The More Letters You Have After Your Name, The Better Parent You Are!
"Pregnant teens nibble often on sweets, desserts, soda pop, chips, and other snack items while watching television (for up to five hours) each day."
If that was written about "Pregnant Hispanics" or "Pregnant African-Americans," the author never could have sold her book. Or, how about we rewrite it about a different age group?
"Pregnant women over forty nibble often on sweets, soda pop, chips, and other snack items while sitting in front of a computer at work (for up to eight hours) each day."
But, see, teenagers are susceptible to the evil specter of peer pressure - "In contrast to older women, teenagers' diets mimic what their friends are eating. They are more likely to fill up on soda pop, French fries and snack foods than on nonfat milk, steamed broccoli, and grilled chicken."
I know plenty of teenagers NOW that eat healthfully. I knew plenty of people who were teenagers with me who ate healthfully. I know plenty of 'older women' who DON'T eat healthfully.
What I'm forgetting, of course, is that when someone turns thirty-five or forty, they immediately become a paragon of virtue and the perfect candidate for parenthood. Also note the generalisations about this category:
"These women often have planned their pregnancies and are more willing and ready to accept the responsibilites of parenthood than they would have been in earlier years. These women are more mature, better educated, financially more secure, and more settled and patient... all factors that make for good parenting."
See, if you just get older, you must automatically get letters after your name and more money!
This is all, by the way, in a book about nutrition during pregnancy. The nutrition information is all right, I'll give it that, but I think all this editorializing is over the top and completely unnecessary, anyway.
If that was written about "Pregnant Hispanics" or "Pregnant African-Americans," the author never could have sold her book. Or, how about we rewrite it about a different age group?
"Pregnant women over forty nibble often on sweets, soda pop, chips, and other snack items while sitting in front of a computer at work (for up to eight hours) each day."
But, see, teenagers are susceptible to the evil specter of peer pressure - "In contrast to older women, teenagers' diets mimic what their friends are eating. They are more likely to fill up on soda pop, French fries and snack foods than on nonfat milk, steamed broccoli, and grilled chicken."
I know plenty of teenagers NOW that eat healthfully. I knew plenty of people who were teenagers with me who ate healthfully. I know plenty of 'older women' who DON'T eat healthfully.
What I'm forgetting, of course, is that when someone turns thirty-five or forty, they immediately become a paragon of virtue and the perfect candidate for parenthood. Also note the generalisations about this category:
"These women often have planned their pregnancies and are more willing and ready to accept the responsibilites of parenthood than they would have been in earlier years. These women are more mature, better educated, financially more secure, and more settled and patient... all factors that make for good parenting."
See, if you just get older, you must automatically get letters after your name and more money!
This is all, by the way, in a book about nutrition during pregnancy. The nutrition information is all right, I'll give it that, but I think all this editorializing is over the top and completely unnecessary, anyway.