A new study links widespread habits among the parents of 2-month-old babies with childhood obesity. Such habits include leaving the baby in front of the TV and fortifying a bottle with cereal.

How we parent our children affects them both negatively and positively.

A newly published US study seems to suggest that early parenting practices are tied to childhood obesity.

According to study, at the tender age of 2 months old, many babies appear to be taking their first steps on the road to obesity, helped along by parents who may be preoccupied, pushy or uninformed about the care and feeding of babies for optimal health.

They cite examples of parents who left their 2-month-old babies to routinely spend long hours either in front of a television or fed and cared for their baby while watching television.

These babies were frequently put to bed or left to feed themselves with a propped bottle, and rarely got the recommended amount of daily “tummy time” that is important for a baby’s physical development.

Other negative parenting practices include the early introduction of solids (most often by putting cereal in a baby’s bottle), giving a baby sweetened drinks such as fruit juices, and encouraging a baby to keep feeding after he/she no longer shows interest in continuing eating.

The study which was published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, found that, these care and feeding practices could increase a baby’s obesity risk in childhood.

Previous research has also shown that parents are usually in denial about their child’s weight.