Addiction - Is our Addiction Killing Our Kids?

Depending on the definition of addiction that's used, many of us could be considered addicted. The most common definition of addiction is an uncontrolled craving that drives us to continually seek and use a drug or alcohol. Drop off the drug or alcohol limitations and we're all subject to the addiction label.

Consider television. How many of us have special broadcasts that we regularly Tivo © or otherwise copy when we cannot watch them? You only need to listen to the daily discussions in a typical lunch or break room to pick up on the popular shows of the previous evening. Is this an addiction? Another definition of addiction is the strong emotional and or psychological dependence on a substance. Replace substance with your favorite television show and you can see that you may be addicted!

The growth in Coffee establishments like Starbucks also indicates a growing public reliance or addiction. How many people on a daily basis stop at a local Starbucks or other coffee house for their 3-8 dollar a day fix? Legality aside, is this really that much different than the drug addict getting a daily packet of his drug of choice? Another definition of addiction uses terms like compulsive drug use, psychological dependence and continued use despite harm. Chronic coffee drinkers could easily fall into this definition simply by substituting the words "drug use" with the drink of choice. The argument that coffee has benefits can also be used for many abused drugs.

There are many addictions growing in our society. Consider food. There is a growing segment in society that simply doesn't know basic living skills. These people are dependant on the neighborhood fast food places to provide meals. Is this an addiction? These folks are not the uneducated but fill the legions of housing tracts and sub divisions across the country. A quick look at the local supermarket will validate this possible addiction. Prepared and pre-packaged food continues to take up ever increasing amounts of space. Even pre-made lunches are available so families no longer need to prepare meals.

Have we become so addicted with the thought of convenience that we're willing to allow our children to suffer becoming obese due to our food choices? We are unwilling to prepare healthy food and instead increasingly rely on pre-packaged, quick and fast food instead of doing what we know is right for our children. Unlike other addictions, society is encourages this behavior by providing justifications like we're busy, two income families, etc.

In the end, we need to consider the consequences of our actions. While buying the 5 dollar coffee drink may make hurt your finances, the addiction to convenience may be killing our children. It's setting our kids up for a life of weight struggles if only because they will lack the skills needed to make healthy food choices and prepare real food.

Abigail Franks writes on many subjects which includes anxiety, depression and addictions. visit her site to find more information about Alcohol Addiction  and Depression This article is free for republishing
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