I consider myself pretty flexible. I’m not nearly as tough on babyboy as my mother was on me, but I also don’t let the kid do whatever he wants to either. In fact, I ruin his life most of the time and he hates me.
Strict parenting can lead to obese kids
Flexible rule-setting moms most likely to avoid chubby kidsCHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — “Clean your plate or else!” and other authoritarian approaches to parenting can lead to overweight children, a new study finds.
Strict mothers were nearly five times more likely to raise tubby first-graders than mothers who treated their children with flexibility and respect while also setting clear rules.
But while the children of flexible rule-setting moms avoided obesity, the children of neglectful mothers and permissive mothers were twice as likely to get fat.
“The difference between the different parenting groups is pretty striking,” said the study co-author, Dr. Kay Rhee of Boston University School of Medicine. The study of 872 families appears in the June issue of Pediatrics, released Monday.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/06/05/stirct.parent.obesity.ap/index.html