Overweight Kids, Accountability, and Some Fun

A have a few great blog posts to share with you today.  They all deal with a BIG problem that continues to become a BIGGER problem (puns intended).  The problem I am speaking of?  Our kids are getting fatter and more unhealthy every year.   The cause of the problem?  Video games,  TV, and more processed food.  Yes, these are huge problems.  But who is buying our kids the video games?  Who is bringing all this crappy food home?  Who is taking our kids to McDonald’s every week?  See where I am getting?  Us adults/parents need to step up and take some accountability as well.  I could go on and on, but I’ll turn it over to a couple guys that already did a great job of writing about the overweight kid problem/parents needing to step up problem.

You Feed Your Kids What?

In this post, Mark simply tells it like it is.  Please parents, don’t get defensive and angry at Mark.  Think about what he is saying and think about what we can do to help.  We (my wife and I) are far from perfect so I am not saying that we don’t have improvements to make as well.  When I read this I immediately brought Carson (9 years old) over to the computer and went over this information with him and Shondra (wife).  As she is the one doing most of the “kid” grocery shopping in the house.  I think it helped both of them to see this article.  And it helped Carson to see the nasty looking picture of what I thought was ice cream.  DISGUSTING!!!   My favorite quote from the article;  (when talking about his daughter) “Granted, she will have the occasional treat like a home baked cookie or piece of candy every so often, but she won’t have a treat every day because a treat per day isn’t a treat, it’s a habit.”

Weighing in On Obesity

Brian St. Pierre once again hammers home the point that we have a choice.  Yes, there is fast food all over the place.  Yes, a good amount of the grocery stores are filled with candy and sugar.  But we don’t HAVE TO buy it.  Be accountable and don’t blame others!

Overdoing It?

I hope you don’t think I am crazy.  I still think we should take our kids out for pizza night.  Ice cream after a big win for the baseball team?  Great!  All I am asking, is that this are not the staple.  Every night?  Every (many) meal?  C’mon! Again, the problem is growing, and it’s only getting worse.  Let’s all step up as parents and make some changes!

Fun!

It drives me crazy that Carson can watch the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, WWE, and Sponge Bob for hours on end.   It can be like pulling teeth to get him to get outside and spend 10 minutes (yes, just 10 minutes!!!) working on his dribbling skills.  I could go on and on (and I have) and tell him what most of us parents do; “Carson, back when I was your age I would get some friends together and spend hours and hours outside… pick up basketball games; tennis ball baseball; swimming at the Rockton Pool; tackle football in the back yard…..” and the list goes on.  But, if all I do is pound him with, “you should be more like me” stories, I am just going to end up one frustrated person with no change in sight. 

So, how ’bout the option of getting out there and playing with him?  This past weekend we spent about 2 hours each day at the pool swimming.  We timed eachother to see how fast we could make it from one end of the pool and back.  And spent a lot of our time diving for a tennis ball into the pool… always a favorite of mine.  Not sure who has more fun at this “game,” me or the kids.   … 

Yep, as a kid I played Mike Tyson’s Punch-out and loved it!

I watched WWF.  I ate (and still sometimes eat) reese’s pieces.  But let’s make sure our kids are not doing this all day.  Make sure they are eating some fruits ‘n veggies, lean protein, and having some fun while playing outside.  And remember, the best way to accomplish this may be to get out there and some fun with them!