17 Feb 10, Wednesday: the Times of India (‘ToI’), Tuesday, 16 Feb 10, page 21 “doting grandparents can make children obese”.

A seemingly ‘light’ read which talks about how children who are looked after by grandparents are at a much higher risk of obesity as compared with those in the care of nurseries or other caregivers.
However, the root of this problem is much deeper and more pervasive: the problem of indulgence.  Today it seems, we have misunderstood and misapplied the meaning of love as indulgence, especially when it comes to raising our children.
Fast-paced lives, busy careers, smaller-families and higher disposable incomes have slowly replaced quality time with material comforts; kids today are facing a unique problem of plenty and the more stuff we buy them, the lesser they value it.

Balance is and has been the key to life; anything in extreme will have detrimental long term effects.
A child’s formative years are akin to a building’s foundation; a weak one will succumb to the slightest pressures and crumble; nothing can replace unconditional love and quality time which our children not only require but deserve; so, the next time you see yourself taking the easy way out (using indulgence as the easy escape), stop and think of that building whose foundation is in your hands.