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.