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12:37:00 PM EST
Feeling Loopy
Hearing Jeff Buckley
Youth Gone Wide
Remember when you were growing up, and you used to beg your parents to let you run around outside for just 10 more minutes? When you hated the rain because it meant you had to play inside? When you used to bike, swim or rollerblade for hours?
I used to be so excessively energetic (which, to my horror, my parents have proof of on hundreds of hours worth of home videos), that they practically had to force me to calm down for long enough to watch a few hours of television.
Those days appear to be long gone. Largely due to poor diets and lack of exercise, adolescents are the heaviest and unhealthiest that they've been in decades. According to this Reuters article, "most adolescents do not get enough exercise each day or maintain a healthy diet, according to researchers who analyzed the diet and exercise behaviors of 878, adolescents, 11 to 15 years old, and found that nearly 80 percent had multiple physical activity and dietary risk behaviors."
I’ve blogged about this issue previously, and I believe that not only are we disadvantaging our youth, but by predisposing them to preventable and even life-threatening diseases and conditions, we are abusing them.
Will this dangerous cycle ever end? Understandably, most homes have both parents working full-time. Kids are in day-care or with sitters. Time and money are luxuries - - making hours worth of television and fast-food meals not only commonplace but ‘necessary.’
But in the meantime, our children are suffering from things they won’t even understand for 10 or 20 years down the road. They’re shunning exercise and learning eating habits that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Trips to McDonalds, ice cream for dessert or video games aren’t “treats” anymore - - they’re the norm. Can we blame our children for not wanting to eat healthy foods or play outside when they are constantly doing otherwise?
This situation has reached critical proportions, as America’s overweight now outnumber the under-fed. The much publicized trans-fat ban is the tip of the iceberg. If the childhood obesity crisis is truly a priority, why do elementary school physical education programs typically suffer from the largest lack of resources? Why are high-fat, sugar and sodium laden packaged foods marketed with cartoons and images that specifically appeal to children younger than 10 years old? And more importantly, what are parents doing to assure that their own children do not face a lifetime of hurdles?
Education obviously isn’t working. Is it just me, or do Americans need an intervention?
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yeah i can remember that time now parents these days forgot what to do for and with there children the parents want to hang out more then there children do
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Bottom line: Parents are responsible for their childrens' health and well-being. Children are a product of their environment and they learn habits and behaviors, bad and good, long before they see a classroom. We can try to put the blame on the fast food and junk food industry, we can try to hold public officials accountable, we can fund school programs and mandate healthy offerings in school cafeterias, but we will never remedy this situation if adults don't step up to the plate and take responsiblity for their own families. Programs and funding will not come into your home and teach your kids that Doritos are not an acceptable choice for lunch. You are your child's first teacher, and hopefully want to be their best teacher. It's up to you to change what and how they eat and whether they exercise. After all, they are YOUR kids, you're in charge!! Don't know where to start? Here's a hint: I dont' keep junk food of any kind in my house and our drink of choice is water (actually they don't have a choice, I don't buy soda or juices other than, occasionally, orange juice). Our fridge, compared to other people's fridges, is kind of empty, except for the fruit and vegetable bins. We don't eat sugary cereals and ice cream is an occasional "treat". I have four kids (ages 3-13), they are all a healthy, normal weight because they don't eat junk. Believe me, if it ain't there they won't eat it and, after a while, they don't even miss it.
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yes, i can remember those good old days,filled with joy and so much fun while you sat on your friend handle bars and you wonder if he or she could see where they were going or just playing kickball or tag. now our outside has become their inside with all the X box and ps1,2,3,4,50,:) you get the point, after all with 80gb ipod and talking on high tec cell phone and my space (get it...) while looking at mtv or bet and picking at their fingernails who needs rollerblades.........
7/18/07 8:38 PM