we do not eat healthy 100% of the time and i'm ok with that. norah loves her fruit and veggies and she's fine eating whole grains and lean meats/cheeses. yes, she has cookies and ice cream sometimes. yes, i think THAT IS OK. she's a kid! but to survive solely on junk food and sweets? that is NOT.
check out this video:
this is SCARY.
even though we eat fairly healthy most of the time i know we can probably do better. but it's not just about diet, though that does play a part in it.
a huge problem with this generation is the lack of movement. working in a preschool, it was overwhelmingly obvious which kids' parents brought them outside (and often) and which just sat them in front of a T.V. or put a video game controller in their hands for entertainment.
just like sweets, we do T.V. sometimes. usually for a little bit everyday, maybe 1/2 hour or so depending on the day. but not ALL day. and norah is too young for video games but it's another thing we will not be introducing to her for a long long time. i try to take her outside as often as possible. and if it's rainy or too hot/too cold, we go to the library. (who am i kidding, we go there almost everyday anyway ;) . we also frequent the park and on special trips we go to the zoo or the aquarium. as she gets older i look forward to enrolling her into soccer/swimming/gymnastics/etc.
and when i was a kid?? i was outside all day, every day. my mom kicked us out in the morning and we had to be home when the street lights came on (thanks mom!). i definitely watched T.V. too but it was way less important to us then. now as a school-aged child you might be ostracized for NOT having a nintendo DS or a giant flat screen T.V. at home (something like this happened at my PRESCHOOL). the focus is not on imagination and play, it's on who has the coolest "stuff."
the content on this website [designedtomove.org] is fantastic and i really hope you take the time to read through it. it really made me think, and i know it will make you do the same.
let's give our kids 5 more years!
