TV and food don’t mix. Or rather, TV and junk food ads are a toxic mixture for kids. This isn’t the usual “yeah, duh” findings. A new study reported in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had really interesting things to report about how and what kids eat after watching food advertising on television. I’ve long been a bit skeptical about blaming our increasingly serious childhood obesity problem in this country on things like junk food or television or even fast food places. I think it has more to do with an increasing inability to just say to to ourselves, and to our kids. After all, when I was a kids we had junk food and TV and even the “Hostess snack mom” in one commercial I remember serving Twinkies to her kids while they watched TV! But still, about 4% of kids were overwight in 1970, compared to what will likely be almost half of American kids by 2010.

But - after reading this piece in the Journal, I’m thinking it still takes a parent to just say “no” - to TV and to having too much junk in the house - but Pope shows how that job may be even harder than we thought, and she has some suggestions on how to handle it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118402733235161571-search.html?KEYWORDS=Watching+Food+Ads+on+TV&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

Happy Parenting - Betsy Hart

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