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#1 - Believe that your child's SuperSize status is normal.

#2 - SuperSize their portions.

#3 - Let your kids eat frequently at fast-food restaurants.

#4 - Give your kids lots of soft drinks.

#5 - Don't become your child's healthcare quarterback.

#6 - Consider your kid's SuperSized status their problem and not a family problem.

#7 - Fail to teach your kids good eating habits, especially when they are young.

#8 - Rarely eat together as a family.

#9 - Make impulsive decisions (or, let your kids talk you into impulsive decisions) while grocery-shopping.

#10- Don't involve your entire family in fun physical activity.

#11 - Let family or friends become diet saboteurs for your kids.

#12- KeepyourTVon during meals.

#13 - Let your children or teens sleep less than nine hours per night.

#14 - Let your kids have caffeinated drinks, cocoa or chocolate after 3 p.m.

#15 - Let your kids go to bed as late as they want to. And let them watch TV right until they go to bed.

#16- Allow your kids to watch all the TV they want.

#17- Permit your kids to eat or snack in front of the TV or keep the TV on during mealtime.

#18 - Give your child unrestricted TV and Internet access in his or her bedroom.

#19- Allow your kids to play video games as much as they want to.

#20 - Never exercise with your kids.

#21 - Get some Elmer's and glue your kids to the couch.

#22 - Ignore fruits and vegetables in your children's diet.

#23 - Be sure your children get protein sources chock full of saturated fats, or that are fatty or fried.

#24 - Feed your kids plenty of highly processed, sugar-laden food.

#25 - Give your kids several servings each day of highly refined starches, such as white rice, white bread, potatoes without the skin, pasta and baked goods.

#26 - Have your kids drink more soda than nonfat milk.

#27- Insist that your kids eat or drink full-fat dairy products.

#28 - Give your kids snacks loaded with saturated and trans fats.

#29 - Choose fruit drinks over 100 percent fruit juice for your child.

#30 - Encourage your kids to drink anything but water.

#31 - Feed your kids lots of fried foods.

#32 - Use food as a reward for good behavior.

#33 - Make sure that your kids eat junk food everyday.

#34 - Don't bother to learn the appropriate portion sizes for your child's age.

#35 - Let your child skip breakfast most days.

#36 - Buy your kids high-sugar, low-fiber, highly-processed cereal and soak it with whole milk.

#37 - Don't bother with family meals; let everyone eat when they want.

#38 - Serve food to your children on large plates and then make them eat every bite.

#39 - Ban healthy snacks from your home.

#40 - Never plan ahead for your children's snacks.

#41 - Put your child on a diet.

#42 - Train your kids to eat as quickly as possible.

#43 - Support all moves to cut recess and physical education from your child's school.

#44 - Encourage your child's school to ignore healthy nutritional and activity habits.

#45 - Lobby your child's school to operate plenty of vending machines, stocked with plenty of unhealthy foods and drinks.

#46 - Refuse to get informed about the nutritional and activity environment of your child's school.

#47 - Never volunteer or help out at your child's school.

#48 - Even if it's geographically possible, don't walk your children to school or let them walk to school.

#49 - Neglect good nutrition and physical activity where you work.

#50 - Believe that you can't make a difference when it comes to your child's health.

© 2005 by Walt Larimore, MD and Sherri Flynt, MPH, RD, LD

About the Author

Walt Larimore, MD, is a nationally recognized, board-certified family physician with twenty-five years of clinical experience, an award-winning medical journalist, and the author of the bestselling Highly Healthy and Bryson City books. Dr. Larimore and his wife, Barb, live in Colorado Springs, CO.

Sherri Flynt, MPH, RD, LD, received her master's in public health from Loma Linda University. She is a registered and licensed dietitian and serves as head of the Center for Nutritional Excellence at Florida Hospital.

Steve is president of Crown Media, Ltd., a literary enterprise that specializes in book editing and collaboration. He has co-written numerous books, and is the author of three books himself.