Jane on childhood wellness

Jane loves sports. She loves watching them and playing them. As Jane got older, she found that movement was essential to her wellness. Running and group exercise classes with others reminded her of her sports team days - sweat, effort, and bonding. When Jane had children she couldn’t wait to share her love of sports and fitness with them. She dreamed of playing catch in the yard, shooting hoops at the basketball court, and going on neighborhood runs together! For a few years, this came true. But then her two kids didn’t like any of those things. They had begun growing their own interests, which didn’t involve much movement. So, instead of worrying and stressing over getting them into team sports, she let them pick activities they enjoyed. Sometimes, though, they wanted to try other things and not stick with one thing. Again, instead of worrying and stressing over their commitment, she let them try other things that seemed interesting to them. In a highly competitive world, this wasn’t easy. Jane was used to being different and going against the norm, but her kids not enjoying the activities that she loved was hard to manage and understand. Also, being around other families who had their kids in a seasonal sport all year round was sort of hard to watch. She let her ego go, though.

But then came weight gain. Childhood wellness is a huge area of concern of which Jane spent a lot of time researching and working in. She thought to herself, “How could this be happening to my children?” When her worries started to get the best of her, their pediatrician told her not to worry and that this is a normal course for many kids. “They’ll get taller.” “They’ll grow out, then up, then out, and repeat.” They told her. Again, letting her worries fall away she decided to take action but not in the way you’d think. She didn’t demand they move their bodies. She didn’t shame them. She didn’t take away their food. She did increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in the house. She did offer healthy options before they were “bored hungry”. And one of the best things was the playing - water balloon, water guns, nerf, wombats, trampoline, hide-and-go-seek tag, capture the flag, and other fun and silly games took over their afternoons. The joy of movement was welcomed back into the house and so was a healthier lifestyle.

The message - don’t stress too much, drop the ego, and please do have fun!