Children that are overweight suffer just as much, if not more, as grownups that are overweight. If you have a child that needs to lose weight chances are great that you yourself know a great deal about this problem. There can be many reasons for why your child has a weight problem but in most cases it is simply due to a lack of proper eating habits at home. For many reasons we don’t put the time and energy into the diet of the family as our mothers and grandmothers did. This has resulted in kids that are not eating properly and therefore become too heavy.
Here are some good ideas for how you can help a child that is overweight. They are mostly meant to make you look into the structure of your household and how you, yourself, deal with issues of fat, exercise and proper diet.
Self Esteem
First of all, if your child is overweight, the last thing you want to do is to make them feel bad about it. There are plenty of people in their surrounding who do just that and what is needed from the home is behavior that will strengthen their feeling of confidence and self-worth. Today it is very un-fashionable to be fat. People are proud and respected when they make parades about their desires in the bedroom but to be fat is certainly a stigma and not something that Western society and culture celebrates.
Be sensitive to this and understand that a fat child suffers a lot from not living up to the social norm and standards of our day. Focus on the positive characteristics that your child possesses and use these to get to a lifestyle which will enable permanent weight loss and health.
Changing your Diet and Lifestyle
Yes, you will have to change diet and lifestyle for your child to lose weight. You will need to do this together. This means that cabinets and fridge must be emptied of empty calories that just sit there to ruin the health of you and your children. You will also need to follow a proper schedule for eating. Get the help of a dietician. You should be able to get to go to one by simply speaking to your doctor. The dietician can make a program for food for the entire family which will be of benefit also to the family members that are not over weight. Remember that some people don’t get fat from the junk food but their bodies are ruined in other ways!
Get Moving!
You don’t have to sign up to a gym to start burning fat. Make quality time with your child by taking a walk together a few nights a week. Use this time to catch up on what is going on in school and what goals and dreams you share. You should also consider if it is possible to walk to school and playschool. If it is a matter of 10-15 minute walk you might want to leave the car at home a few days a week and get going earlier to catch this natural form of fat burning.
You can also help your child to lose weight by getting toys that stimulate movement. Examples of good toys for overweight kids are bikes, kick bikes, trampolines, roller blades, jumping ropes and anything that promotes active play.
Remember this next time you want to get a birthday present or just pamper your baby with something new to play with!
