I was shocked to read in the news this week that one of every three ten-year-old girls is on a diet because she thinks that she is fat. What on earth are we doing to our kids that they feel it necessary to diet at such a young age? 10-year-old girls should be focused on being kids, having fun, hanging with their girlfriends, chatting, giggling, enjoying life. Gosh, when I was that age, my only concern was to do well in school, to please my parents, to make the school softball team, to plan the best birthday party. I don't remember even thinking about my weight. Mind you, when I was 10, kids were much more active than they are today. I'm not talking about extra curricular activities, I mean simple exercise was fundamental in our day. We walked 1/2 mile to school each morning, back home for lunch, back to school after lunch, and home again at 3.30pm. We would play outside after school until supper time, then we'd head back outdoors after supper until it was dark. We rode our bikes, played hide and seek, softball, tag, skipped rope, basketball, 4-square, hopscotch, etc. So we were physically fit and as a result, we never had to worry about our weight. Furthermore, the fact that we were so active and busy meant that we didn't have time to sit around and worry about our bodies. I think the fact that we were outside having so much fun provided us with the confidence and self-esteem necessary to allow us to feel good about ourselves. We were tired at night and went to bed excited about the next day. Life was good!
I know that things are different today. Our kids are driven to school and most schools have very short lunch periods so that the majority of kids remain at the school over lunch. Kids are picked up again after school and are driven to their various "planned activities" by parents. Apart from gym class and extracurricular sports, kids are getting far too little exercise. Kids don't play outdoors like they used to. Many kids plop themselves in front of the television as soon as they get home from school, or pick up a video game. Kids are also getting hooked on computer message sites like MSN. Our young kids are sitting at their computers, "messaging" with their friends, whereas we would go outside to play with our friends at that age. But kids need to exercise, both for their physical wellbeing and their emotional wellbeing. They need to run and skip and break into a sweat. Exercise releases endorphins, and kids who exercise regularly generally feel better about themselves! Unfortunately, many families do not have the best eating habits, in this day and age. When I was a kid, all our moms stayed at home and we had a hot nutritious lunch and supper every day. Parents today are often stressed and it's often easier to grab "take out" than to come home from work, exhausted, and begin cooking.
I am really concerned about the whole dieting craze. And it doesn't help that female role models like Victoria (Posh) Beckham and Mary Kate Olsen struggle with eating disorders in order to remain stick thin. It's so unhealthy for our girls to believe that "thinness" is somehow equated to success or happiness. We have to save our girls before they fall really ill. And we need to get our children more active. Kids need to be busy and active in order to thrive and become well-adjusted.
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