In the name of love...(Children series 1)

These days Mommys are going for short cuts, easy food = happy child. 

Every evening when it is chai time for mommy.... a child is blessed with a chips packet to ease her hunger pang. Lunch for school is also easy to manage- some days for French fries, some for other deep fried food from your favourite packaged food company, on some days its packaged pizza, other days its potato chips and juice, and some days when Mommy wants to really rest there is even a better option, a samosa or roll kebab from school.

In a supermarket if you walk by any food trolley with children by their parent’s side, you cannot fail to miss the mountain of chips, biscuits, packs of juices, and of course multiple items of the packaged food. 

I think it is better for these parents to kill their children immediately rather than opting for slow poisoning and throwing them into never-ending health miseries.

A mother more than a father is to be blamed here as they are responsible for managing their child’s diet. Rather than choosing to give children some home cooked, vegetables, pulses, milk, eggs, monitored quantity of homemade butter/ ghee, cheese; they opt for pure junk.

What’s best is the excuse they give, “my child does not listen to me”. Meaning thereby, you listen to and obey your child’s command; a perfect scenario for raising a healthy and responsible kid.

The deep fried packaged food that you proudly feed your child along with the imported ice-creams, chocolates, chips, burgers and pizza are doing no good except making them fat and obese. And obese children are at risk for a number of conditions, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, early heart disease and Diabetes.

The most common illness is Type 1 diabetes in children, although an autoimmune disease but can majorly be caused due to unhealthy and inactive lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes it is the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. It is an autoimmune disease, a condition in which the body's system itself attacks and destroys the insulin producing cells of the pancreas.  The common symptoms of Type-1 diabetes are:

   Thirst

    Weight Loss

    Tiredness

    Frequent Urination

    Headaches

    Sweating

    Tummy Pains

    Headaches

    Behaviour Problems

Doctors should consider the possibility of diabetes in any child who has an otherwise unexplained history of illness or tummy pains for a few weeks.

Globally, Type-1 is the most common form of diabetes in children, affecting around 500,000 children under 15 years of age. Every day more than 200 children, around the world, are diagnosed with it.

 

Finland, Sweden and Norway have the highest rates for Type-1 diabetes in children. As many as three million Americans may have Type-1 diabetes. Each year, more than 15,000 children and 15,000 adults—approximately 80 people per day—are diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes in USA.

In Pakistan an estimated over 65,000 children have diabetes and unfortunately most of them have not been diagnosed as of yet.

This is the real health crisis that we are facing today and if proper and timely measures are not taken immediately than we all would be held accountable. As parents and families you have to sit together and discuss the necessary steps and alterations you need to make in your diet. 

What is more alarming is that a mother who is only in her twenties or mid-thirties and unable to lead an active life, feeling lethargic and drained out all the time might herself is on a risk of diabetes. So it is not only for the benefit of your child but it is also significant for you to make healthy choices for yourself and live a health life, because you lead your children by your example.  

With much affections...

Sonya Syed. (Day 518)