Diet renders 17 year old blind and deaf

[anotherdouble]

I heard this and I honestly don’t know how I feel. Allegedly since primary school he has lived on a diet of processed ham slices, chips and white bread. This is wrong on all accounts but I am total at a loss. I know when I was a kid it was, this is for tea, but mum I don’t like veg or don’t want fish etc, then go hungry. A couple of hours later when I couldn’t win I had to eat it. I had school meals so in a way the school was monitoring what was being eaten. This was before the choices that are available today and I had 2 loving parents and 4 loving grandparents.

 

[Jacko_G]

Parents should be held responsible.

 

[Parsaregood]

Some on here may tell you it's because of brexit 😂

 

[Imurg]

It is an extreme case but it shows what can happen if you don't eat a varied diet..
And if you're intent on just eating a non variable diet then you need to take supplements.
Parents are obviously weak or stupid.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

We employed a young lad who this could quite easily apply to. His diet was horrendous, his intake of energy drinks alone was scary. His parents let him and his brothers and sisters, about 7 in total, raise each other, they were largely left to their own devices. He left us at 21 but his bad habits were ingrained, he was too stupid to alter his lifestyle and unfortunately his girlfriend was just as stupid, her parents equally incompetent.

I expect his teeth will go first, diabetes and heart disease to follow.

There are lots of people out there like this, it is scary. The fault lies entirely with the parents. Kids may dislike certain foods but to live on rubbish is plain neglect.

 

[anotherdouble]

We employed a young lad who this could quite easily apply to. His diet was horrendous, his intake of energy drinks alone was scary. His parents let him and his brothers and sisters, about 7 in total, raise each other, they were largely left to their own devices. He left us at 21 but his bad habits were ingrained, he was too stupid to alter his lifestyle and unfortunately his girlfriend was just as stupid, her parents equally incompetent.

I expect his teeth will go first, diabetes and heart disease to follow.

There are lots of people out there like this, it is scary. The fault lies entirely with the parents. Kids may dislike certain foods but to live on rubbish is plain neglect.

Neglect crossed my mind

 

[Blue in Munich]

It seems to me that a number of parents these days are more concerned about being friends with their children rather than being parents to them. Consequently the easiest way to befriend them is to let them do what they want, rather than do what is right.

And if that is what they did then it is neglect in my opinion.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Einstein was right.
" There are only two things that are infinite........etc"

 

[pendodave]

Given that this sort of thing seems to be more common than we'd like, maybe we might consider what sort of society produces this sort of behaviour? I've no idea what the answer is, but it seems systemic to me and should be addressed in that light.

 

[Kellfire]

Some on here may tell you it's because of brexit 😂

Haha haha ah mate that is brilliant. Well done. What time is your hilarious comedy show on TV 2nite? Lololololollipop

 

[Jamesbrown]

I have a similar diet. I also don’t like certain colours and textures. I like my food dry. I got GERD because of my diet.
I only eat bread, cheese, chocolate pasta, certain meats and quorn. I don’t eat fruit. Can manage, green beans, asparagus (grilled only) and rocket due to the green colour being appeasing to my eye.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Parents have got to be accountable but so has the school. Both should have seen signs earlier but surely common sense says as a youngster you need the best start and a balanced diet. If you don't like what's served go hungry. Always worked in my day

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Parents have got to be accountable but so has the school. Both should have seen signs earlier but surely common sense says as a youngster you need the best start and a balanced diet. If you don't like what's served go hungry. Always worked in my day

Schools are not there to be parents. Too much is pushed on to schools, the responsibility is with parents.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Schools are not there to be parents. Too much is pushed on to schools, the responsibility is with parents.

I agree but surely the school will have seen health signs and should have been "trying" to get the kid to eat normally. Ultimately though the parents should have been more responsible

 

[TheDiablo]

Schools can and do help with nutritional education

But they can't pack lunch boxes for the kids. Nor can they (or should they) check the contents of each child's lunch box

Although it's likely irrelevant, at my guess the child probably wasn't in school all that often with parents like these.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I agree but surely the school will have seen health signs and should have been "trying" to get the kid to eat normally. Ultimately though the parents should have been more responsible

To change the habits of kids like this do they take them out of English, Maths, History, Geography, Science subjects, PE etc? It is not their job to stand over each child at lunchtime and monitor and amend what they eat. If they see a child looking consistently ill, if they see a child neglected then of course they will involve social services. They will teach health and wellbeing generally which will include diet. Parenting is down to parents though.

It is the parents that buy the food, it is the parents that serve the food it is the parents that set the rules when the kids are small. Teachers, and health professionals, deal with the consequences

 

[Kellfire]

Probably too busy voting brexit 2 eat.

 

[Fromtherough]

Whilst a shocking and sad case, it may not be as simplistic blaming the parents. The reports I read stated the boy was not under/over weight. And the parents had taken him to the doctors due to him feeling fatigued five years ago. The prolonged effects were internal and more to do with malnourishment. Obviously too much of anything and an unvaried diet is not a good thing. The issues appear deep rooted in the teenager though and the parents may have just been happy he was eating at all.

A friends son is on the autistic scale. He has a problem with swallowing and an aversion to some textures. Dieticians/nutritionalists have advised to essentially feed him what he'll eat (bread, chips, ham, quavers but luckily apples and (not ripe) bananas too). So a very limited diet which would likely cause problems down the line. The idea is to introduce him to other foods slowly over time. It's not going well. God knows what the long term effects of this diet will be on the lad. However, his parents (and professionals) are doing what they can to resolve the issues including attempting to add supplements to provide the nutrients he needs.

The notion of whacking a meal in front of a child and telling them eat this or it's nothing, will work in some cases. Not all though, especially in extreme cases where their are psychological issues around food. Including physical manifestations like issues with swallowing.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

FTR, a very fair post. In this instance there may be other factors in place, as you have described so well. I have seen too many instances, locally to where I work in particular, of people eating appallingly through choice and ignorance but we should take into account that it is more complicated than that for some people.

 

[Orikoru]

What was the scientific explanation for this? How can what you eat make you go blind/deaf??