We hear and see it everyday on the television and read it in the papers how our nations' children are overweight. With all of the temptations and freedoms they have these days, it's no wonder. Today, many parents both work, so they can't really monitor their children. Things have really changed since we were kids. I remember being in grammar school and my breakfast and lunch was prepared for me everyday to ensure I was eating nutritiously. I was not allowed to eat sweets unless it was a holiday, my mother was always sending me back outside on nice days to play, enrolling me in both social and physical activities. I spent the majority of my childhood outside doing physical activities such as riding my bike, roller skating or sledding. It was about imagination and creativity. Computers weren't yet a necessity and neither was satellite. But today the economy has forced both parents to work and the fast-paced life has caused a ripple effect on our lifestyles. Everything has become about convenience to the point it is a chore just to walk across the room to change the channel.
As adults we have an obligation to set an example for the younger generation. We have nutrition and fitness information at our fingertips. We can find ways to not only change our children's lives but our own because many of have fallen into the same trap. Remember, the habits our children develop today will have a lasting effect. As adults, we know from experience how hard it is to undue bad habits.
Nutrition
One important contributing aspect of our children's fitness and health level is nutrition. Even if you have only healthy food in the house what happens when they get to school? Unfortunately, unless your children get into the habit of preparing their own lunches for school there are a plenty of tempting, fattening lunch options in the school cafeteria. Hot gooey pizza and chocolate chip cookies for lunch sounds pretty good to a 12 year old. More high schools are allowing teenagers to even go off campus for lunch, in which case they are heading to the nearest McDonald's or Burger King. So what do you do? Well, my first question is, what do you eat for lunch everyday at work? My suggestion is making lunches together either the night before or even cooking meals ahead of time together and freezing them in little Tupperware bowls. My favorite is low-fat vegetarian lasagna, it can go a long way. There are so many benefits to cooking together such as teaching them useful skills about cooking and nutrition, spending constructive time together and even motivating each other. You may be surprised how much your child could motivate you!
