Tips For Weight Control In Children

Both parents and kids look forward to the coming of summer holidays for their schools – it is the only way to keep the children at home and away from the heat. When they do arrive, however, neither of them knows how to spend (kill?) time! So they turn towards the only two sources of entertainment that they can think of – TV and computer – both of which begin as a source of ridding boredom and soon graduate to the level of sheer addiction. Also, since watching TV, like watching movies, is never complete without something to munch on, the kids end up raiding the whole pantry looking for something ‘munch-ible’. Soon, the pantry is empty and their tummies too full. While they are full of junk, you are full of worry for them, as a parent and an adult. Did you go wrong somewhere? Maybe you did. Many a times it is the bad habits of adults that children catch up which makes it all the more essential for adults to encourage them into leading healthier lifestyles and maintain control over their weight. Here are some tips for children to maintain control over their weight.

 

How To Teach Kids To Maintain Weight 

Here are some ways in you can encourage children to maintain their body weight:

The Great Outdoors 

The children have to realise that there is life beyond their iPods, videogames, PlayStations and so on. Since many of us, have grown up with the wrong kind of ideals, most of which we shamelessly flaunt in front of our children, they pick up those habits from us. It is rather alarming to see how we often forget that we spent a great part of our childhood without mobile phones, iPods and other such “geeks’ delights”. It is only when we encourage the children to go out, swim, play cricket, badminton, tennis or do any other physical exercise that will help them strengthen their muscles, burn fat and also have some fun.

 

Summer Is For The Camps 

Most summer camps have only one motto – to wean children away from the computer and the TV and to make them do something interesting rather than just sit around and browse through their accounts on various networking sites. There are those that teach kids, pottery, craft-making, swimming, guitar, drums, Jazz, classical and western dances, skating, mountaineering, movie making and a lot more, so that children learn to make full use of the twenty four hours that they get free. There have been times when kids begin to really like what they are taught at these camps and show signs of wanting to pursue them further and may even want to develop them into a full-fledged profession. Even if that’s not the case, you will notice that the kids are spending a good amount of their time constructively.

What Not To Eat? 

This is the time to inculcate and encourage good eating habits in children – they have to be taught the meaning of the word ‘moderation’. Here too, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that children learn from their parents and other grownups and will only ape what they see on a daily basis. If the parents do not have enough control over their eating habits and snack at all the odd times, with no thought paid to the time or the amount of food, the children will also grow up with the same habits. They have to be taught the value of control – teach them to resist temptation by leading with example. Do not keep to many unhealthy snacks in the house as it will only increase their temptation. Stock up your pantry with fresh fruits, healthy snacks and rid it of all the junk that adds to the weight.

Balanced Diet 

When eating, encourage all the family members to eat together at the table and incorporate enough of vegetables – fresh as well as cooked – milk, a little bit of fats, carbohydrates, pulses, and cereals that are full of protein like Ragi and other millets in your diet. Encourage your children to eat a proper diet, chew their food properly, and drink enough water. Water is a rather tricky habit to inculcate – in summers, we need too much of it, but in winters, unless we take a sip of it, we don’t realise just how thirsty we are. Thus, it is best to keep drinking water whenever one is reminded of it.