ABSTRACT
Most parents want their children to be safe and healthy. But implementing that desire can be a difficult and challenging struggle. According to a recent survey ofAmerican’s health habits, American parents and children are fatter, more stressed, exercise less, and pay less attention to what they eat than ever (Richter et al., 2000). Many of the most serious health and social problems facing us today have their origins, and potential solutions, in health behaviors developed in childhood and adolescence (SpruijtMetz, 1999). At least eight out of ten of the leading causes of death-heart disease, cancer, strokes, injuries, chronic lung disease, diabetes, liver disease, and atherosclerosis-are strongly related to behaviors such as eating, lackof exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption. In order to prevent these and other causes of morbidity and mortality, maladaptive health behaviors that begin in childhood need to be understood and modified in the context of children’s parenting and family environments.
