In my family it was exceedingly rare.
Yet nowadays for many families it's an entirely normal, and if not everyday then certainly every week, part of life.
Psychologist Angela Pfammatter sent me a picture yesterday that in a sense helps to illustrate how normal fast food has become. It's so normal that a group of Canadian teachers created a math book for Grade 3-6 students to learn math skills by means of,
"Real-Life, Fast Food Menu Situations"Here's a shot of some of the menus:
Long sigh.
Sure they might learn some math, but no doubt in so doing they'll be further normalizing the notion of convenience meals - something that truly wasn't "normal" when we were kids but clearly is something that is pathologically normal now.
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Boy, talk about teachers unloading parenting guilt on their students. Can't believe this happens while we still fight for more physical activity in schools. unvelievable
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see something like this.. I die a little. So sad.
ReplyDelete"...something that truly wasn't 'normal' when we were kids but clearly is something that is pathologically normal now."
ReplyDeleteThe ingredients that make fast foods pathological are the added sugars and omega-6 industrial seed oils(1). And, thanks to the low-fat ideology(2) and the anti-saturated fat campaign(3), fast foods throughout the world(4) are likely to become even more pathological(5).
References
1. http://evilcyber.com/nutrition/disrobing-dogma-polyunsaturated-fat-and-health/
2, http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/content/63/2/139.full
3, http://www.docsopinion.com/2012/06/04/the-case-against-saturated-fat/
4, http://www.agra-net.com/portal2/fcn/home.jsp?template=newsarticle&artid=20018012756&pubid=ag096
5, http://blogs.rsc.org/fo/2012/12/13/properties-of-ethylcellulose-oleogels-as-potential-replacements-for-saturated-fats/
You know what would work here?
ReplyDeleteAn additional math exercise book where you add up the cost of making a meal at home: rice, vegetables, small portion of meat per person.
Then do the math on time: going out to a restaurant, eating there, coming home vs stir frying and staying at home.
Because, damn it, we can brainwash them, too!
good lord! no wonder i know people who think it's so cute that their 5 and 6 year olds know exactly what they want at all the different drive-throughs and restaurants and it's adorable when they order for themselves :( long sighing with you dr!
ReplyDeleteI only hope that in later years they learn more complicated math with problems such as adding the calories in a typical fast-food meal (burger, large fries and large soda, for example) and figuring out how long they'd have to exercise for to burn said meal - using a variety of exercises at different intensities, having calculated their resting metabolic rate and taking their regular acitvity level into consideration. Now THAT would be educational!
ReplyDeleteFor us it's once a week, this includes, a fast food supper. IE frozen pizza ect. Once a week. That what we had as kids, once a week. Probley more then needs to be, but at least my kids know, it's only gonna happen on a Friday night.
ReplyDeleteReally sad, that they need to come to this in schools.
My neighbor, whom, I love but is a single father, whom works very hard. And is a great father..
His daughter was over here the other day, she ate 10, yes 10 oranges. I was thinking really your asking for another orange. ( it's Christmas, your not asking for candy canes ect.) Nope just another orange..
Told him, later, wow can't beleive she ate 10 oranges. His response, oh I never think to buy them...
I know he buys apples and banna'a.. Just not oranges, (Think he will now) lol
Why can't they do math with oranges and apples?
When you were a kid how often did your family eat out? - When I was kid, we only eat outside sometimes, for the fact we have a tight budget and also fast food during those times are not that popular and rampant unlike today. For me, it is not wrong eating in fast foods but we must not do it everyday and we should only consider those foods which can we say healthy ones.
ReplyDelete