When I was a kid many years ago, my friends and I spent most of our summer vacation practically living outdoors, even in the Texas heat. My childhood predated video games, 100 channel cable stations, and even the VCR; however in retrospect we weren’t missing out on much. Our main form of entertainment was going outside and playing. We would ride our bikes everywhere. We spent time playing baseball in the vacant fields and jumping on trampolines, we even had the old roller skates that you attached to your shoes with a key. See I told you I was old. LOL! We didn’t perceive playing as exercise; it was having fun with our friends. It was just what kids did back in the olden days. We would get up, get dressed, eat our breakfast, then jump on our bikes and be gone for the better part of the day. Most of my friends had season passes to the local swimming pool down the street which became the hang out place Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until it was time to head home for dinner. My parents and my friends’ parents didn’t worry too much about us being gone all day, but we always made sure we had a dime for the pay phone. Looking back it was truly idyllic. Unfortunately though, today that is not the case. Our children are growing up in a much different society and world than many of us grew up in. We no longer allow our kids to roam the streets much less walk to and from school so it isn’t surprising to see the effects of this lack of daily activity on our children’s health. In a recent report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, “32% of America children are overweight” which may be partially linked to our children's lack of physical activity. Fear of crime, lack of neighborhood community parks, and lack of public sidewalks only exacerbate this growing trend. The report stated that in 1969-the year I was in second grade- “40.7% of all American children walked to school” which included me and my siblings. Sadly, today that number is around 13% and the number one reason cited by parents was “the school was too far away.” In order for our children to receive the health benefits of activity, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 60 minutes of activity per day. This may be met by having our kids participate in a formal sports program, taking P.E. at school, or even walking and riding their bikes in the neighborhood under parental supervision. With the trend of obesity continuing to grow, not just for kids but adults as well, we must all begin to take action to get healthy now. Becoming active in the community is definitely something we can all do. We must demand our local governments to provide sidewalks for our kids to have a safe place to walk and community parks for kids to run and play. Not to mention keeping pools open throughout the day in the summer, not just on certain days of the week like they are in my community now. While I know this will cost our local governments money to implement such measures, if we do not do them now, we will all pay a price eventually through higher health care rates and the possibility of losing a generation before their time. Is your community kid friendly, with parks and walking trails provided? Do you believe that local government should spend money on providing their citizens with parks and sidewalks? Would you be willing to take action in your community to get our kids healthier? |
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