by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book) Available from my website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble
Train up a child…
A Healthy Child is a Happier Child
When children don’t feel well, they can’t be at their best. They become grouchy, whiney, slow-moving, and often depressed. On the other hand, children who do feel well are usually vivacious, eager to try new things, and able to keep up with the things going on around them. There are many other symptoms of not feeling well as many mothers well know.
Knowing that children are much more able to succeed if they are feeling well, it behooves us, as parents, to do all we can to ensure that our children are at their best. We cannot prevent all illnesses, but we can do things that will lessen the likelihood of a child getting sick. We can make sure a child gets good nutrition, proper exercise, and enough rest.
It is easy to get busy and forget to watch what a child is eating. When we allow a child to eat the wrong things, it is like putting inferior building materials in a house that is being built. Proper nutrition develops a foundation in a child to ward off many germs that are constantly around us. A child with poor nutrition has a poor immune system. Good nutrition means that a child should have plenty of fruits and vegetables, milk, meat or meat substitutes to provide protein, and grains. An examination of the diet of obese children often reveals a large amount of chips, soda, candy, and other foods that contain too much sugar and fat. It is sad to see obese children on a playground trying to keep up running with the other children. They get very few chances to come in first in a race. They huff and puff when playing active games. This affects the self-esteem of a child.
Even though it is difficult for obese children to run and play, it is a necessity that they do attempt to get physical exercise. They must burn up some calories to get to a normal weight. It takes a great deal of exercise to burn very many calories. If a person eats 3500 calories more than they use, they gain one pound. A person must burn 3500 calories more than they take in to lose one pound. Information is available on the Internet to show how many calories one burns with different kinds of exercise. Information can also be found as to the caloric content of foods on the Internet.
Parents often make children fit into their schedule for convenience. During the school year, parents need to arrange their own schedules to make sure that children go to bed at a certain time each night. A child without enough sleep simply can’t concentrate in school. Additional short periods of rest may be needed during the day. I clearly remember that the teacher I had in first, second, and third grade required us to put our heads down on our desks after we came in from playing after lunch. While we rested, she would read an inspiring story to us about Abraham Lincoln or some other heroic person. I can still remember some of those stories that have influenced some of the decisions I have made. She was making sure we had rest while at the same time instilling real values into young minds.
Houses made of straw cannot stand long. Children who have bodies built with poor nutrition cannot withstand the challenges that inevitably come their way. We need to do what we can to help our children build strong, healthy bodies.