>While I am interested in this, a lot of people try to hijack the conversation as if it is about body shaming

We live in strange times where you can't say anything to fix a problem without someone saying you're infringing on someones right, or you're being politically incorrect. It's infuriating. Aside from the issue with obesity, in the US the homeless problem is out of control. But city's struggle with finding a solution because of groups that believe it's anybody's right to die in the streets if they want. There are people who advise homeless not to go to the hospital in ambulances because they'll get charged. It's unbelievable.

I agree on that letting a child be obese could be considered a form of abuse. 
But talking about child's nutrition, there are many sides to this issue. If you look at it from the point of view of parents who have the possibility of giving their children a healthy and balanced diet but prefer to satisfy their whims and allow the child to eat what he/she wants and become obese, there is negligence. But what about the millions of parents who do not have financial resources, and give their children the food they can afford, which is never the healthiest. In that case, I do not think we can speak of negligence, although there is a problem of malnutrition. 

This is very interesting and important topic. You are shared with us. The biggest effort of parents in Pakistan is to feed and educate their children well. In my opinion, feeding bad food to children is not punishment, it is spoiling their health. Yes, I can't even imagine that any parent can wish bad for their children. If a child is going in a wrong direction, then the mother explains to the kids that this thing is wrong.

> But, the conversation does open up a lot of questions in many areas of parenting and perhaps starts to explore the question of what is good parenting and what is bad, and where is the line where it becomes abusive. All the parents I know want to be good parents and most seem to believe that they are, but are they really considering the wellbeing of the child, or is "good parenting" doing what is socially acceptable, regardless of the outcomes for the children?

You hit the nail on the head, squarely. 

Education is key!

We all want to be good parents, but, many do not realize they are uneducated in this area. How many really know what good nutrition consists of? Regardless of the fact they have probably taken it in school, on a different level, I wish parents were educated in some of the more important things in their child's life when they have a baby. 

They give you classes when you buy a pet.

While I have given up on any desire to be a parent of my own, I am very thankful for the heavy-handed ways my mom helped us with food around the house.
- Never any sugar drinks like sodas, only plain seltzer if we wanted some fizz.
- No crisps/chips, but we could have pretzels with nut butter.
- No store-bought cookies, but we had a few recipes we would make ourselves.
- Pretty much always used plant alternatives to milk + calcium supplements.

To this day, my mom still has a complex that she didn't do enough as a cook, that her food wasn't flavorful, that we didn't have enough to eat. I'm constantly reassuring her that we always had plenty and enjoyed the cooking, but just that she raised a bunch of slower eaters who consume reasonably sized portions. I think when we would have friends over and she would see how much more they ate, it made her feel like she wasn't doing enough.

This is a complicated issue, and we haven't even touched on the accessibility and expense of healthier, whole-food, organic choices. It's rough out there for a parent, but looks like you got your head in the right direction.

Everything in excess is bad. Moderation is super. This is not only on dietary concern , I feel most parents have lost their children to job and career and to he/she a big boy or girl syndrome. Parents should know their child(ren) even to what they eat, things they do as it concerns their health, academics, social and social media life it doesn't mean over doing but as a guide to ensuring that they remain healthy, happy and responsible.
It's pity the kind of parents we may have in the coming years. 
>My question .

Punishment to the parents would it bring the dead back to life? Would other parents learn the lesson coming from this?
#Selfimprovement

Setting a child on the right path in eating habits, blatantly ignoring children not being fed or over eating both equate to similar end, either are wrong.

Parents are able to make meals interesting and fun learning from an exceptionally young age, it is all about teaching from young, outside influences are where much is going wrong. Advertising of quick meals, convenient sweets, crisps are something of a minefield once children grow up.

Teach them well from as young as you are able, in planting, growing, cleaning from the basics make it a healthy game.

Cool article, and you made your post very inspiring for all of us.

Skinny and fat (obesity) are both malnutrition problems, as you have stated. In my opinion, this is a serious problem.
The general assumption is that it is still a problem for thin children who don't want to eat, but it is never a problem for children who like to overeat. There are still many parents who are happy when they see that their children like to eat, and they are even happier to serve anything to their children who like to eat.

Parental responsibility? Certainly! 
Children are subjects that cannot be held accountable. While they are still children, it is the parents' responsibility to fulfill the best interests of the child. This includes the issue of what food is appropriate and inappropriate for children to consume.

This kind of law can only be existent at certain parts of the world but not everywhere. malnutrition is a very big problem we are facing here in Africa and there are still measures put in place to eradicate poverty.

You presented an interesting discussion. Thanks for sharing

Wow this topic is really inspiring..
I know too much of everything is bad but i dont want to sound rude or better still body shame obsessed parents and then some of their kids mostly take that size from them because most of them doesn't really care as long as the child eats alot like them..
I hope such parents will be thought how to manage and control the diets of their kids , because it later comes back to hunt them while they grow up.

The subject is certainly delicate but of widespread and topical interest. I believe that a correct culture from a nutritional point of view is important as nowadays obesity is becoming more and more widespread; on the other hand, attention should also be paid to those situations in which, on the contrary, one is unable to bring a dish to the table, but that is another issue. In any case, I am against any abuse and I personally do everything I can to prevent it from happening, especially when it comes to children.
I'm not a parent therefore I can't speak from different experience, but if I were, do everything in my power so that my children can feel good and have a fair education in all areas of life, even if the parent's "job" it's not simple and we know that you are not born with an instruction booklet but I believe that in life you can learn from experience and certain things, even if you don't know them, I imagine come naturally; children are the most important thing in the world.
Thanks for the food for thought, and in this case there is so much to think about.
I hug you!

This is an extremely interesting read. I might get flak for this, but every time I see an overweight child, I cannot help but question if it is from illness or if the parents are simply allowing their child to overeat/eat unhealthy. It is interesting to read that there is now legal cases. 

This a very touchy topic. My kid does not enjoy a lot to eat proper hot meal. That's the habit he developed at daycare (i believe). It is of great importance for me to take care of my kid and encourage him to eat healthy. Not sure how that will shape up in the future. I can be charged for negligence but why would I neglect my kid.

My wife works with preschool children. One of the problems she sees is that children are neglected by giving them a tablet or phone to play. There is limited verbal communication. And, little is expected of them. By the time they arrive in her classroom at age 3, they are non-verbal, not potty trained, and don't know how to interact with others. Obviously, some children have deeper problems that can be diagnosed and treated. But, many of them only need a little bit of attention and interaction to learn to speak and care for themselves. 

If being strict bring something better for kids then why not? But excess everything bad, ideal parenting is challenging. I'm not yet a parent but I saw how today's parents treat their kids and how kids treat their parents. None can be perfect but still we can practice.  Childhood obesity sometimes become the reason of being bullied by other kids so parents can provide healthy foods instead unhealthy tasty foods that cause obesity.