The truth about our kids

When we were young it was common that kids came home after school, did their homework, had a snack and then went outside to play in their neighborhoods till dark. If I had to guess, I would say the time spent was close to three hours of bike riding, skateboarding, surfing, tree climbing, trail exploring, fort building, jump roping, roller skating, and game playing a DAY. Three hours of activity a day. How many kids do you know who get that kind of physical activity today?

That was at least 20 years ago. Times have changed, that is certain, but kids still need a great deal of activity to stay healthy. In our fast paced lives of today’s world, finding time for our kids to keep fit can be a challenge. Challenge or not, we must make the commitment to help our kids stay healthy. Today, one of our nation’s leading health threats is childhood obesity, with over 12 million children who are overweight, or at risk of being obese.

According to the American Obesity Association, the percentage of obese children ages 6-11 between 1971 and 1974 was 4.3 for boys and 3.6 for girls. In the years 1999-2000 the percentages of obese children rose dramatically to 16 for boys and 14.5 for girls. Excess weight in childhood and adolescence has been found to predict overweight in adults. Overweight children, aged 10 to 14 with at least one overweight or obese parent were reported to have a 79 percent likelihood of overweight persisting into adulthood.

Now is the time to turn this trend around if we want our children to grow up healthy and happy. The good news? We can do it! In my next article, I will go in detail about commitment and what that means for your overall success. For today, I encourage you to make a commitment. If you have kids, know kids, or work with kids, to take a step towards helping them to be active, eat healthy foods and have fun in the process. If you are a kid, then make the commitment to yourself!

After you make your commitment to healthy kids, there are a few steps you can choose to make a positive difference. First, make time for physical activity every day. Schedule it just like any other event in your life. It’s a necessity, after all. Another step is to provide healthy, fresh snacks such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grain, low sugar cereals for your kids. Pack their lunches for meals away from home to ensure your child has healthy food to eat. Avoid soda and sugary drinks. Instead, provide a fun new water bottle (we use SIGGs) and plenty of encouragement to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. The last step is to make it fun. The road to our children’s wellness begins with keeping the ride fun.

As I mentioned above, it’s not likely your child will be interested in spending time running on the treadmill, you need to plan something FUN. Use your imagination or just use your yard. Get the whole family involved and do something like relay races in your yard. Buy an inexpensive pedometer (from $5 and up, and for new moms they make stroller pedometers now too!) and increase your steps each day. Make a family or neighborhood competition of laps around your neighborhood. See who can do the most laps in a week. Kids love counting and keeping track of things. Try this one and see how much they get into it. You will be surprised.

Join a program in your area. There are numerous programs for kids and families in our community. Everything from swimming lessons, to little league, kids activity camps, to the YMCA and beyond offer supervised physical activity for children of all ages. These valuable programs are great choices because they force you to schedule time for staying fit and being healthy.

When in doubt, you can always go to a park. Play baseball, kickball, or just run the bases, toss a Frisbee, even swing on the swings. Another wonderful outdoor activity in our area is the beach. Surfing and body boarding are two great choices for staying in shape. Walking the beach is also a very relaxing way to unwind as a family at the end of a busy day. Take advantage of the warm summer months by spending time at the ocean.

As a parent, I, like you, want the best for our children. The truth about our kids is that a majority of them are in trouble regarding their health. The solution is not only telling them to go outside and do something, but to show them how to live a healthy life. By eating fresh, natural foods, and being active, your kids will be following in your footsteps on a path to wellness.

Our oldest daughter has been running the “fun runs” at local 5K’s since she was two. She just turned five and can now run a mile in 13 minutes. She often asks us to take her for a run and that beaming smile of accomplishment when she finishes is all the reward we need as parents to keep her moving! Let us know how you feel by challenging your kids to do something exciting. Get out there and go for it. Our kids are counting on us!

You can do it!

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visit http://www.staugustinebootcamp.com/ or http://www.joshromaine.com/