Apparently, Videos of Dancing Grapes Just Aren't Convincing Enough

It's been a very busy week, and I haven't had time to post here much. But that doesn't mean I didn't have posts floating around in my head, waiting until I got near the keyboard to release them!

One example: I read that the government (that's us, remember?) has spent more than $1 billion so far this year on programs intended to educate kids about nutrition.....and it's not working. Big shock, isn't it? Reasons given in this article include that kids don't like the taste of fruits and vegetables, they'll only eat them if they're given prizes, and they lie to the researchers, saying they ate them when they didn't.

One researcher suggests that what the mother eats while pregnant affects the fetus' developing taste buds. That may be true (though I kind of doubt it), but I think the more telling statement from the article is this one:

Parents are often working, leaving their children unsupervised to get their own snacks.

Let's face it, even when they're not working, many parents let their kids eat all sorts of junk, because they eat it, too, and also because they don't want to be the bad guy by restricting what their children eat. They're more than willing to put the government in the role of parent ("Eat your vegetables, young man!") than to fulfill their responsibility as parents and do it themselves.

However, with freedom comes responsibility. When you give up your responsibilities to the government, sooner or later you'll find that you've given up your freedoms, too.