazy.
What is so wrong with walking your child to and from school every day. Rain, wind, snow, sun, it all adds to waken the body up. I find it unbelievable that homes close to me (no more than 800 yds from the school) load the children up for that 1/2 mile drive!

Or is it that parents just haven't got the time to enjoy that exercise because they have to be at work. Maybe that is the problem! Parents finding that work eats into their children's activities too much. Then you have to consider what is more important then.

Maybe also that is why that after homework is finished etc it is 7.00pm Maybe it is because parents pick their children up from 'after school clubs' etc when they finish work at 5pm

What this does not answer is what do the parents that pick their children up at 3pm do with them until 5pm. Do they encourage them to engage with their friends on the park or do they just allow them to watch a TV/computer screen for two hours? Who then is to blame for the lack of motivation for their children.

Society has changed certainly, but you can't blame the teachers for little Johnnies lack of exercise. Maybe Little Johnnie would love to be picked up from school by mum or dad and walk home with friends and 'play out' until tea time.

AnxiousMum

We live less than a mile from the school - yet I drive my kids to school each morning where they go to breakfast club. Work? Yes....that's the reason .......they go to breakfast club at 8 am, have breakfast with their friends (though they have usually had something here already). However, the walk is through the woods and very hilly (we are at the bottom of the valley) and while it's less than a mile 'as the crow flies', it's probably at least twice as long through the footpaths.

But.....I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to work from home, but school hours, and term time only. So, in order to work my full hours to be free with the kids when they finish school, I need to start on time, meaning I don't have the luxury of being able to have the leisurely walk back home after taking them to school. So that I can spend more time with my kids, yes I drive them the short drive to school in the morning.

They come home with me right after school, unless there is a 'club' - usually streetdance, football, rugby or something after school when I go and watch them and we walk home. When they get home, they are usually out riding bikes, skateboarding, playing ball in the front garden. They'll then watch their favourite tv show for half an hour, do homework. We normally don't eat till about 6:15 or so.....then it's family time reading or playing a board game......with another 10-15 mins on homework if needed before bed.

Weekends, some of the kids play rugby on Saturday, others on Sunday, but if it's not pouring rain, they love nothing more than to be outside being kids.
All my kids have been through or are in school........and it certainly isn't making them overweight! It is however providing them with a great education as they have learnt that school is for learning.....and they love it

AnxiousMum

claire111 wrote: »

I fail to see why this is so complicated.

It is calories in - calories out.........

If your little one does a paper round/milk round, walks 3 miles to school and another 3 miles home and then goes fruit picking or gathering wood for fuel each and every day he or she will need more calories than the child who gets dropped off in the car and likes to watch tv sometimes after school....

Food is fuel and that is all it should be. Now if your fuel is laden with nutrients then that's a further health benefit.

It's also the types of 'fat in' ........ yes, they will burn calories.....no matter where they are from, but we all know that different types of fats (hence the difference between eating a banana or a penguin biscuit) react differently in the body.

Gemstar30

AnxiousMum wrote: »

We live less than a mile from the school - yet I drive my kids to school each morning where they go to breakfast club. Work? Yes....that's the reason .......they go to breakfast club at 8 am, have breakfast with their friends (though they have usually had something here already). However, the walk is through the woods and very hilly (we are at the bottom of the valley) and while it's less than a mile 'as the crow flies', it's probably at least twice as long through the footpaths.

But.....I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to work from home, but school hours, and term time only. So, in order to work my full hours to be free with the kids when they finish school, I need to start on time, meaning I don't have the luxury of being able to have the leisurely walk back home after taking them to school. So that I can spend more time with my kids, yes I drive them the short drive to school in the morning.

They come home with me right after school, unless there is a 'club' - usually streetdance, football, rugby or something after school when I go and watch them and we walk home. When they get home, they are usually out riding bikes, skateboarding, playing ball in the front garden. They'll then watch their favourite tv show for half an hour, do homework. We normally don't eat till about 6:15 or so.....then it's family time reading or playing a board game......with another 10-15 mins on homework if needed before bed.

Weekends, some of the kids play rugby on Saturday, others on Sunday, but if it's not pouring rain, they love nothing more than to be outside being kids.
All my kids have been through or are in school........and it certainly isn't making them overweight! It is however providing them with a great education as they have learnt that school is for learning.....and they love it

Hi, we are on the same wavelength. Yes I know society has changed, but with the sound of your life, you have it balanced just right. I applaud you.

dlk

I can't believe this got to page 20 before someone actually seemed to realise that Flight was just a wind up merchant! I don't know if he's a bored pensioner, a child or actually a rather clever devils advocate making a point about the ridiculousness of our benefit system but either way some of his comments throughout were clearly just looking for a reaction.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

flea72 wrote: »

schools are totally going about controlling obesity in the wrong way

eating a penguin bar and a packet of crisps as part of your snack/lunch isnt whats causing the rise in childrens' weight, its the sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise

if you look at the calorie/fat intake of the average kid nowadays, you will actually find they consume less in a day, than their comparables from 20yrs ago, so why lay the blame on unhealthy eating?

perhaps the schools should be encouraging the kids to be more active, but that would mean the curriculum would have to be scaled down in other areas to allow for additional PE time, and guess what sporting achievements dont rate in league tables, so what school is gonna do that

F

I'd totally agree,especially about kids 20 years ago,I know my kids certainly ate loads and a lot of it would be frowned upon now.
Classed as junk food,lots of sweets,crisps,chocolate ect even though they ate balanced meals as well.
They'd have lunch at school followed by afternoon tea when they came home and dinner when their dad came in and supper before they went to bed with bits in between.
However they have never, even now as adults had a weight problem and I firmly believe it was because they were so active as children.
PE and games were a daily event and they spent the whole of their childhood out playing,they did'nt even set eyes on a TV till well after they started school and then only for an hour a day,being active and inventive was all they had to keep them occupied.
I think TVs,computers and games consoles ect have a lot to answer for as far as fat kids are concerned.

AnxiousMum

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I think TVs,computers and games consoles ect have a lot to answer for as far as fat kids are concerned.

And that is down to parenting, not schooling right?

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

AnxiousMum wrote: »

And that is down to parenting, not schooling right?

As far as gadgets are concerned of course that's down to the parents but the schools should be ensuring daily exercise is part of the timetable.
It's not healthy kids sitting around all day they need to let off steam no matter what age group they're in.
Even lethargic teenagers can benefit from an hour a day on the games field or in the gym.