About this Blog
Momfidence! cheers on commonsense parenting and sighs at the rest. How to worry less, wing it more. A.k.a. parenting by the seat of my mid-rise mom jeans.
About Paula Spencer
I'm the author of Momfidence! An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting, and a mom of four in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (where you cannot even buy Oreos at the two groceries nearest to my home).
A rare foto in which all six Spencers face the camera! by Charles Harris
Some Kindred Blogs
Parentopia
On mommy guilt The Mother of All Blogs My fave fellow mom of four MommaBlog in Fotos Looks like my house Parent Talk Today Kindred writer Momformation ParentCenter Free Range Kids Set them free! Jane Austen Addict For diversion Diet Naked For inspiration Dr. Helen For insights American Poetry Alliance For mind expansion Caring Currents Caregiver blog to which I contribute |
Another Good Reason to Unplug (or Go to Summer Camp, or Move to a Farm)July 16, 2008
Yesterday reader Cathy pointed this article out to me and today the news is all over the Net: Kids are becoming demonstrably more sluggish as they get older. Fewer than a third of 15-year-olds get more than an hour of exercise a day, and only 3 percent get as much exercise as the typical 9-year-old!
It's not entirely kids' fault -- or moms' fault --of course. Suburban layouts make walking places hard, few Americans have hard chores in their daily life any more, young teens often have few job opportunities, the elite sports trend shuts out average athletes who could be running around having a good time, all while the siren call of sedentary pursuits is more alluring than ever. (Hello, Facebook.) Which doesn't mean you can't limit the access, take away the car keys and make them bike, put them to work in the yard, etc. It's not easy (I know, I happen to have a 15-year-old). Fifteen-year-old boys, especially, ideally belong out hunting rabbits and pitching hay. We live in a world that doesn't naturally suit 15-year-old boys any more. What's disconcerting to me is that this problem is headed toward being yet another bit of social engineering falling on the shoulder of schools, as this other heads-up from Cathy points out: “We need to get back to the basics of ensuring the health of our children by promoting nutrition, fitness and overall health in our public schools,” Nelson [a Texas state senator] said [on the news that fewer than 10 percent of Texas high school seniors reached the "Healthy Zone" in new state measurements]. I thought the "basics" were reading, writing and 'rithmatic. Which btw we should be spending MORE time on, not even less. Thanks, Cathy! |
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