Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Way to go Bill!

I was just getting back from dropping the kids off at school this morning and caught a story on my favorite morning news show.  The story was about former President Bill Clinton starting a new initiative for schools and kids.  It focuses on healthy food choices and physical activity.  This foundation is part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an organization that lists their mission "to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and empower kids nationwide to make healthy food choices." 

In recent years we have seen a sharp increase in childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes diagnoses and it pleases me that people of influence are taking notice and jumping on board to help.  So many times we get focused on the latest news stories about presidential candidates or Hollywood break-ups and make-ups that real life issues take a back seat.  The truth is, if we don't start taking healthy steps in our lives then we will regret it as the inevitable aging process does its job.  Kudos to Bill Clinton and his foundation and check out http://www.healthiergeneration.org/ to find out more about how to get involved and tips for healthier choices day to day at home too. 

I have a 9 year old that is a very picky eater to say the least.  He is the type of kid that asks to take the exact same thing to school for lunch everyday.  He is not too eager to try new things and sauces and dips are definetely not on his menu.  He is a big sweets eater and likes to snack a lot.  I made the mistake early by not encouraging varieties of foods because it was always a fight.  I do worry that if I do not get a handle on these things now then we could face health problems later.  Making small changes and working toward a healthy lifestyle takes time and energy.  As I posted before, we are trying to do so in our house.  I won't lie, we do buy sweets and have the occasional indulgence but, for the most part I place the healthier snacks within reach in the lower part of the cabinet and have the cheese cut into slices or blocks so they are ready to eat.  It's worth the extra effort to keep things healthy for my family as much as I can so that we can continually serve our father in Heaven for as long as we can.

Blessings to all,
Latasha

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Psalm 127:3

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