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With our children’s alarming new habits regarding exercise, how can parents foster a healthier attitude and regain some of that lost ground? Here are some suggestions to get our kids moving again.
Hold Off on the Homework: Yes, I know with the amount of homework our kids come home with these days the first instinct is to get them going on it right away. But instead, give them a break from the schoolwork for an hour or two. They will be most enthusiastic about exercise at this time and more focused on their homework afterward. The only caveat is to ensure that they engage in a physical activity, otherwise you are sabotaging the strategy.
Good Role Models: Our children are looking to us as models of good habits. No matter what we say, it is what we do that our children will most often adopt as life-long habits. Even power-walking with the stroller when our kids are infants or toddlers provides a good example. And don’t forget about the other influential people in their life. At school, and even daycare, it is important that their teachers provide positive examples of a healthy lifestyle. If the teacher is not physically fit, at least make sure he or she is emphasizing the importance of exercise to their class.
Turn off The Tube: This includes anything with a screen. Children should be limited to less than two hours of screen time daily, according to the American Heart Association. And don’t think that just because you have a Wii your kids are getting enough exercise. Running in place or swinging an imaginary tennis racket is no replacement for the real thing.
Think Beyond the Soccer Field: Not every child is going to like competition or organized sports. That doesn’t mean they’re doomed to a life of Cheetos and internet chat. Instead, let them try physical activities like hiking, canoeing, dance, mountain biking or geocaching. Check out your town’s parks & recreation catalog for even more ideas.
The ever-rising popularity of television, video games, and computers has taken its fair share of blame for the declining health of our children. For the first time in history, early life experiences are formed more by LCD pixels and cartoon culture than trails and treehouses. A study conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation found that our youth now spend an average of five hours a day–40 percent of their awake hours–in front of electronic devices. And the behavior starts young. Children under the age of two years old will spend over two hours daily in front of a media screen. This is despite sixty-six percent of us acknowledge a link between childhood obesity and television.
The causes of obesity are urgent concerns. One of every three children in America is now considered overweight or obese, and childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The new style of sedentary playtime, spent in front of a screen, causes children to burn less calories and often snack on high sugar, high fat munchies–the snacks prominent in television commercials.
Yet digital and media entertainment isn’t completely to blame. It may only be a symptom of greater challenges; something to fill a child’s time due to lost options. In some neighborhoods, local access to open space has been sacrificed to development. Outdoor playtime has become increasingly criminalized. The fear of litigation from a child falling from a tree or tripping at a creek crossing is too great. With budget cuts in public education and our narrowed focus on specific subject criteria, the philosophy of field trips has shifted from broadening a student’s understanding of science, literature, mathematics or history, to being considered counterproductive. The simple truth is many factors are working against our children playing as they have in the past.
In previous blogs I have highlighted ways to spend time with your children. Most of the suggestions are, “Well, of course” ideas. But they all contain one hugely important element–you. You have to show up. Fathers tend to be the parent that best teaches interaction and playtime activities. If you relegate your child to an unsupervised virtual world you are simply not parenting.
So you think you have it tough as an actively-involved or a stay at home dad? Just try stepping into these guy’s shoes. In a CNN feature report with Soledad O’brien, Gary and Tony Have a Baby chronicles the journey of Gary Spino and Tony Brown, a same-sex couple wanting to have a child of their own. Now in their late forties, Gary and Tony have been together for twenty years. They are married, in Canada where same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. Life was good. But Gary and Tony wanted to take that next step in familyhood. They wanted to have a child in their lives. Spino says, “I thought at the end of my life, what am I going to say? Do I wish I would have had a bigger apartment, or do I wish I would have had a family? And it was a no-brainer.”
The two men spent their lifetime fighting for gay civil rights, and their desire to have a child of their own became one more of their battles. Rather than adoption, they chose to use a surrogate. It is a difficult and expensive process, straight or gay, but further complicated by their relationship. They found an egg donor with a similar ethnic background to Tony; the other half of the genetic code was supplied by Gary. A surrogate was located in a small town in the South. Paperwork and some legal challenges ensued.
Like Spino and Brown, I believe ending discrimination against sexual orientation and same sex couples is the most important civil rights issue of our lifetime. It is discrimination backed by junk science, groundless fears, and an immoral prejudice. In my favorite quote of the report Spino says, “We’ve been taught since you’re born, grow up, get married, have a kid. It’s really unfair to then say, you know what? You can’t do that.” As some men struggle to simply be present in their child’s life, here’s two guys begging to get as little sleep as the rest of us. It is time to get informed, get active, and get the hell out of the way.
As an introduction to a newscast on the childhood obesity epidemic, NBC Nightly News showcased the potential future of exercise for our children. Forget futuristic gym equipment or ultralight bicycles. No jet pack shoes or new hybrid x-game sport. Nightly News host Brian Williams shared footage from Jimmy Fallon’s late night show where Fallon demonstrated Microsoft’s latest technology, the Kinect. As Williams put it, “Before you know it, if you’re not careful, you’re exercising.”
The Kinect allows gamers the freedom of movement similar to the Wii gaming system. No more thumb-centric workouts. As far as gaming goes, I believe these are certainly the best options for children. But I’m most interested in what makes a child avoid exercise in the first place. Has it really gotten to the point where children think exercise has as much appeal as brussels sprouts? I hate the idea of having to trick my boys into exercise. Along with, “sugar, spice & everything nice”, exercise was what a kid was made from. It should be the best part of their day. It shouldn’t even be called exercise. Twenty years ago it was known as riding our bike, climbing a tree, playing keep-away, freeze tag, running the bases, and swimming until our lips turned blue.
Over the next week I’ll share views of the causes of the turning tide, the effects it is having on our children (and ourselves) and highlight ways we can get our kids to enjoy movement again. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. As fathers we play an integral part in our child’s physical upbringing and it is up to us to take the lead.
When we sometimes feel the world is stacked against actively involved or stay at home dads, a young voice comes along that gives us hope. Alexandra (Alex) Vanegas writes the great blog Mommy Glow, a chronicle of her experience as a young single black mom and the stereotypes that she has to overcome as a parent. In her insightful piece, Where was all the Haterade on Mother’s Day?, she attacks the acceptance of daddy bashing and questions the taboo of criticizing a mother’s parenting skills. Alex writes, “My aggravation comes from the fact that on Mother’s Day it’s not commonplace for people to talk negatively about deadbeat Moms, but why is it so regular and expected for people to talk smack on Father’s Day. ” To read the complete version of Alex’s thoughts visit here.
With our children’s alarming new habits regarding exercise, how can parents foster a healthier attitude and regain some of that lost ground? Here are some suggestions to get our kids moving again.
The ever-rising popularity of television, video games, and computers has taken its fair share of blame for the declining health of our children. For the first time in history, early life experiences are formed more by LCD pixels and cartoon culture than trails and treehouses. A study conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation found that our youth now spend an average of five hours a day–40 percent of their awake hours–in front of electronic devices. And the behavior starts young. Children under the age of two years old will spend over two hours daily in front of a media screen. This is despite sixty-six percent of us acknowledge a link between childhood obesity and television.
