May 11, 2006

Parents Litigate Nikelodeon Over Junk Food Ads

Do you ever wonder how some people have their heads screwed on or whether they’re even attached? Some group called the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is suing the Kellogg’s Corporation and Nikelodeon for conduct that is harmful to the nation’s children. Sounds like a good thing right? Well, maybe but it’s not.
You see, the lawsuit contends that children are being enticed by Satan’s electronic missionary to the world of the chronically overweight—spelled U-S-A—due to all the junk food ads aired on children’s television. Maybe you’re thinking I should be all for this; after all, it’s true!
Well I suppose it is but—as I am fond of saying of late—let’s get a grip! I am thoroughly unsympathetic to this on so many levels.
First—The typical American—I am talking adult American—is overweight with obesity becoming an epidemic. Apparently, in the mind of most, that has no bearing on the eating habits of one’s children. Have you noticed the similarity in body types of parents and their children? That’s not ALL genetics…
Second—Are these defenseless and naïve children wayward orphans such that they can avail themselves of junk food at whim? Some act as if they are.
Third—If a parent can’t turn off the television, or at least change stations, why is the blame so easily placed on evil and nasty corporations?
Fourth--The litigants are concerned only about the threat to the health of their autonomous darling’s physique rather than their kid’s character. That is a bigger problem frankly.
Sponge Bob’s smart mouthed comments and outlook on life are far more detrimental to the nation’s children than the ingestion of a Ho-Ho.
But the lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, once again, lays parental responsibility at the feet of corporate America.
One of the litigants, Sherri Carlson, apparently has a difficult time trying to get her three young children to eat well. Carlson said, "They turn on Nickelodeon and see all those enticing junk food ads. Adding insult to injury, we enter the grocery store and see our beloved Nick characters plastered on all those junky snacks and cereals."
Hey, here’s a newsflash Mrs. Carlson; you’re the parent! You’re supposed to be the one in control! Obviously you’re not and you’re children are still young! So stop whining and start parenting taking charge and responsibility for the nurture of YOUR children. And if you can’t, acknowledge you are simply not fit to be a parent. Lady, if you can’t control something like this, at this age, you have NO hope for the real issues of their lives as they grow a little older.

I am tired of our culture which has mastered shirking one’s responsibility finding someone else on which to lay the blame for failures of every stripe. This is just more of the same. I hope this suit is thrown out and pray for the nation’s children. If a parent cannot/will not control what their children puts into their mouths at age 5, they surely will not control what they put into their minds at age 12.
Most parents I know seem to think children just magically morph into creatures of wise choices and reasonable choosers. Look around; that’s is hardly the case. God gave children parents to wade through the swamp of infancy and adolescence—before them--clearing the way of alligators and snakes. He didn’t give them to send them out into the swamp only to sue the swamp director when their child gets bitten!
This one’s easy—Moms and Dads—start acting like Moms and Dads.

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