Active Child

So, I drove by my old neighborhood not too long ago. I was quite surprised when I saw a total of 3 children playing outside on the street. I remember back when I was living there (I lived there for 10 years) there were 15 to 20 children playing outside. You would find different age groups playing tag, riding bikes, playing street hockey and baseball until the streetlights came on. There was always someone outside yelling for me through my window asking me to come out to play. I would rush through my chores (mopping only half the floor) to race outside to go play a game of street hockey, even if it was just one game.

At my parents house now, there aren't many children who play outside either. I started to tell myself that it is probably because there aren't many children who live on the street. But I've noticed that with a lot of streets that I drive by, there are hardly any children laying outside. The park is now a dessert.

Then it all started coming to me. I am 25 years old now, we didn't have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, No video games at all, No 99 channels, No Pay TV, No Cable, No DVD movies or surround sound. We had no mobile phones, text messaging, personal computers or internet chat rooms. We live in a world now that is surrounded with hi-tech technology. Most children are inside playing the newest game their parents bought for them, watching some reality show on channel 103, or talking on MSN with their friends rather than playing outside. No wonder weight is such an issue for children these days. They're all inside playing with technology instead of outside getting active.

I remember when I was 10, I was able to eat a whole pizza to myself, that's because I burned so much calories running around outside, that the 7 slices of pizza I had shoved in my mouth, had already burned off by the time I got to my last slice.

There are many parents that think that the mix of children and technology is harmless because its keeps them inside the house and out of trouble. They are wrong, it is very harmful to raise your children and not teach them about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. In the long run they will end up with health problems and end up being overweight wondering why they are they way they are.

Enroll your children into sports, encourage them to go play outside with the neighbors children, even if it's just for an hour a day. An hour a day, can change their life.