Downsizing a SUPER-SIZED Child
by mathe | Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 8:26 am | Uncategorized |
Who is to blame when a child becomes morbidly obese? Is it the genes, the food, the parents, McDonald’s? For me, when a child becomes overweight or morbidly obese, it is no longer time to blame anyone or anything. It is a time to act and to act decisively. The fact that the child has gained so much weight means that he has been left all alone with his own troubles. Early on, something should have been done already before things got out of control.
Today, 20% or even more of kids in America are obese, some of them morbidly obese. This is a serious matter, an epidemic on its way of becoming a pandemic. These kids are at risk of developing all sorts of highly preventable illnesses like diseases of the heart, hypertension, diabetes and kidney ailments – not to mention severely impaired self-esteem.
Our society has acquired the skill of transforming eating as a tool for survival into something destructive. If your child is one of the statistics I just mentioned, take action now. Stop blaming yourself because most probably, there is still time to redeem yourself.
The most difficult part is always the first step. But once you and your child are underway, things can become easier and more manageable. Before doing anything, you will have to talk to your pediatrician about weight loss in obese children. Ask the doctor for practical advice, your child’s ideal weight for his age and other technical matters.
You will have to make the child understand that lowering his weight to a healthier level is a partnership between the two of you. He is not alone in this venture and he is assured of your support at all times.
Second, he should also understand that his life and health hang on the balance – that is why it is of utmost importance to act now. In terms the child can understand, illustrate to him what is happening to his body and what he stands to gain if he successfully loses weight. These benefits can be anything from being able to engage more in sports to gaining self-confidence.
Third, lay the ground rules and make sure that the child perfectly understands. While sitting down to discuss these with him, you can work on a few, highly attainable objectives, which will obviously change as you progress in your lose-weight program. Then post these ground rules in strategic places in the house.
Based on the objectives drawn up, make a table of responsibilities – yours and the child’s so that he is clear about what you expect of him and what he can expect from you.
For example, put as one of your responsibilities the preparation of nutritious meals which he can eat at home and bring to school. On his part, he should eat these meals and stick to them.
Aside from the responsibilities, draw up a rewards system, in which he can have a trip to the cinema for sticking to his diet this week, or the revocation of his TV privilege if he strays away from it. You know your child best to be able to draw up a system that works for him. The only thing to remember is to make him aware of the fact that every success he has is highly appreciated.
Other practical things you can do are the following:
Join the child in his exercise sessions.
Commit to rely on home-cooked meals rather than fastfoods.
Avoid stacking the pantry with unhealthy food.
Schedule a regular weighing to track his progress, which should be properly documented in a line graph.
It is never too late to act on your child’s weight problem. Downsize him now and watch him transform into a healthy, happy, confident child – the way every child should be.
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Tags: healthy eating for kids
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