On the radio today I heard a story about a woman who is refusing to give out candy to overweight children. She is instead giving these children notes to take home to their parents about how they need to lose weight.

These kids who may already feel self-conscious or be made fun of for their weight are going to be handed a note while their skinnier friends around them get candy….

Sounds like a great way to stop bullying and build children’s self-esteems!

NOT!

While teaching moderation is important it shouldn’t be done on Halloween OR in this way!

Ok I’m all for teaching our kids about healthy eating, but this simply is not the way.

Yes, childhood obesity is a problem. Yes, I would love to promote healthier eating to our kids. Yes, I kind of believe that drastic measures need to be taken and the community needs to become involved.

But NOT on a holiday based around eating candy until your belly hurts is not the time.

This is actually the attitude that irritates me more than anything else.

We vilify holidays and restaurants and even busy schedules as the reason why we or our children are overweight.

We focus on not eating “too badly” over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

But the real problem isn’t those few days during the year that we decide to indulge. It is the decisions we make those 300 some other days that really causes the problems.

Trick-or-treating on Halloween isn’t the cause of childhood obesity and a child shouldn’t be penalized on that day.

Instead we need to focus on teaching healthy habits on those other 300 some odd days that aren’t holidays.

So tomorrow indulge in those treats. Heck maybe even eat too many.

But then get right back on track the next day! The day after Halloween is the perfect time to instill the healthy habit of MODERATION with all that leftover candy (which half of it will finally be thrown away around New Years when all the yucky candy remains uneaten!).

Oh and one last thing….Embarrassing a kid isn’t going to change things. While teaching kids and telling kids the right way to behave is important, it is more important that we adults actually LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

So if this woman actually wanted to prevent childhood obesity, she would be working to get better food into the schools. Or help make healthier foods easier to obtain. Or even leading a class for parents about preparing healthy family meals on a budget.

But no…instead she is choosing to shame and bully a little kid….Great job fighting childhood obesity!

NOT!