The Stay at Home Mother

This is a topic that has really bothered me. It appears that obesity is on the rise for children and what's worse is that the age that children start showing weight problems is getting younger and younger each year. Is TV the culprit? Is fast food? Is it the easy to prepare foods that have a lot of additives in them - and no home cooked meals anymore? Or is it that there is a real lack of encouragement to participate in any outdoor activities?

My son is a huge soccer fan and loves to be outside. TV is really a third or fourth choice for him, so I'm not too worried about him becoming addicted to television (however I do monitor his in take regularly). But why are some children getting so obese? This problem is even more prevelant in the US, with more than half of adults with an extreme weight problem. It is an extremely serious health issue, which I consider to be a form of child abuse.

Parents need to stay on top of what their children are eating, their level of activity and ensuring that they stay active. As adults, we tend to slip every now and then with our weight, but this is an issue that children should not be concerned with. If they are a regular kid who eats hamburgers every now and then but is balanced with a healthy meal as well - it shoudn't be an issue. Perhaps children are taking cues from the parents? Are some parents obese and therefore, set a bad example for their own children?

Nobody wants to be fat - but this is not about people or children who are a bit overweight and can lose it fairly easily. This is about children and adults who have become grossly overweight, and need to stop the abusive cycle of overeating, non nutriional foods, and lack of exercise.

It makes me want to cry when I think of a child who loses their breath because they can't keep up with the other children or who gets picked on because of their weight. It doesn't have to be that way and parents need to be more active in their child's life by providing nutritional foods, and an active lifestyle for them. They are children for goodness sake and most love to be active! I can't stop my own two - they are like the "Ever Ready Bunny" and just keep going and going and going.....

And as a Stay at Home Mom - I ensure they eat home cooked meals on a regular basis and that if my son does get "McDonald's" one day for lunch, that he gets a really good, healthy meal for dinner.  And as a family, we do lots of outdoor activities and have fun together outside.  I was a sports nut growing up, so I was in volleyball, basketball, track and field and softball.  And I will be ensuring my son and daughter will get to experience all these great activities too, as they get older.