Mare, that second part wasn't directed to you, but to Kyle's "why won't people just exercise some restraint" comment. My point is that it isn't so cut and dry as choosing to restrain yourself versus choosing to indulge.

Got it, Amanda. Thanks.

Lilybelle, no flack from me. It is hard. I wish I could have stayed home with both my kids. We couldn't afford it. However, I cooked every night. It was easier with my husband was alive. He was an excellent cook. When he passed away, it would have been so much easier to just let the kids get junk. They'd have been fed and I wouldn't have had to look at one less place setting at the table. I didn't. I came home every day and we fixed something. When I bought my house, I planted a garden. They loved telling everyone that except for the meat and the lettuce for the salad, everything we were eating was from our garden. They both love garden fresh now as opposed to store bought. I guess I did instill something in them.

They both insist on family dinners. They grew up that way and that's the way it is supposed to be to them.

It was hard to always do that, especially when my older DD went haywire on us. We may have been sitting at the table and not speaking, but we were having family dinner.

Now that I look back at it, I don't know how I did it but I did. I still do. Going out is a treat. Fast food is not an option.

Jill -- you are a great mom already, even before kids I had an eating disorder my whole life and and now an 8 year old son who is a little overweight. My mother had food control issues and I'm VERY careful to avoid this with my son. I cook all our meals and discretely limit their sweets. I'm teaching them good choices, not restrictions. Also, I think if I exercise with them and encourage them in sports, that's half the task. It is easier to eat McD's and fast food, but in the long run it really stinks -- I don't want my kids to have the 100 pounds to loose that I do.

And that is one of the things that keeps us chasing our own tails in circles ... even if it's not to keep up with the Joneses ... we deserve that camper because we work so hard and are so busy we need to get away. Of course, we'll have to put in some over-time so that we can make the payments on that camper but that's OK because we only have sixteen more easy monthly installments to pay on the vacation we took last year ... for which we've worked over-time too ....

Mare, now that I am financially able to stay home with my kids I do. But, honestly it wasn't til I became concerned with my own health that I began to take an avid interest in what I was feeding my family. Sure enough I took the shortcuts and picked up junk food for my family after working a 12 hour shift at the hospital. I'm paying for it now when my 15 yr. old DD refuses to eat vegetables or cries that she is gaining weight. Or when I have to buy her new clothes every 3-4 months cause she has outgrown the other ones.

I could have slapped myself in the head the other night when my DD complained she was bored. Instead of saying, well let's go take a walk or go to the gym, I immediately said "why don't you go play on the computer". Old habits definitely die hard!

I'm not saying it's anyones fault. The divorce rate is 50% and many women have no choice but to work outside the home. Even in double income homes, sometimes there just isn't enough money to go around. But there are also other family out there that (like mine) could have survived on one income. We didn't. Why? Because we wanted to HAVE IT ALL. I totally blame myself and DH. As someone else mentioned we are part of the Baby Boomer Generation. We realized that there is money out there to be made and we wanted our fair share of it. Having a modest home, one good vehicle for DH to get to work in and healthy food on the table just wasn't our priority!

Talk about hypocrisy. I work in a hospital that prides itself on cardiac care. We have a McDonald's and a Starbuck's there in addition to the cafeteria! I take my lunch.

I have to agree with everyone on here, it's the TV, video games, fatty foods from fast food chains. I also feel that the parents are to blame too. The kids may be lazy, but so are the parents. If the parents were to step up to the plate and act like parents are suppose to and monitor their children's eating habits and TV time and make them play outdoors, we wouldn't be having this issue. I have a 2 year old son, and he's a big boy all the way around. He's tall like his father, my son is 2 and over 3 1/2 feet tall, and he has a large build. My son weighs 40 pounds, but he doesn't look it and it's because of his height. My son is as tall and as heavy as a 3-4 year old, but he was born in the 95 percentile and has stayed in the 93 percentile. I make sure that my son eats his vegis and his fruits and he get very little "junk." I am determined to start good eating habits in my son now and pray that they stay forever If parents would quit giving in to their toddlers cries for cookies and candy and introduce vegis and fruits early on, this would eleminate obesity in adolesants and adults! I know that it's hard when a child wants the sweets, but you have to tell them no and stand by it. I run a daycare in my home and I make sure that ALL the children eat healthy. I tell their parents that what they do at home is their business, but at my home, the kid eats healthy or not at all. I live in an apartment, but I try to get the kids outside at least once a day. If it's cold, we improvise. I only allow 90 minutes of TV in my home, so we play games and learn the basics. It's not easy, but I enjoy the fact that I am starting good habits young!