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When one overfeeds a goldfish, it overeats and dies. One might have fed it out of love and kindness, but the goldfish does not know when to stop when it's full. Although children will seldom voluntarily eat beyond the point of discomfort, the scenario is the same: responsible parents have to make certain decisions to safeguard the well being of their children when they simply do not know better.

Overfeeding children has detrimental effects, it can childhood obesity, or lead to unhealthy eating habits and poor self-image that are carried to adulthood. It could even lay the foundation for serious illnesses like heart diseases later in life. There is no doubt that it is important to let children live on a healthy diet. There is, however, a line between indulgence and abuse, and we cannot categorise all overfeeding as abuse. So when does indulgence end and abuse begin?

I think we can use how we feed ourselves as a gauge. If we occasionally eat a slice of chocolate cake, it's an indulgence, but if we eat the whole thing whenever we want, we are abusing our own bodies. It's the same logic for children, if we feed them nutritious and balanced meals most of the time, giving them a handful of chips sometimes, or letting them eat to their heart's content in parties is just an occasional treat. We have to help them understand that, while there's no need to deprive ourselves entirely, we have to limit our intake of certain foods, and more importantly, we have to tell them why.

What we must not do, however, is to indulge them to a point where they become gluttons, or become overweight. Sometimes we use food just to prevent their tantrums, to keep them quiet and happy, or even to compensate for not spending enough time with them. However, eating too much do as much abuse to a child's body as it does to our own.

My friend's son, who is just 10 years old, loves to eat so much that he actually developed a habit of forcing himself to vomit in a restaurant's toilet so that he could eat some more in the buffet. My friend did not think it's a big deal, and continues to give him as much food as he wants everyday, even when he already has to wear adult size pants at 10 years old. She might keep him happy at meal times, but his body system is taking an abuse. I'm sure my friend loves her son as much as any other mother, but sometimes, to reject a child's request for second helpings or huge late night suppers is to help him.

So, in answer to the question, I would say that whether or not overfeeding is abuse depends on the degree of overfeeding. It's worthwhile to remember that human beings are creatures of habit, so we should try to inculcate good eating habits from childhood

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