Parent Traps

The other night, I was watching the news and an interesting segment on childhood obesity came on. It was talking about how childhood obesity is escalating in our country. This has gotten a lot of press recently and I hope everyone is aware of this! The interesting part of the segment was that they explained that parents are doing things to control their own weight but when it comes to their children, they are doing the opposite and contributing to their obesity. I think our nation is starting to figure out they we need to make a lot of changes to be healthier and more fit. We really need to do this for ourselves and for our children.

I started thinking about this and thought about how many  adults diet and buy healthy food for themselves or control calories and sugar. But then they buy "kid" food for  their children which sometimes is loaded in sugar and absolutely unhealthy. I have many friends that are pretty healthy, work out, and watch what they eat. But then they feed their children a separate diet. Walk into any grocery store and it is obvious that their is a whole market geared towards kids. I think there should be an aisle labeled kid foods. So  my question is why would you watch what you eat and try to be healthy but then feed your child "junk"? 

I used to buy separate food for my kids and even cook them kid meals while I would eat healthier. We no longer buy kid foods. Everything my kids eat, I eat as well.We count the different colors in our foods. My kids don't need to love everything they eat or clean their plate but they are encouraged to take a few bites to try it. Our biggest transition has been with snacks. Instead of fruit snacks and chips, they eat yogurt, nuts, and fresh fruits and veggies.

The other half of the obesity factor is working out. As adults, we can go to the gym and burn some calories. We can even take our kids along and put them in the child care which is usually included in your membership. So as we are running on the treadmill, our kids are safe in the same building playing in a  room. It is very convenient but what have we done for our children to get them exercise?  Many of us even workout at home. I have three children so I know how precious time is and how hard it is to work out with them at home. So maybe we plop them in front of the TV or let them play a video game while we get a half hour in on the elliptical.  Again, we are taking care of ourselves, but what have we done for our children?

I have pushed all of my kids in the jogging stroller since they were born so I could get my workout in everyday. I will continue to push them in the stroller but I also make sure they get their exercise daily as well. My oldest now has a choice to run or ride her bike with me when I go for runs. My 3 year old will jump out of the stroller when we are finishing up the run to race me home. After I take my time to go for a run, I will stay outside to give them their time to run and ride around. We will get a ball and play soccer or baseball. What ever time I devote to my own exercise, I also devote to exercise for them.

We need to set good examples for our children and model the healthy life style but we also need to make sure they are participating in what we are modeling.