Hi All,

It was a beautiful day in my neck of the woods (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada).  My wifes sister has come to visit from Dar Es Sallam, Tanzania along with her 2 year old, and two daughters.  We decided to spend the holiday (today is a holiday called BC Day — a time to spend with your friends and family) at a local place called Cultus Lake Water Park — yup, the typical water park. 

The last time we went was when my son was 2 years old and he was terrified of the water.  This time, he took part in almost all the activities there!  He even dared to go down one of the “adult” slides with his cousin.

One thing that I saw there was the number of large kids — not adults; there are plenty of those around.  But there were a lot of large kids.  They were from every ethnic group: Caucasian and non-Caucasian (East Indian; African; Asian).  Some were SUPER SIZED — while others were on their way there.

I was sitting on a bench and a couple of large kids were running to their picnic spot.  There were some other kids sitting behind me, and when they saw the big kids running, comments flew!  “Man that kids is fat!”, “Geez, his tits are shaking!”, “He looks like a whale”, “His shorts are gonna fall off his tummy is so big…”.

The comments made were pretty disturbing, but this is how children see others.

At the same time, there were also a lot of parents encouraging their children to keep and stay active — some kids were “tired” but their parents would encourage them to rest a bit then keep going.  It was truly great to see so many kids that are not tied to their video game machines, and computers.

That is what parents need to do.  Get their kids away from the influences that prevent them from going out and having FUN in the SUN!  Get fresh air and let their kids enjoy their time while young.

Also it doesn’t hurt to teach kids how to eat right… here are a few tips for parents:

1.  Make sure your kids eat breakfast!  It’s a fact, if they have a good breakfast they will feel full longer and the temptation to snack with unhealthy foods will decrease.  Breakfast should not be bacon/sausage and eggs daily.  Make it interesting for the kids!  Try some fruit; throw in some color to keep things interesting!  Berries are great also.  Why not try something daring like Papaya, or Mangoes?  How about something more exotic like Guava?

2.  Limit fast foods.  Hey, can YOU stay away from it?  Make fast-food a “treat”.  Maybe once per month or twice per month?  Make it a “kids day” and they can pick whatever they want.  We do that with my son, and although it tends to be pizza every time, he likes it and he feels that it’s his treat for being good!

3.  Stop with the sugar already.  One thing I noticed when we were at the water park was the proliferation of soft drinks.  ALL the kids were drinking it!  Stop the soft drinks, and don’t go near diet sodas.  You want to teach your children good habits.  Don’t substitute one bad habit with another (non-diet with diet sodas).  Look for apple and orange juices that are not from concentrate.  You could even dilute them a bit with filtered water.  I take orange juice and add something like Perrier to it.  It give it the bubbly taste that tickles the tongue!

4.  Family meal planning.  Get the family involved in planning meals.  Yes I know it is alot of work, especially when both parents are working, or if you’re a single parent.  But getting the family involved means that everyone will eat what you make, and you’ll make what everyone enjoys eating.  Mix it up!  Once per week you could do something like tacos — it’s still healthy!  You get veggies, carbs, protein and dairy (lettuce, taco shells, meat or chicken, cheese).

5.  Let the kids take control of their meals.  In “Indian” families (I use the term to mean those of Indian or Asian descent) parents tend to tell kids how much and when to eat.  Why not let the kids decide?  Yes, I know it’s a pain (trust me, with a 4-year old who always seems to be hungry it is a lot of work) but they will eat what they want when they want.  We follow this rule with my son, but let him know that main meals are eaten 3 times per day and he can snack on fruit or veggies any other time.  We just let him decide how much he wants intead of dictating how much he should eat.

6.  Exercise.  Get the WHOLE family involved in exercise.  It doesn’t need to be excrutiating!  How about a walk 2-3 times per week?  Or a bicycle ride?  Why not head to the park?  ANY exercise is a step in the right direction!

7.  Practice what you preach.  Do anything contrary, and your kids will tell you about it.  I promise you!

Take care of yourself, your health and your family!

Regards,

Mohammed

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