I regularly jog past my neighborhood elementary school, and end up choking on indignation and car exhaust. There is a permanent line of SUVs, minivans, and family cars dropping off able-bodied kids. I want to post a sign on the fence outside the school that says, “Global warming starts at school.”
It used to be that a parent driving a kid to school meant something—injury or sickness, maybe—was wrong with the kid. It still means that, in a way, but what is “wrong” has become normal. Some of these kids are the ones you will read headlines about in a few years: “Childhood obesity rises again” … “Kids fatter than ever” … “Kids condemned to obesity.” Admittedly, some families live farther from their schools than their kids could be expected to walk—but why not park some distance away and walk the final blocks together, so that kids will get used to the idea that “going somewhere” and “getting in the car” are not synonymous? I hear that harried parents today don’t have time to walk their kids to school—but if it were a matter of life and death, would they find the time?
I’m not talking about kidnappers and molesters—a kid walking to school actually only has a miniscule chance of encountering these horrors. However, if he/she doesn’t become accustomed to using his/her body to move around, every American kid has about a thirty percent chance of ending up dead at an early age, from diseases related to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Parents who are worried about their kids’ safety need to get out of the car themselves, and walk beside them.
The media says kids are not exercising, they’re spending more time watching TV than anything else, they’re eating more junk and fewer veggies than ever, and they (and the adults they will grow up to be) will pay the price in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and worn-out cars—everything that follows from being fat and sedentary. Getting daily exercise, and developing the habit of daily exercise, is a matter of life or death. When adults fail to take care of themselves, it’s the adults’ fault; but when kids are not taking care of themselves, I blame the parents.
Raising healthy kids is not necessarily complicated, but it is hard work. You’ve got to make sure kids get good quality food and a lot of time to run around almost every day. The daily thirty to forty minutes that school curricula usually set aside for this are totally inadequate. The government tells us, correctly, that an hour each day is the minimum amount of time required to maintain good health and control weight. It may be easier to park kids (or let them park themselves) in front of the TV or a video game, but unless a parent is certain the kid has already had sufficient physical activity (or will later), the parent is hurting the kid by doing so. Kids need daily—or nearly daily—time to exercise their muscles, their athletic skills, and their coordination, so that they continue to develop and find enjoyment in their bodies.
Kids who develop exercise habits and sports skills early continue to be active all their lives. Kids who are heavy and weak from lack of exercise as little ones grow up to avoid activity later. Habits are formed when kids are very young. Recently, I met a three-year-old happy, but chubby, girl who was trapped in a ball-pit from which she could not lift herself. Her mom was far too heavy to get in the play structure. My son asked me to help the girl get out. As I was assisting her, the three-year-old said, “I’m too heavy.” How long will she keep going into play structures if that is how she feels now?
Kids need vegetables and whole grains—fresh or frozen—even when they “won’t” eat them and even when parents don’t have time to cook. You don’t have time to shop and cook? Fine—feed your kids precooked, prepackaged, high-starch stuff, and let them have sweets and junk (because they will eat it without a fight), but be sure to admit that your priorities are condemning your kids to serious problems later on.
Fresh and frozen veggies are more expensive per calorie than lower-quality foods. This means that poorer people are going to be at a nutritional disadvantage. Call your congressperson and demand that food stamps cover fresh fruits and vegetables, that school lunches be wholesome, and that public space be set aside for farmers’ markets. Anyone who has enough money to gas up the SUV has no excuse.
Hate me for being the messenger if you want … but if you are not teaching your kid to eat a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in every meal—or if you are allowing them to eat significant amounts of chips and sweets—you are shortening their lives and making it harder for them to be healthy later on. People who exercise daily and eat fruits and veggies as the mainstays of their diet, stay lean.
Here’s a short list of other ways to kill your kids, with alternatives:
