Kids

My son is almost 5. At his recent well-child check-up his pediatrician told me I should make sure he doesn't gain anymore weight "until he grows into his current weight" he's 42 inches tall and weighs 43 pounds. But two days later, his preschool teacher tells me she's concerned because he is so thin you can see his ribs. I think we have become a society so concerned with numbers and statistics that we are not even looking at the individual child. If your child is outside for an hour or more a day and practically crys when it is time to go inside, then he can probably have that slice of pizza or a brownie. If your child looks at going outside as a punishment then maybe skip that extra snack. If parents took responsibility and monitored their child's habits, not just their eating habits, but their playing habits too, then we wouldn't have this problem... and btw the motion sensing video game is not a substitute for going outside and playing tag, or really learning to dance.

But I suppose the real problem is that for a young child to go outside and play, the parent would have to get up and go with them... and aren't we all so busy? Im not, yes I froze my butt off today taking myson outside in the snow, but he's worth it. He's worth not turning on the computer till after the sun goes down, and not watching tv, not talking on the phone. My child is worth getting up and playing with, and yours should be too.