P. E. at Home

I heard the craziest thing the other day. There is an activist group that is trying to ban Ronald McDonald from McDonald's advertising because he is the cause of obesity in children. Really? There are 2 main causes to childhood obesity; lack of exercise and poor nutrition. Ronald McDonald cannot be held responsible for these. We need to focus on better nutrition and exercise for our children. In schools today P. E. classes are typically 30 minutes long (not even every day) with children being sedentary for the rest of the day with the exception of a brief recess. Children's bodies need exercise. Do you remember when we were kids and stayed outside playing until it got dark every day?

Getting plenty of exercise is easy and very inexpensive. The first thing to make sure children get enough exercise is to limit TV, computer, and video games. The more of these you have the easier it is to get sucked in by them and before you know it the entire evening has been wasted. Turn off your TV and computer and send your kids outside. Exercise does not have to be structured or organized. Organized sports can be a lot of fun . Soccer, Football, Baseball, swimming, Dance Lessons, Karate etc... are all great ways to get exercise. But, there are many fun activities you can do right in your own backyard. I read somewhere that the outdoors and a great imagination are all kids need. A few things that may be helpful in getting kids motivated are: balls of different sizes and shapes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, hoola- hoops, Frisbees, jump ropes (we do not have these at our house instead of being used for exercise they tie things and people up with them), chalk, etc... all can fill your child's mind with fun activities. The other day at Walmart I bought some chalk ($1) and the children have had great fun drawing and playing hopscotch. My children love to play tag, football, basketball, soccer in our backyard. Go for a nature walk at your local park or around your neighborhood. Get outdoors and have some fun! It will start to become a habit and before you know it the entire evening will be gone and the TV was never even turned on once.

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