We just spent a weekend in the Wisconsin Dells, a popular tourist trap that has a smidge of credibility now for its outrageously expansive (and expensive) waterparks. My husband's company ran an incentive trip and my kids won the lottery.
What was disturbing, aside from me throwing my back out on the very first morning (did I mention my three kids and a waterpark?) was that there were an incredible number of obese people there, both adults and children. Children as young as 3, 4 years old who were already on a very serious path of health problems due to being overweight.
It's easy to say to myself - Hey, at least I look decent in my tankini. I'm heading for the ice cream place as soon as my daughter starts to yawn for her nap.
OTOH, now that I work for who I work for, childhood obesity is no joke to me. I look at these kids and think, you are going to be the first generation of 20 year old heart attacks and Type 2 diabetes sufferers. It's incredibly sad.
I don't have any ready answers, except to acknowledge that all of us need to stop rewarding kids with food. Why not say -- instead of "Let's get ice cream, you did such a great job on ____" -- "Let's go for a walk together." Or "Let's play baseball."
I understand that kids aren't as mobile (on foot, on bikes) as they used to be. For very valid reasons. But let's make an effort to show them that physical activity is a part of healthy every day living.
1 comment:
As you know, I'm old enough to be your mother. Heh. When I was growing up, snacks were not constantly available. We went from breakfast to lunch without food in-between. We had a small after-school treat between lunch and dinner. Cows grazed; people didn't.
It's amazing to me that everywhere one goes nowadays, snacks are handy. If you don't bring them with you, you can easily buy them, whether you're filling up the gas tank, buying office supplies or getting your hair cut.
That's not to say I didn't and don't have a weight problem. But until I turned 11 I was a skinny little thing. That was the year our family moved across the street from a mom-and-pop grocery store, filled with candy and treats. And I had an allowance.
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