Lifespan Research Assignment: Is Child Obesity a Reflection of Parental Negligence?

Introduction

Over the past decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased considerably,
and many concerns have been raised about how it affects the health and wellbeing of children
globally. One question that has also remained unanswered satisfactorily is the source of child
obesity, with experts speculating whether parental negligence is one of the causes. Despite
multiple strategies being put to curb the increased prevalence of childhood obesity, it remains a
challenge, especially because of the vulnerability of children. Children’s environment plays an
essential role in their health and wellbeing (Larsen et al., 2018). Notably, the family milieu a
child is born into and raised in plays an integral role in the child’s development. Within the
family setting, parents significantly influence their children’s behavior, as they are in charge of
parenting.
Parenting refers to the activities that parents implement in interacting with children to
facilitate physical, social, psychological, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing and health
throughout the lifespan of the children (Larsen et al., 2018). Research shows that parents’ role in
the development of the behavior of their children, especially those related to eating and physical
activity, is vital. Children are often dependent on their parents, who structure their environment
and promote healthy living, which helps sustain balance and weight throughout childhood and
adulthood. Parents are the agents of change in the lives of children, and they have a role in
ensuring that their children eat healthily to avoid becoming obese. This paper explores whether
childhood obesity is a reflection of parental negligence.
Review of the Literature

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A growing body of evidence an existing correlation between parental involvement in
their children’s lives and the incidence of obesity. According to Knutson et al. (2009), childhood
obesity is influenced by the environment and genetic or hereditary factors. Although little control
can be exerted over hereditary factors, the same cannot be said about environmental factors
because children are solely dependent on their parents for direction in all activities, including
eating and physical exercise. Essentially, parents often approve of all the decisions that their
children make. They are also responsible for ensuring that children adopt healthy lifestyles to
prevent them from becoming obese. When parents fail to take care of their children, they may
become obese because they have no directions on what foods they should eat to avoid dramatic
weight gain. According to Rhee et al. (2015), general parenting and childhood obesity are linked.
Most parents who invest in the emotional and behavioral dimensions of parenting often raise
children with a healthy weight because they are present in guiding their kids on the best foods to
consume to maintain a healthy weight (Rhee et al., 2015).
Additionally, parental negligence and poor parenting style have been attributed to
overweight and obesity in children. Parenting styles are the patterns of parenting parents exercise
when raising their children. A parenting style might also entail the extent of involvement and
responsiveness used by parents when interacting with children (Danford et al., 2015). Research
shows that the type of parenting style used can negatively or positively influence behavior,
attitudes, beliefs, practices, and children’s health. For example, authoritarian and participative
rather than neglectful parenting styles have positively affected child development and behaviors.
Remarkably, parenting practices occur in the context of parenting style and entail the actions that
parents take when making decisions that directly affect their children (Danford et al., 2015).
Admittedly, even childhood obesity intervention trials that focus on parenting styles have been

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successful because of parental involvement, participation, and input in the fight against
overweight and obesity. Therefore, children whose parents use authoritative parenting styles are
more likely to adhere to the directions given by parents compared to other styles (Larsen et al.,
2018). Also, parenting styles determine the development of certain traits in children, including
self-control, which is vital because it helps them control how they do things, such as eating
(Larsen et al., 2018). Responsible parents often use an authoritative parenting style as it gives
them control over the activities of their children and creates an environment that makes it
possible to educate them on specific food practices.
Failure of parents to control feeding practices of children can result in childhood obesity.
Typically, feeding practices are the decisions relating to the type, quantity, and time that children
should be given food to eat. According to Brenning & Soenens (2017), parents have a huge role
in controlling their youngsters’ amount and type of food. Numerous strategies can be used to
control the feeding of children. First, parents can use coercive control, which comprises parent-
centered goals and dominance, to decide about child feeding. Coercive control may entail food
restrictions and pressure to eat (Brenning & Soenens, 2017). The above techniques can improve
child competence in making eating and food decisions. Usually, the parent’s role is to ensure that
they employ coercive control techniques to improve the children’s eating habits and minimize the
possibility of childhood obesity. However, children should not rely entirely on enforcing
authority because fear and apathy might create. Instead, they can integrate autonomy to
encourage buy-in from their children (Di Pasquale & Rivolta, 2018). Importantly, autonomy
promotion entails the facilitation of children’s independence when it comes to food and the
promotion of the ability of a child to self-regulate even in the absence of the parents.

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Parental negligence in acting as role models to their children may have detrimental
effects on children’s health. Parents must take an active role in modeling their children’s
behaviors through education on the role of physical exercise, healthy eating, and limited
television and video game time (Schoeppe et al., 2016). Over the years, research has indicated
that prolonged TV viewing by children is a major cause of childhood obesity. Parents must
recognize the importance of physical activity in the lives of children and strive to engage them in
regular physical exercise, such as frequent running and walking. The influence of parental
modeling is mostly evaluated by determining the associations between parents and child health
behaviors. According to Schoeppe et al. (2016), past research has found a positive connection
between parental involvement and child physical activity. Other studies have shown that most
children who spend much time on screens have imitated their parents’ behavior. As a result,
children from families who engage in sporting activities tend to like physical activities, and thus
the likelihood of becoming obese is significantly reduced (Schoeppe et al., 2016). Maternal
modeling often has a greater effect on a child’s behavior because children are more attached to
their mothers than their fathers.
Parenting behaviors are significantly determined by self-efficacy, the ability of an
individual to organize and execute solutions and interventions needed to manage prospective
situations at a personal level. Low parental self-efficacy is one of the barriers that impede the
ability of parents to alter the nutrition and physical activities of their children (Omidvar et al.,
2022). Parents must have the ability to determine if their children are obese and employ
necessary management programs, including healthy eating and regular physical exercise. A study
by Walsh et al. (2019) proves that first-time parents often have limited experience in infant
feeding, and thus they are likely to adopt bad eating habits for their children. Parents who are

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new to infant feeding should seek advice about appropriate feeding practices that would
guarantee healthy living for their children (Walsh et al., 2019). Parents who adopt the advice
given to them by health professionals are more likely to raise healthy children because they will
adopt healthy eating habits (Walsh et al., 2019). The Social Cognitive theory suggests that
parenting behaviors, especially around their children’s eating habits, arise due to the interaction
between parents’ perception of their ability to implement the new behavior.
Parents are responsible for teaching their children about healthy nutrition and exercise to
prevent childhood obesity. Nutrition education is essential for parents because they are
responsible for guiding their children in eating healthily. However, amateur and less competent
parents must seek nutrition education and skills to create a family and home environment that
encourages healthy living. According to Karmali et al. (2019), parents should adopt appropriate
interventions to prevent their children from becoming overweight and obese. These interventions
are often home-based and are effective if the parents are responsive and willing to take care of
the children’s health. In reality, parental negligence is one of the reasons why children become
obese. Failing to seek nutrition education, which is vital for understanding the best feeding
techniques for children, increases the probability of childhood obesity (Karmali et al., 2019).
Research indicates that childhood obesity affects children in different ways. One of the effects of
childhood obesity is low self-esteem, which significantly affects child development. Some of the
developmental aspects affected include personality and the ability to interact with others. Parents
should ensure that they provide quality care to their children to prevent them from becoming
obese.
As much as parents play an integral role in developing healthy behaviors in children, it is
vital to acknowledge that there is a causal relationship between parents and the start of obesity in

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children is challenging to confirm. A bidirectional interaction between parents and children is
crucial as successful interactions help develop children (Danford et al., 2015). Parent negligence
is likely to result in unsuccessful bidirectional interactions, negatively affecting children.
Bidirectional interaction is often studied in the context of self-efficacy. According to Danford et
al. (2015), bidirectional interaction explains the connection between parents and children
regarding eating and physical activities. Also, the behaviors of children can influence parenting
in the same way that parenting behaviors shape children’s behaviors. However, addressing
maternal involvement is critical. Evidence suggests that maternal feeding practices are often
rigid when children overeat. According to Danford et al. (2015), mothers control children’s
eating behaviors indirectly, especially when a child eats in response to their emotions. Precisely,
mothers can control their children’s eating habits because they have close relations, which helps
in achieving a positive effect. With better control of children’s eating habits, it is possible to
control a child’s weight.

Summary and Conclusion

The paper discusses numerous reasons why parental involvement in the life of children is
crucial and the effects of parental negligence. Parents must undertake their responsibilities
diligently and appropriately to prevent child obesity. One of the reasons children become obese
is a lack of parental participation and control, factors crucial in preventing children from
adopting bad eating habits often associated with obesity development. Additionally, the failure of
parents to act as role models to their children may result in obesity. Parents should lead by
example to improve children’s health and wellbeing. Parents must encourage children to engage
in physical activities and adopt healthier eating habits to prevent them from becoming obese.
Also, parents must exercise self-efficacy to ensure that they act promptly when it comes to

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managing childhood obesity. Generally, parents’ negligence has resulted in detrimental effects on
children, including childhood obesity. There is a dire need to enlighten parents on nutrition
education so that they can provide a variety of foods that constitute a balanced diet. Additional
research should be conducted on the effects of parental negligence on children, especially
childhood obesity, as it negatively affects child development.

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