Teach Your Children Well

I grew up as an overweight child and teenager. I was the fattest kid in the neighborhood, among all my cousins, in my class at school, in the church youth group, etc. Let me tell you, being fat as a kid really does affect your quality of life. It affects you emotionally and socially.

I remember being the last one chosen for teams, being made fun of, being unable to run “the mile,” and (especially as I hit those teen years), being ashamed and uncomfortable with my body.

The thing is; there are even graver circumstances to consider.

Childhood obesity and diabetes are now considered an epidemic in the U. S. Children as young as age eight are being put on medication to treat conditions that should only be seen in their grandparents. Their lives are being cut short by disease.

“But,” you may say, “my child is not overweight. He’s so active he just burns it off.” Okay, but what’s going to happen as he ages? Think of him as a 40-year-old man. What food habits are you teaching him right now? What exercise habits? Are you teaching him to live a healthy life? If not, your 40-year-old child may be overweight with conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetes.

If you know a candy bar with 14 grams of fat and 280 calories is bad for you, why in the world would you put that into the little body of your child? How do you think that little heart and liver are going to process all that junk? What’s going to happen in his body if you let him eat that day after day, year after year?

Teach your children well. Live the life before them. Show them how to be healthy.