Childhood obesity is an issue in the United States.  Children from toddlers to teens spend too much time being sedentary.  I don’t recall every coming home from high school with six hours of homework and only, when deducting time for family dinner, five hours until a reasonable bedtime.  I remember as a grade school student coming home from school – I walked to and from grade school which was close to 3/4 of a mile – and hitting a tennis ball against a wall down the street if there was no one in the neighborhood who could come outside and play.  The point is I was outside doing something after school as a child.

The scenario now is different.  As a mother of six children, I have watched as my children loved to go outside and play after school to the current scenario.  My teenage son does tend to get outside more than some of his friends as he is not currently taking any Advanced Placement (AP) courses.  Yet, the outlook is less outdoor time.  Most high school kids are outside for organized school or community sports only.  They leave this activity to go home and do several hours of homework or to shower and head to another activity.  There is little attention paid to what the family is eating or how much the family is eating as the children are shuttled from one activity to another.

This changing social dynamic lends itself for parents to blame everything but themselves for health issues that children develop.  I hear frequently that families have no time to sit down together to eat – a huge way to watch and be sure a child is getting proper nutrition – because of all the activities children are in.  The problem with this is that I also hear kids complaining about all that activity.  Maybe it is too much for one teen to go from after school club to school sports practice or competition to private lessons – you can fill in what the lessons are for: voice, dance, acting – to home at 10 pm to do homework.    Add in a part-time job for some teens and this schedule becomes even fuller.

The question now becomes what is more important – school work and getting into a good college (all that homework and those AP classes), being well-rounded (the after-school sports and other activities), a part-time job (learning fiscal responsibility and possibly helping pay for college), family interaction (family meals and time together other than commuting from one thing to another.  Am I saying that a child or teen cannot have all or most of these things?  Not totally.  I am saying as adults, parents need to prioritize what should have the emphasis.

Parents need to know that a drive-thru at a fast food location is not the way a child or teen should eat every night.  An occasional trip to a fast food restaurant is okay but children and teens should be taught how to pick out what is more nutritious from the menu.  There are healthier items on fast food menus.  Not every option is fried or coated with bacon and cheese.  Most fast food locations offer milk, 100% juice or a lemonade drink as options to soda.  Some parental direction – guidance – in the ordering process will allow an occasional trip to a drive-thru to not cause huge nutritional issues.

Parents need to know that children need sleep.  I cannot tell you the number of afternoons my teenager has come home and sat down and fallen asleep as he was up late for one reason or another.  The wake-up time he has is not self-determined as he has a bus to catch to get the approximate 3.5 miles to school.  Unfortunately, in his case, this creates a domino effect.  He naps after school.  Then, he doesn’t start homework until later, causing a later bedtime.  The next day, after a full day of school and after school activities, he comes home and naps, setting the process in action again.  Can I change this process?  As a parent, I can try.  When I am able and feel that he can survive without the rest after school, I will encourage the homework be done immediately.  This action, in turn, will allow an earlier bedtime and hopefully will eliminate the need for a nap the next day.

Parents can also control activities.  I have many times told a child, usually a teen, that a choice has to be made.  One person cannot do everything that has been set up for the teen.  Of course, in a family with six kids, it is easier to say “I can’t get you there” than it is in a family with one child.  The easiest thing I have found, once a child is of the age to express likes and dislikes – beyond the screaming of NO that is a toddler staple, is to tell a child or teen that the choice is his or hers within parameters.  Set the parameters for family priorities, such as no activities on Sunday so the family can go to church.  Lay out what these priorities mean – what time during the week and weekend is available and is not available.  Allow the child or teen to select activities.  Then, exercise parental discretion.  In other words, as much as we like to think that our children would pick the best activities, we as parents, as the adults, hold veto power.

This entry started out to be my thoughts about BMI and other measuring tools for determining how obese our children are.  The writing sort of took a different slant.  I do think that the question how much is too much is a key part in the puzzle that needs to be pieced together to help solve the crisis of childhood obesity.  What do you think is too much?