- Are safe kids fat kids?
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An article in the Wall Street Journal posed this question. The writer tells about outraged parents who demanded canopies over playgrounds so that their kids would not get burned on the hot rubber safety mats, which of course had been installed so the kids wouldn't get hurt in the first place.
Are our fears for the safety of our children keeping them indoors and contributing to the rise in childhood obesity? I say yes.
I remember my son's doctor suggesting we let him explore alone in some nearby woods to get him out of the house more (he was nine at the time). My husband and I looked at him like he was crazy. We could no more do that than cut our own arms off. Sure, we had done our share of wandering in our childhood, but those times were different, right? Plus, my son is very allergic to poison ivy.
It's the same way I get a near anxiety attack when my daughter wants to ride her bike, alone, four miles to the library. She doesn't drive yet, but I'd almost rather see her take the car. Somehow it seems safer, although rationally, I know that's not true.
Our kids accuse us of being overprotective parents, and they are right. I can only hope that by the time we really let them go, they have not lost the urge to actively engage with the outdoors. To be fair to us, we do give them lots of opportunities for exercise and outdoor fun at times and in places we feel comfortable with. But it may not be enough.
As parents, how to you balance your kids safety with their need to be out and about?
Moms blogging on this site are all ladies working for Amway Global.
As a baby boomer mom of two millennial children, I live in a world where my children know more about technology than I do. I enjoy a love-hate relationship with technology ... although I strive to be on top of the latest trends, my favorite activities remain curling up with a good book or taking a long walk.
But I am insatiably curious about the role that technology plays in work, home and education. As a masters level Clinical Psychologist in a past life, I’m interested in how technology enhances life ... and how it can also make it more complex.
As a Performance Consultant in Training & Education, I am excited about contributing to the development of learning programs that will help Independent Business Owners make money selling products and build successful businesses. I’ve also spent many years in both Brand Management and Web Marketing, where I was part of several website launch teams. In my very first job at Amway way back in 1985, I traveled the country as a Health Trainer, leading workshops with Independent Business Owners on how to sell Nutrilite health products. Wow! Who knew I’d come full circle?
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