To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
In the media we often hear or read about the rising trend of children leading unhealthy lifestyles. While many believe both schools and parents share equal responsibility for solving this problem, I disagree and feel that parents are fully responsible for changing the unhealthy lifestyles of their children.
As the main caregiver and educator, parents spend the most time with their children and therefore are the biggest influence on the way their child eats and acts. The best way to solve this is to be a role model for their child, by making healthy choices on what to eat and how much activity or sports they take part in. If a child sees their parent eating vegetables or goes for a walk with them after dinner, their habits will change for the better. Besides, with parents in control of providing the child’s day-to-day food and organizing their child’s free time activities, they are the most effective ones to tackle this problem.
Because the primary purpose of school is to focus on academics and learning development, schools should not be responsible for solving the problem of children’s unhealthy lifestyles. Moreover, with 20 students or more in a classroom, teachers already have a relatively small amount of time with each child to actually influence their decisions on what to eat and what to do. In short, schools would be the least effective because they have no control or means over what each child eats or how they spend their free time.
To sum up, I believe that only parents, rather than parents and schools equally, are responsible for changing children’s unhealthy lifestyles. As primary caregivers and role-models, parents, rather than schools, are closest and most influential to each child.
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