Monday, October 26, 2009

Are children of skinny parents more well-behaved?

Let me explain my title. I took Xander to Arctic Circle the other day for lunch while Jared was out of town. In the play area were 4 other moms. Two REALLY fat moms who were friends, then two really skinny mom's who were friends. I sat back and watched the interaction of these parents with their children and here is what I observed.

The two fat ladies were to lazy to get off their duff's and discipline their children. Their children were running around like wild dogs. Throwing coats, shoes, etc. at the other children in the playland. The mom's kept saying, stop doing that or I am going to.... (insert punishment here). But the problem was, they never followed through.

Then the two skinny moms. The second their children started misbehaving, they immediately got up, took the ... (insert threatened item here). Their children were sooo much more well-behaved than the other ladies children.

So this brings me to my hypothesis. Are children of skinny parents better behaved than children of fat parents? Discuss...

Disclaimer: I realize that this is a gross generalization. Not all fat people have horrible kids, and not all skinny people have well behaved children. But GENERALLY speaking, I think this might be true...

14 comments:

christy said...

this is funny! parents who follow through generally have better behaved kids and perhaps they tend to be thinner from all of their following through. let's admit it, the kids keep you hoppin'. those darn cute kids of ours are designed to test boundaries constantly. Perhaps it also shows self discipline. People who are thin usually have more self discipline when it comes to diet and exercise and so perhaps have more discipline when it comes to raising kids too. I wouldn't know. What IS self discipline? lol!

Heidi said...

Christy hit on the exact point I had in mind. Skinny people have a certain level of self discipline, and that discipline carries over into other area's of their life. Point well made Christy.

Erin L said...

I was going to say the same thing as Christy. It takes discipline. Interestingly enough, Dave, who works with kids with behavioral problems and the great majority of them have overweight mothers.

MaryRuth said...

I think its easy to judge and plenty of skinny people have horrible children.

Leisa said...

Yup. Well said above commentators. I really have nothing else i can add.

Ryan and Angela said...

Is this your way of telling me I need to lose weight?

Sharon said...

I am pretty sure that the reason Megan lost her baby fat so fast is from all the hands on with her kids and following through. Which by the way, takes a lot of energy and burns off fat in the process. That's my theory and I am sticking with it! lol

Chatzy said...

I think you have a good point!

Anonymous said...

I like your hypothesis! But I would have to disagree. I think all parents have issues with this whole empty threat situation, overweight or not. I would almost say that women are more likely to have empty threats than men, with the whole "you just wait till your father comes home." Then when they get home the men are forced to make a big deal out of something that wasn't a huge concern. Consistency works best with training dogs and raising children. We just can't be lazy when a situation comes about because then the kids will catch on quick. Couples need to be on the same page for punishment so when one wants to be lazy (or not want to deal with it) the other one can step in. I love this topic to discuss. I wish I could just talk instead of type.
Dave

Shellianne said...

hahaha.This makes me laugh.

I agree with Dave. Whoever he is.

thin but nice said...

What a horrible, shallow and ignorant person you are!

Leisa said...

ok now i'm just laughing!!

HeidiPie said...

Interesting theory here. I'm pretty sure it's not the fat part, but the lazy part. It's the getting up and doing something about it part that kids realize oh, something is going to really happen...

Unknown said...

Well Angela's kids aren't very well behaved...

I hope my kids are well behaved so I can be in the skinny area