Raising healthy kids in today’s environment can be tough.  Many factors have changed over the years that have pushed some kids to be lethargic, overweight and just plain lazy.  There are ways to combat the different elements that are attacking kids’ health today.  Here are some common problems and suggestions for how to deal with them:
The Problem:  Electronics are overwhelming children.  They can watch anything at anytime and for most of the day.  Twenty or thirty years ago, you could watch cartoons on Saturday, the television stations went off around midnight and the afternoons were filled with soap operas that no self-respecting kid would ever admit to watching.

The Solution:  Limit electronic activities to only one or two hours each day.  This would include computer, television and video games.  Taking away their electronic toys could force them out of doors.  At the very least it will encourage them to pick up a book and read. 
The Problem:  Food portions continue to get bigger (and so do the children).  There was a time when you would go out to eat and get a meal that was just enough.  When you go to a restaurant today you will get a meal that is enough for two or three people.  That doesn’t even get into the “all you can eat buffet” idea.  Kids are being taught to eat and eat and eat and it is beginning to show around their waistlines.

The Solution:  Eat at home or, if you must eat out, share portions.  Teach the kids that it is okay to leave food on their plates and that stopping when satisfied is perfectly okay.  Remind them that it is natural (and desirable) that they get hungry every few hours (to the point that their stomach growls). 
The Problem:  There are so many activities swarming around the lives of our kids that they don’t have time to rest.  School starts early, after school activities run late and then there is homework to be done when they kids finally get home.  Kids are getting less and less sleep because of more and more going on.

The Solution:  Slow things down.  Make sure the kids have a chance to sleep completely (usually between 10 and 12 hours for younger kids up to 10 years old).  Either cut out their after school activities or talk to the teachers and school board about the amount of homework they are bringing home every night.
The Problem:  Everything comes at a touch of a button for kids today.  They don’t even have to get up off the couch to change the channels on the television or answer the telephone.  Even the “physical activities” are getting easier for them with inventions like “heelys” making walking a thing of the past for some kids.

The Solution:  Get up and get moving as a family.  Go out for a real walk together (through the woods where gadgets can’t help) or play a family game of badminton or volleyball.  If you can get active as a family then the whole family will be healthier for the effort.
It can be tough keeping yourself healthy in this high-tech, fast-paced, fast-food society.  Helping kids choose healthy lifestyles requires some creative thinking and often the consistent use of the word no.