Obesity in Children

[Joe]

Going outside ain't what it used to be....
They can't ride their bikes in the neighboorhood because a road rage d-bag doing 50 in a 25 will run them down - or a freak will grab them up....
They can't walk down the street because a freak might grab them up.
They can't play in the front yard unattended - see reasons 1 & 2...

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by Joe

Going outside ain't what it used to be....
They can't ride their bikes in the neighboorhood because a road rage d-bag doing 50 in a 25 will run them down - or a freak will grab them up....
They can't walk down the street because a freak might grab them up.
They can't play in the front yard unattended - see reasons 1 & 2...

exercise with your kids!

if there's a school nearby, walk laps around the football/soccer field or track.

goof around with a ball. make it fun!

how 'bout a visit to the pool with kids at the local ymca? nothing tuckers out a kid more than an hour spent floundering in the pool.

you know, you can even fish and get some exercise.

some of my favorite workouts have been with folks like ChrisL, Krispy, and JohnR - walking and casting Naps in the middle of the night!

don't have to cost an arm and a leg or take up a ton of time.

[Joe]

My point is that you just can't open the door and let them go off by themselves all day, on foot, like you could thirty years ago. That's why our generation was so skinny....that and the fact that we were too damn poor to have a UHF antenna.

I can't remember my father ever exercising with me - his Lucky Strikes would have burned down too fast in the breeze, I do remember him saying he had to run down to the packy though - does that count?

Personally, my kid is not fat...but I can see why it is a problem.

[Backbeach Jake]

Originally Posted by Joe

My point is that you just can't open the door and let them go off by themselves all day, on foot, like you could thirty years ago. That's why our generation was so skinny....that and the fact that we were too damn poor to have a UHF antenna.

I can't remember my father ever exercising with me - his Lucky Strikes would have burned down too fast in the breeze, I do remember him saying he had to run down to the packy though - does that count?

Personally, my kid is not fat...but I can see why it is a problem.

I'm 55 yo. I consider my generation to be the last "free" one. We could play outside way after dark. We , in our teens could hit the woods with a .22 and spend most of a weekend and our parents didn't worry . Hell you could go for a walk at night and no one called the police. Speaking of police, the small town in Kentucky where I was raised , Pop. 1800, had a police chief who was a patient individual, he knew who was trouble and who was just "high spirited but bacically good kids" . ANd he dealt with us accordingly. If he was alive today, I'd like to shake Chief Bradly's hand and thank him for his understanding. But I digress... We were more active because our world was safer..simple as that ..we , and our children are prisonser in our own homes these days, outside is a very mean place.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by Bassturbed

exercise with your kids!

if there's a school nearby, walk laps around the football/soccer field or track.

goof around with a ball. make it fun!

how 'bout a visit to the pool with kids at the local ymca? nothing tuckers out a kid more than an hour spent floundering in the pool.

you know, you can even fish and get some exercise.

some of my favorite workouts have been with folks like ChrisL, Krispy, and JohnR - walking and casting Naps in the middle of the night!

don't have to cost an arm and a leg or take up a ton of time.

Ben is dead on.

Get em the hell out of the house. #1 thing.

Also there's programs growing out there including one run by my far more intelligent half. Their tagline (Ben, she's been interviewed on NY1 twice now, you've probably seen it.):

a non-profit prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and a healthy lifestyle through running. Our curricula address all aspects of girls' development: their physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being.