Reply to WTF is up with all the obese kids in DC?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Um, no, I live in Potomac and there are plenty of little rich chub a lubs out here too. It's because a lot of parents feed their kids absolute shit (McDonalds, hot dogs, piles of crackers, etc). [/quote]

That's part of it.  But I have a different, and not nearly as popular explanation.  I know people believe that their kids are getting exercise in daycare and at school.  But I worked in what is considered one of the best centers.  Outside time was not exercise.  Our playgrounds don't even allow for real play.  No high climbing structures.  No monkey bars.  No merry-go-rounds, and no real open space to just run.  Daycare kids spend most of their days in the same room.  They might go outside twice a day for a few minutes....but only if it's not too hot or not too cold.

Contrast that to the kids in my new town.  During the summer they are outside all day long.  They swim, bike, run, climb trees, fish, build forts, play football,......  And when they come in for juice (*I know...gasp!)  Or Popsicles, they are drenched in sweat.  It's never "too hot".  If they get hot, they run through whomever happens to have their sprinkler on.  During the school year, they come in, drop their backbacks, eat a quick snack, and head outside.  The kids in our neighborhood know that they have to be home when the streetlights come on.  They are outside playing....real play, not structured, overly safe, supervised play.....at every chance they get.  When it's cold, they play outside until their toes get numb.  Then they come in and warm up.  And head back outside.

In D.C., kids spend their days either in a daycare center where exercise is a joke, or in one of many extra-curricular activities.  Sorry, but SAT prep classes aren't going to keep your in shape.  And Karate class, while fun, is not a good cardio workout.  Soccer is great!  But how many minutes does your child spend running...I mean really running?  Maybe a few minutes at a time at the most.

We moved last year and live in what most D.C. people would consider "the country".  The kids here don't have "playdates" (what a dumb word).  They just go outside and play.  We don't have to walk to a park.  They have a lake, a forest, and plenty of open fields to run and play in.  My younger kids bike 1.3 miles to school and then 1.3 miles home.  Yes, even when it's hot.  Even when it's cold.  And sometimes when it's raining.  Football is not considered "too dangerous".  And if you told your child not to climb too high in a tree, people would look at you like you had lost your mind.  Kids play.  And they play hard.  Sometimes they get hurt.  But that's how kids learn.  We've sterilized and safety-proofed kids' lives so much that they can't even be kids anymore.  And that's why they are fat.[/quote]

I teach Pre-K and my school is fortunate to have a very large, enclosed playground.  The kids can really run and we go outside for an hour and a half every day.  You're generalizing here and it's just not the truth overall.  I get what you're saying about playing and running, but you're just talking about how your kids are fortunate.  You offer no solutions to the the problem you're positing. [/quote]

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