Yifei Du (Cathy)
WR100 Professor Kim
09/16/14
Paper 1–Westerners Should Treat “Child Food” Seriously
Most westerners think that the “child food” is just same as the “junk food”, but most parents of China care a lot about the diet of their children. They keep their children away from the unhealthy food, and they even create special menus, which contain more vegetables, less meats and less salt. Different ways of raising children depend on different cultures, regions, families and faiths, but which way is better for the health of children? Some people believe that parents should not treat their children seriously and they should give their children more space to enjoy; some people support a lot of Chinese parents who are strict with the diet of their children. In my opinion, some westerners should learn from Chinese parents and pay more attention to the diet of their children because of three reasons:
Firstly, there is no doubt that almost none of the children have the strong ability of self-control. They are easy to be attractive by the trick of the fast food store. All sorts of advertisements and toys can fascinate children. When I interview with my teammate Jasper, he tells me that his little brother often begs his parents for eating fast food, and he tries to do so not because he is obsessed with the junk food but because he wants to gain the toy. In fact, all stores of fast food like McDonald’s grab the heart of the children, so they always produce and renew different types of the toy in a short period.
Secondly, I suppose that a good habit of eating is important and it is always developed by the young age. Chinese parents do better in this respect. They are strict in controlling the diet of their children, not allowing their children to purchase the junk food, and telling their children about the harm of eating junk food. I still remember that when I firstly try to ask my mother to buy me some fast food, she seriously shows me how unhealthy they are and tells me that if I am going to eat this junk food, it’s very painful to have obesity and illness in the future. So when I was just a little kid, I knew that fast food is not good for our health and I seldom eat them now because I have a good eating habit from the young age.
When I interview with Jasper, he tells me that more and more American have the problem of obesity and illness and these problems are tied up with the habit of eating junk food. America offers children a lot of chance to eat fast food since the noshery is almost everywhere. I’ve been worked at dining hall for a semester, and I can always see the fat people grabbing a lot of vegetables and fruits and I ask jasper why they looks so unhealthy even they eat the healthy food everyday. He tells me that these people have the child obesity and it’s painful when they grow up. So I think if we want to avoid the painful obesity and illness, we should eat healthy food when we are young.
Although fast food is convenient and delicious, children should stay away from them because they are too young to control themselves and it’s the best time to own a good eating habit. I think more and more western parents should pay attention to the diet of their children. They should not allow their children to optionally eat junk food. Instead, they should show how unhealthy the fast food is and control the times that their children try to eat. If they can learn from Chinese parents to cook a special menu for their children, they may keep their children away from the obesity and illness.