Pointing The Finger In The Right Direction

Back in July I wrote a Blog on Child Obesity and whether it should be considered Child Abuse? To my surprise it was well received, even from parents of overweight children. I say to my surprise because I laid out what I feel is the real issue with Child Obesity: Parents. Now as September has rolled in with Childhood Obesity Awareness Month a fitness chain (Anytime Fitness) has launched a campaign called C.O.A.K. (Coalition Of Angry Kids) to try and point the finger at the real issue: Parents. The premise of the marketing campaign is to show that kids want to be healthier, but are subject to their parent's lazy and unhealthy lifestyles. It features overweight children expressing their frustrations at getting the sole blame for their health and weight. All the while they are stuck in the drive-thru lane because Mom and Dad didn't wanted to cook dinner.

Here is a link to the video.
http://wn.com/Meet_The_Coalition_of_Angry_Kids_COAK

I think that this is an excellent campaign. I think finally shifting some of the focus off of the children and putting it on the parents will help not only the children, but motivate and pressure parents to adopt a healthier more active lifestyle. Not only that, but I'm hoping it will encourage parents to be more involved with their children. The T.V., PS3 and XBOX 360 are not babysitters. I'm not accusing parents of absenteeism as much as lack of participation. My son and I go to skate parks all the time. Almost every time we're there I see mom's and dad's alike just sitting off to the side with their phones or magazines while their child desperately tries to get their attention or get them to "play" too. Now before you go on with "I'm not getting on a skateboard and killing myself." Keep in mind that sometimes just getting up and moving helps. My Dad and I often just run up and down the ramps on foot with my son. It's not just the skate parks that I see this trend, but at the real parks too. Parents just sit off to the side on benches and wait for their child or children to be finished playing.

Far too often now parents are minimizing how much they have to do in about everything. I mean lets face it, sitting at a desk all day then picking the kids up and heading home to do a few things around the house, then top it off by going out for dinner isn't exactly an active lifestyle. The biggest issues kids are facing aren't the outside factors (fast food/advertisements/school lunches) it's the internal factors (pop tart breakfasts, or no breakfast/drive-thru dinner or take out.) that are keeping kids from having and learning healthy choices. Maybe instead of letting your child pick out a sugary cereal you could take them into the produce aisle and let them pick out a vegetable or fruit to try. Cooking with your children is an excellent way to not only keep you from going out to eat, but to interact and teach your child a healthy habit. I have a standing agreement with my son that for every new food he tries I will take him to the Dollar Tree store and he can pick out a $1 toy for it.

Maybe instead of September being Child Obesity Awareness Month it should be Family Activity Month? In all honesty shouldn't every month be an activity month? My challenge to you if you're a parent is to grab your kids and find something active to do on at least 3 different occasions this month (and Halloween doesn't count). I also would encourage you to have at least 5 "family" cooking meals. Whether this is dinner, breakfast on the weekends, or lunch on Sunday. Try and get out and run around and play. Be a kid for a little while. You might just realize how much you've missed the physical exertion.

So that's it puppets. I know this isn't my typical blog, but I'm just getting back to lining up subjects for your entertainment. The next time you see that pudgy kid at McDonalds instead of shaking your head at him, maybe look at the parents. Actually scratch that. You shouldn't be in Mcdonalds anyways. As always Dance!

Mr. J