Indulgent relatives ‘killing their grandchildren with kindness’

GRANDPARENTS are inadvertently increasing their grandchildren’s cancer risk by giving them too many treats and allowing them to loaf around, public health experts have warned.

A review of 56 studies found grandparents may be killing children with kindness, by overfeeding them with snacks and sweets, which sets the stage for obesity and illness in later life.

Children’s charities warned that grandparents often “bring out the biscuits at the slightest hint of a tantrum” and keep youngsters “under house arrest” because they fear losing them outdoors. The analysis was carried out by the Medical Research Council’s Public Health Science Unit at Glasgow

‘Regularly treating children increases cancer risks as they grow into adulthood’

University, concluding that health campaigns should target grandparents to warn them of the dangers.

“Behaviour such as exposure to smoking and regularly treating children increases cancer risks as children grow into adulthood,” said Dr Stephanie Chambers, the lead author.

“Grandparents are not the focus of public health messaging targeted at parents and perhaps this is something that needs to change.”

Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation, said: “A doting grandparent confident enough to follow rules laid down by mum and to the letter is frequently a rarity.”

Lucy Peake, of Grandparents Plus, said: “The more they’re informed and enabled to play a positive role in their grandchildren’s lives, the better things will be.” The research was published in the journal PLOS One.