Friday, April 30, 2010

Nannystate, Trying to Nanny the Children

Can the state not trust parents anymore to choose what they want for their kids? Seems like they creeping in to tell you what you can and cannot feed your children now.  Take the case in the county of Santa Clara in California for instance. They are aiming to ban toys in the Happy Meals. They claim the toys attract children to eat unhealthy food that causes obesity.
See full size image Santa Clara County will soon ban Happy Meal toys and other promotional items that are used to promote sales of high calorie children's meals unless the restaurants meet nutritional guidelines approved by the County Board of Supervisors.
The Board passed the ordinance by a 3 to 2 vote. Ken Yeager, the sponsor of the measure, was cited as saying that the ordinance prevents restaurants from "preying on children's love of toys" to sell unhealthful food.
Opponents like Donald Gage said parents should be responsible for their children who actually don't have the purchasing power.
Dr. Dan Delgado, director of a county program aiming to fight childhood obesity, was cited as saying that toys encourage children to eat unhealthy food which helps cause obesity.
A spokesman for the McDonald's said foods served at the chain restaurant offer many nutrients that children need.
A health observer told foodconsumer.org that one unhealthy meal without an ideal nutrition profile would not do much of any harm.  What may be really detrimental is that you eat junk food
as a habit.


 Then you have in Britain, a two year old gets a cheese sandwich taken from him from nursery school staff because it broke their health eating rules. 
Cheese sandwich : Could be confiscated if you are unlucky. Healthy eating is a priority for any parent – and there are some things we know we’d never feed our children.
But is a cheese sandwich so bad?
Staff at a nursery thought so and they confiscated one from Jack Ormisher – saying it broke their healthy eating rules – and offered their own fruit and veg.
The two-year-old burst into tears and when his father picked him up from the Westfield Children’s Centre, in south Wigan, staff told him Jack’s sandwiches in future should include lettuce or tomato – so they could be classed as a ‘snack’ rather than ‘lunch’. Jack’s mother, Dorothy Gallear, said: ‘It is absolutely pathetic. I don’t understand how putting a piece of lettuce on that sandwich would have turned it into a snack.’
The 32-year-old mother of two has now moved Jack to a different nursery.
‘When I told people at his new nursery what had happened some laughed with shock – but others were horrified,’ she added.

‘A place is still available at Westfield should the parents re-consider,’ said nursery manager Aukje Clegg.
You have in Ontario the McGuinty government wanting to impose  explicit sex education in Ontario schools to students even in the elementary grades.  Thankfully they backed down because of pressure from
parents. It goes to show parents still have power if only exercised.

Then the Federal Ignatieff Liberals want to impose a National Daycare Program that would cost the taxpayer and enormous amount of  money we can't afford plus it doesn't give  parents choice in daycare. They assume parents don't know what is best for how their children are cared for.  When the Harper government brought in the $100 a month child care benefit for children under the age of six to give parents choice, Liberal strategist Scott Reid said that parents would spend that money on "beer and popcorn."     It's clear they don't trust parents to know what's best.

The state seems like it doesn't know where it's boundaries are.  The nanny state is going a little to far in my opinion. The state needs to stay far away from parents and their children. Only the parents know what's best for their children not the state. It 's the parents responsibility to raise their kids the way they see fit.

Parents don't let the state raise your children  Protect your children.  Take charge, stand up and don't allow the state to encroach into your territory.  Tell them no means no.

No need to be afraid. The state should fear the people  not the people  fearing the state.  If the people don't stand up, the state will eventually control every fascist of our lives. How does that sound?

Enough is enough! Time to get the state out of our children's lives and our lives.