No wonder we have fat kids.

When did our attitudes towards obesity change? I've noticed in the past
that my kids school didn't have bike racks anywhere in sight. I just got
from a quick little ride to have lunch with my son at his school, and while
I was there I got into a conversation regarding this obvious problem with
the school principal. His take on this problem was that they (the school
board) didn't see the need as there wasn't enough children who ride bikes
anyway, so they didn't see the need to fit the schools with bike racks! I
let him know that while I realize the times we now live in wouldn't be
conducive to letting kids ride their bikes (or even walk) to school (we
live 2 blocks away at best)unsupervised. What about the kids that would be
supervised?(mine as well as any others)It seems we, or at least some of us,
are fostering a whole generation of fat kids. Tell me, when did our
attitudes change about the health of our kids?

"Dave W" wrote in message
. 3.44...
When did our attitudes towards obesity change? I've noticed in the past
that my kids school didn't have bike racks anywhere in sight. I just got
from a quick little ride to have lunch with my son at his school, and
while
I was there I got into a conversation regarding this obvious problem with
the school principal. His take on this problem was that they (the school
board) didn't see the need as there wasn't enough children who ride bikes
anyway, so they didn't see the need to fit the schools with bike racks! I
let him know that while I realize the times we now live in wouldn't be
conducive to letting kids ride their bikes (or even walk) to school (we
live 2 blocks away at best)unsupervised. What about the kids that would be
supervised?(mine as well as any others)It seems we, or at least some of
us,
are fostering a whole generation of fat kids. Tell me, when did our
attitudes change about the health of our kids?

Video Games! The root of all evil!

"Sir Ride-A-Lot @careercenter.com" Sir.Ride-a-LotNOSPAM wrote in message
...

"Dave W" wrote in message
. 3.44...
snip
Tell me, when did our
attitudes change about the health of our kids?

Video Games! The root of all evil!



I think it's more complex than that. I had an Atari 2600 when I was 10 (it
was the shiznit!) and a Mac the first year they came out ('84). I played a
lot on those gadgets (and with my aquariums), but I still rode my bike or
skateboard to school every day in elementary school (the bus rides started
in Jr. High). It was often my only transportation option if I wanted to be
independent.

It's this whole "Super size" mentality mixed with the overprotectiveness
we've grown to feel in recent years. I really want to make my son ride his
bike everywhere when he's old enough, but if he got run over or abducted I'd
sure feel like an ass. I still plan on encouraging him to use his bike for
transportation like my parents did with me, but I think we may escort him
more than my parents did. It seemed like they were more innocent times then.
The threats may have been there, but we didn't recognize them like we do
now. Some tough decisions will need to be made.

Matt

"MattB" wrote in message
-
snip

PS - At least the local schools here do have bike racks!

On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 17:05:10 -0000, Dave W wrote:
let him know that while I realize the times we now live in wouldn't be
conducive to letting kids ride their bikes (or even walk) to school (we
live 2 blocks away at best)unsupervised. What about the kids that would be
supervised?(mine as well as any others)It seems we, or at least some of us,
are fostering a whole generation of fat kids. Tell me, when did our
attitudes change about the health of our kids?

A lot of it is the attitude that its "too dangerous" to do damn near
anything, particularly "unsupervised". We've made the conscious decision
to raise a generation of sloths.

OR maybe it wasn't really that conscious. News has turned into an
entertainment media for the over-hyping of extreme (and rare) cases, and
people somehow came to the conclusion that these represented everyday
reality. Not wanting to take the chance that there might be a difference,
they lock their kids away in the house. The kids still eat like they spend
their days on the playground, but they don't.

For my daughter, I just took the risk. While every girl in the
neighborhood was forced to stay indoors until they graduated from high
school, she played outside and walked a couple of miles home from school.
She roller-skated, she rode her bike everywhere - just like kids used to
do. She still walks a mile to the store rather than asking for a ride. Do
I worry about it? Some, yes. Of course we set limits as to how late she
can be out. But I'm not going to deprive her of a childhood just to alieve
my own worries about something that has a near-zero chance of happening.

Coincidentally, I've never had to worry about her weight. Her school is
much farther now, so no more walking; but when I drop her off, its
shocking how many overweight kids there are. It seems to be the majority.

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 17:05:10 -0000, Dave W wrote:

Speak for yourself.

(kids driven to and from a school with bike racks, every day)

pete fagerlin

::Revolutionary! Evolutionary! Yet so retro!
::www.yestubes.com

BB scrawled in bright red lipstick:
On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 17:05:10 -0000, Dave W wrote:
let him know that while I realize the times we now live in wouldn't
be conducive to letting kids ride their bikes (or even walk) to
school (we live 2 blocks away at best)unsupervised. What about the
kids that would be supervised?(mine as well as any others)It seems
we, or at least some of us, are fostering a whole generation of fat
kids. Tell me, when did our attitudes change about the health of our
kids?

A lot of it is the attitude that its "too dangerous" to do damn near
anything, particularly "unsupervised". We've made the conscious
decision to raise a generation of sloths.

OR maybe it wasn't really that conscious. News has turned into an
entertainment media for the over-hyping of extreme (and rare) cases,
and people somehow came to the conclusion that these represented
everyday reality. Not wanting to take the chance that there might be
a difference, they lock their kids away in the house. The kids still
eat like they spend their days on the playground, but they don't.

I have a neighbot that refuses to let her 3 daughters play out front unless
she watches from the house. And they are the same age range as mine.... (
shakes head)



For my daughter, I just took the risk. While every girl in the
neighborhood was forced to stay indoors until they graduated from high
school, she played outside and walked a couple of miles home from
school. She roller-skated, she rode her bike everywhere - just like
kids used to do. She still walks a mile to the store rather than
asking for a ride. Do I worry about it? Some, yes. Of course we set
limits as to how late she can be out. But I'm not going to deprive
her of a childhood just to alieve my own worries about something that
has a near-zero chance of happening.

we're like this too. People are funny tho. My son decided to walk the **7**
miles to school one day, and people thought he/we were crazy. He's 14, I
helped him pick the route and how long he thought it would take. He likes to
explore the city on his bike... I make sure he's got some spare change, and
a map, he knows where NOT to go and how far is acceptable and I let him go.
My other kid rides a bike 2 miles to/from High School most days... because
the evil mother won't drive him 90% of the time that he has different start
times than the bus, and the evil mother certainly won't pick him up if he
stays late for a club. It's only 2 miles!!

Winter will be another story.

Penny

"BB" wrote in message
...

A lot of it is the attitude that its "too dangerous" to do damn near
anything, particularly "unsupervised". We've made the conscious decision
to raise a generation of sloths.

For my daughter, I just took the risk. While every girl in the
neighborhood was forced to stay indoors until they graduated from high
school, she played outside and walked a couple of miles home from school.
She roller-skated, she rode her bike everywhere - just like kids used to
do. She still walks a mile to the store rather than asking for a ride. Do
I worry about it? Some, yes. Of course we set limits as to how late she
can be out. But I'm not going to deprive her of a childhood just to alieve
my own worries about something that has a near-zero chance of happening.

Thats the trouble with 24/7 news, we start believing that every street
corner is littered with criminals, rapists, muggers and child abductors. The
statistics show that in England the figure of children murdered outside of
the home hasnt changed for decades - the figure murdered in the home has
consistently increased year on year! But we keep them all in to keep them
safe !?!?
The only difference is that the quantity of traffic on the roads (and the
increase in ignorant drivers) makes it a bit of a risk for kids to ride to
school - especially as the cycling proficiency test isnt part of the
curriculum anymore.
Mark

MattB wrote:

snip
I still plan on encouraging him to use his bike for
transportation like my parents did with me, but I think we may escort him
more than my parents did. It seemed like they were more innocent times then.
The threats may have been there, but we didn't recognize them like we do
now. Some tough decisions will need to be made.

Matt





I have a very hard time believing that it is any more dangerous now than
it ever was. I do believe that we are now hyper-sensitive to the
dangers that have always existed, and certainly more aware of them, but
they aren't new.
I call it the "Milk-Carton Syndrome." We are so damned over-protective
that we can't allow our children the same freedom we had. No kids ride
their bikes to school anymore because we are convinced that the bad guys
will grab them the moment they get out of our sight.
We also over-protect our kids in other ways, as well. A thread on this
forum a while back addressed the amazing amount of protective gear that
we foist on our kids- helmet laws for minors as a perfect example.

I have a four year old son, and he's a very athletic, adventurous kid.
I take him rock climbing, biking, and so on. Am I worried he'll get
hurt? Sure. A little. Sometimes he does. When he does take a dive,
though, I encourage him to spit the dirt out of his mouth, take a deep
breath, and have another go at it. I have no intention of raising my
son with fear, and I resent it when other parents give me the evil eye
for letting him climb trees, or take the same sort of risks we all (at
least, the more active of us) took when we were little.

miles todd scrawled in bright red lipstick:
I have a four year old son, and he's a very athletic, adventurous kid.
I take him rock climbing, biking, and so on. Am I worried he'll get
hurt? Sure. A little. Sometimes he does. When he does take a dive,
though, I encourage him to spit the dirt out of his mouth, take a deep
breath, and have another go at it. I have no intention of raising my
son with fear, and I resent it when other parents give me the evil eye
for letting him climb trees, or take the same sort of risks we all (at
least, the more active of us) took when we were little.

You too eh? I've gotten the evil eye numerous times starting at
playgrounds when mine were little: mine were always the ones on the top of
the monkey bars, and all these psycho parents are doing the no-no you'll get
hurt number to their wannabe active kids. Sheesh.

Penny