Family Bonding Fights Childhood Obesity
With distractions like television, the internet, and video games, kids are exercising less and eating more. These stimuli have had an astoundingly negative effect; 17.1% of children between the ages of 2-16 are obese, with the percentage rate steadily climbing. A decrease in exercise isn't all to blame, however; snacks with high fat, sugar and little nutritional content are becoming increasingly more prevalent in schools and homes. These poor diet and exercise habits can carry kids through to adulthood with the risk of serious health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Despite these stacked odds, families can take steps to prevent their kids from the dangers of childhood obesity.
New Jersey child expert Linda Searles, founder of Baby Power Forever Kids (http://www.babypower.com), has been instrumental in promoting healthy habits for kids with her unique classes that have been exercising children’s bodies and minds and teaching moms tools for parent/child bonding for three decades. Now Linda is passing steps families can take together that will boost moods, familial relationships, health, and bodies.
Get up and dance. Just by taking 15 minutes out of your day to turn on music and dance, you’re giving kids a fun, easy way of getting exercise that both you and them can look forward to.
Create healthy menus with your kids. Old habits are hard to change, but by slowly replacing sugar or fat filled snacks with fruits or vegetables, you’ll be gradually changing the way your child eats. By actively involving your children in the process, mealtime will become more exciting. Gradual changes are more likely to stick in the long run, too.
Equate TV & computer time with exercise. For every hour your kids spend on the computer or watching TV, make it a point for them to spend 15 minutes being active.
Encourage your kids to do warm-ups before homework. Before we start the educational classes at Baby Power, we have the kids spend some time in our gym. Studies have shown that the mind is much more relaxed and receptive to learning after the body has stretched and warmed up.
Be a positive role model. The most effective way to get kids to get healthy is to lead by example. Make it a point to eat healthy and get active, and they’ll follow.
By bringing these changes into your home, Linda also ensures that you’ll notice not only a healthier, happier child, but a healthier, happier you. “With an active lifestyle and healthy eating habits, you’ll notice that you’ll have a positively happy family on your hands.”
