Grab the tissues

Grab those tissues and watch the video. You may have already heard of this.

Kids and weight...

Ah! I've been neglecting the blog, my apologies.

August is nearly over and the first signs of Autumn are in the air...and I couldn't be more excited! I mean, I am down right giddy! Around here, summer likes to hold on for as long as it can. We can go for a few days of cool crisp weather, then suddenly be in the 90's again. I think it is pretty safe to say that the 90's are done for the year. Hopefully.

On Monday my nephew goes back to school, which also has be damn giddy. He's going to be a third grader....yeesh. With going back to school and all, I've been thinking a lot about the health of little kids these days. When I was in elementary school, we had two kids who were the "bigger kids", meaning they were a little on the round size. We never made fun of them, we never teased them, they were just the bigger kids. Now when I go to the very same elementary school for my nephew, I see "small kids". I see a lot of "bigger kids" and very few who were my size and the size of my friends. And their parent's are much larger than the parents of my fellow students and friends. It may seem unfair for me to say this, but it's one thing if you have a few larger kids and a few large parents...it's another when EVERYONE is super sized. That's when we really need to take a step back and look at the problem. I ate the same cafeteria food (and to this day I can't believe I ate some of that stuff), I played hard outside at recess (yea so I'm sure none of the kids pretend that they're Buffy), so where's this coming from? I'll be bold and say it...HOME. No, not all of it. The school food SHOULD be healthier. Enough with the processed (as if that's all that's wrong with it) garbage. They do however have better fruit and veggie options. If that's what you want to call canned fruit and steam bagged veggies.

But what's going on at home? Are they repeating what they see their parents do/eat? I'll admit, my nephew get's away with eating A LOT more junk than my sister and I did. If we wanted chips, we got a cup full and didn't dare ask for more. If he asks for chips, he gets a bag. This makes me furious. My nephew IS one of the "bigger kids". Now, I will say that in the summer he has baseball and in the fall soccer, so he loses a good bit of weight. But the in between and the constant up and down of weight, no good. It sounds like my mother. My mother who caters to him. When he asks for a snack, the go to is a bag of chips or candy. That is, unless mean Uncle Tommy is in charge, then it's healthy organic fruit or some veggies...which he complains about then gladly eats.

So is this the same with other kids? Is this what is happening in their homes? Why are the adults dooming their children to a life of health problems just because they are giving up on their own health? I understand parents are busy and can't always have a well balanced meal for their child/children. It happens! But maybe try stocking your cupboards and fridge with foods that are better for you, so you have no choice but to eat what's there?

I'm not saying this is the case for every parent, every child, every household. I can what's going on in the heads of parents reading this.."Look, you don't understand what it takes to raise a child". Look, I do. I helped raise my nephew. He's lived with us all of his life. I do know. And I do see the areas that have "failed". I do see the things I will do much differently with my own children. But this all worries me. I worry about my nephew. I worry about your children. I worry about you. Do you realize what is happening? Your weight problems aren't just yours.

When I was little, I was very very skinny. I ate, I was just very skinny all through my childhood. For as long as I can remember, my mom has hated her weight. She has gone from diet to diet for the past 21 years. As a child, I could see how skinny my mom was, but she couldn't. So when she would call herself fat, or move on to yet another diet...I was always confused. Fast forward to my awkward early teen years. Acne, weight gain etc. I thought I was the ugliest, fattest thing in the world. I picked up my self-loathing habits from my mom. I won't go into a huge therapy session here, but keep your in mind that your kids pick up what they hear and see from you. So make wise choices for yourself, and your kids will likely follow.

Well, I believe I have rambled on enough for one day.
Be kind. Be curious. Be a good role model.

Rawesome foods raided: A sad day for America

Check out this article. A friend brought it to my attention, and I can't stop shaking my head. What are your thoughts?

Rawesome foods raided: A sad day for America