TV presenter and property developer Sarah Beeny says it's not lack of time or money which prevents parents from ensuring their children eat healthily, but their unwillingness to stand up to their children's demands for junk food and treats.
"We're a nation where parents are controlled by their children, they're scared of their children and they indulge their children too much," the mum-of-four told The Telegraph.
"They want them to love them, but actually, parenting is not about your children loving you – that's not what parenting is, your job is not to be loved. Your job is to parent your children.
"Too many parents are needy of their children to love them, so they want to give them chocolate."
Far from claiming to be the perfect parent, Sarah admitted that she is speaking from personal experience, as she has often surrendered to her kids' dietary demands.
Previously Sarah told Parentdish that she sometimes finds feeding her four boys can be a struggle:
It's always such a trauma. They're not too fussy, but certainly have their moments. Some days I'll slave over a proper, home-cooked meal, and one of them will decide he doesn't want to eat it - so annoying! I almost wish they could give me a sign each day so I know whether to bother cooking something nice or not!
Sarah is backing a national campaign to encourage people to cook with mushrooms.
More on Parentdish