Good Parenting

Sending your child off to a fat camp should not be the first thing you do when you realize your child is overweight. Instead it should be a last resort, something you try If you have tried everything else and nothing else has worked. Let’s look at some of the steps you can take before choosing a fat camp.

Support at Home – Adults struggle with keeping healthy lifestyles. Some argue that teenagers have even more stress associated with living healthily as they have peer pressure and changing hormones to deal with as well. As such, it is important that all children have a healthy and supportive family in their corner. Parents can help children lose weight by leading by example and providing positive feedback to their struggling youth. Parents also need to promote healthy eating in the choices they make for the family’s meals. Start simple by getting rid of junk food and replacing snack options with healtheir alternatives like fruits and vegetables.

Healthy Home – Along with family support, make sure the home is outfitted to meet the child’s weight loss goals. This means you will need to quit buying junk food that will tempt your child and buy more healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Medical Support – Take your child to the doctor and discuss the problem. Doctors see many similar cases and may have a diet and/or exercise plan that will help your child get rid of some of the pounds.

Activity Level – Excercise is key to losing weight and a lack of exercise is largely responsible for our growing obesity problems. A family workout plan is a great way to get everyone involved and supportive of your child’s weight loss efforts. Take a walk after dinner or schedule family days at the local state park or pool.

Have An Eating Schedule – While watching what you eat is important so is watching when you eat. Never skip meals, breakfast especially. Your child should never have a lot of sugar especially before leaving to go to school. Would you believe that a bowl of cereal is loaded with lots of sugar, which can hinder how alert your child is during school hours?

Eating Tips:

-Eat small bites.

-Wait five minutes before offering or getting seconds

-Chew slowly and put utensils down between bites

-Drink lots of water

-Limit eating out

-Do not snack right before meals

-Eat five fruits and vegetables everyday

Eat at least one meal everyday together as a family

-Do not eat while watching TV

-Limit sitting activities

-Reward meeting goals and being active

-Get enough sleep.

As a parent, your child looks up to you. Ensure that they stay on their diet by staying on yours. Be a role model to your children and make sure that your entire family stays healthy.

If you have already made some changes at home and still feel that your child needs help getting the process started, weight loss camps are great options. However, it is extremely important that children return home from camp to an environment that is conducive to losing weight. If nothing changes at home, chances are not good that your child will have long-term success.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 7:12 pm and is filed under Good Parenting.