Children see, children do. When mum and dad are eating processed take-away junk all the time, children think it’s just the norm.

Some parents have tricked themselves into thinking they only eat junk occasionally, or they justify eating bad food with lame excuses, like time and money.

Schools are now bringing in competitions to see which kid can buy the most fruit from the tuck shop, to encourage healthy eating.

A school teacher friend of mine said her school encourages children to eat fruit during class because they know it is often the only way to get the kids to eat the healthy food they are not getting at home.

I think this is shocking. Some blame the ‘childhood obesity epidemic’ on food marketing, the pester power at the supermarket, or hidden additives and nasties in food that parents think is otherwise fairly safe.

I just blame it on plain old ignorance and stupidity.

Some say that buying fresh fruit and veg all the time is way too expensive, and a bag of frozen chips or some other ‘fast food’ is more convenient or cost effective. To me, this means an extra few dollars a week or month means more to the parents than the health of their families. And that’s just wrong.

Others will argue that their kids are fussy eaters and refuse to eat the healthy stuff.

Well when I was a kid, the rule at the dinner table was that I couldn’t leave until I finished everything on my plate. Mum never over served food, so it wasn’t a matter of shoving too much food down my throat, it was a matter of making sure I had a balanced, nutritious diet. One night as I sat staring dismally at my brussel sprouts, cranky, selfish crocodile tears rolling down my cheeks, I envisaged the city around me going to sleep, with me still sitting there. I imagined the sun coming up, the city waking for the day and the traffic slowly starting to roll around our house, with me still sitting there staring at the ugly green vegetables. I was so worried this would happen, that I just ate the wretched things.

Today, I love my greens, and would prefer a side of fresh vegetables over a plate of chips any day. And I thank my parents for it.

Do you think it is society’s fault kids are getting fatter, or the fault of lapse parenting?

Do you give your kids junk food, and how often?

Do you think schools should be taking responsibility for the nutrition of students or should that be the role of the parents? Or both?