In today's modern society technology has transformed all of our lives incuding the lives of our children. Unfortunately the effects of technology are not always beneficial.
For example: children today spend far more time indoors than they would have a few generations ago, largely due to the various forms of electronic entertainment available to them. Instead of running around and playing with friends outside, many children now spend countless hours playing video games and watching tv. This increased level of inactivity is a real big part of why there are so many children who now find themselves overweight.
Helping a child lose weight is not as simple as you might think. Much like an adult, a child who has become overweight will need to make changes to their lifestyle in order to lose weight and maintain the weight loss. These changes will likely include increasing their activity, and modifying their diet. With significant changes likely necessary for a child to successfully lose weight, it can be a difficult time for them. It's important to remember when helping a child lose weight that you need to be patient and understanding. Patience and understanding are very important for a child.
Obviously getting children to quit playing video games or spending time online will be next to almost impossible. Instead of trying to eliminate what you consider to be a bad influence, you should try to encourage them to spend more time doing healthy activities. Do healthy activities together,it helps doing this together. Why not take a trip to the park or go for a ride together on bikes? Why not play catch outside or take your dogs for a long walk? By providing alternatives to video games, online games and television that are fun, you increase the chances that your child will be more receptive to change. Another very important thing to consider when helping a child lose weight is their diet. Once again it's going to be impossible to cut out all of their sweets and other unhealthy foods. (You like sweets and unhealthy food youself from time to time). Instead of trying to force a healthy diet upon them, you can look for healthy foods that they enjoy, it’s not that difficult to do. Offer them the option of having helathy fresh fruit as a snack. Substitute the whole or 2% milk in your refrigerator for skim or 1% milk. By providing your child with options instead of trying to force them to eat healthy, you increase the chances that they will improve their eating habits a lot.
The key to helping a child lose weight is learning to effectively communicate with your child, and finding middle ground. Instead of trying to force change upon them, try to encourage them to want to change. Weight loss is not easy for anyone, and trying to get a child to understand that they need to lose weight can be difficult if you don’t do it the right way. But by offering them alternatives and solutions instead of focusing upon their shortcomings, you can make their weight loss something that is positive. Chances are that you will encounter obstacles on your child's path to weight loss. There will be setbacks, and things may become difficult. But by remaining positive, by focusing upon a solution, you can help your child to lose weight and live a much healthier life.
