For the Children

Did you have to be in your own yard when the street lights came on? Well, I did. It was that almost forgotten era when instead of being driven to practice like my own children were and still are; we would simply slip away from the dinner table and take over a corner of the neighborhood. Maybe twenty or so kids of all ages would play kick the can or hide and go seek until the street light sent us home and to bed tired and happy.

These days children are involved in organized sports at a younger and younger age. One of my daughters is a gymnastics coach. She entered the sport when she was only three. When we moved her to a gym that has trained some Olympians she was considered lucky to make the team at nine, an age that is usually considered too old. Her older sister, then twelve, had to settle for a recreational team.

So on the one hand we have these super-serious young athletes and on the other hand we have an alarming rise in childhood obesity. About thirteen percent of children and adolescents are obese or overweight. Projects are springing up all over to determine the causes and hopefully offer some solutions.

So the average parent who loves their children dearly has a lot of tough choices to make. They have to prioritize feeding their children healthy food when demanding schedules scream fast food. They have to teach good habits and model them as well. Maybe they choose to put them in organized sports and
maybe they do their own version of low-key back yard play. But sometimes even the best intentions are thwarted by the demands of life. Sometimes helping their children keep a healthy weight doesn't get the attention it should.

As a personal trainer who is very interested in helping families I'd love to have your thoughts on what is and isn't working in your family. Would it help to have some quick workouts you could do with your children at home? As always I welcome your insights.