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 | Living Healthy Isn't Always Easy Today's children often eat too much prepared
and fast food. Many sit for hours playing video
games. Their parents drive them everywhere they
need to go, and they have TVs and computers in
their bedrooms that keep them awake at night.
These may not seem like risky behaviors, but modern lifestyle habits are taking a toll on children's health, according to Raanan Arens, MD, chief of the Division of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore and an associate professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Obesity and diabetes are skyrocketing among kids, and they're developing serious health problems much earlier in their lives. For the first time in history, today's children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents.”
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Don't let your child become a
statistic. Encourage your child
to eat right, exercise and
get plenty of sleep. Suggest
small changes that will
be easier for your child to
follow than big ones. For example, switch from
juice and soda to water. Be creative and pack
healthy and fun school lunches. Use cookie
cutters to transform sandwiches, cheese and fruit
into child-friendly shapes. Fill celery stalks with
peanut butter and raisins. Snack on trail mix
made from a blend of your favorite cereals, nuts
and dried fruit, and add a few
yogurt or peanut butter
chips for variety.
