Exercise, lieing to kids, and old fashioned childhood rant

[KristyHall]

I just read an article about this commercial trying to get parents to convince children to get moving more. And the basis of the commercial involved the mother lieing to the child. It made a good point about how today's society expects parents to constantly entertain children 24/7. The writer questions why more parents don't let their children learn to entertain themselves like we did as children?

My mother was complaining about a commercial she saw the other day on the cartoon network urging children to stop watching cartoons and get outside to play. How sad is that? When I was a child you couldn't keep me in on a nice day.

So what's your take on it? How did you spend your childhood? How do you encourage your children to play?

here is the link to the story

http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/2...?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|sec3_lnk1|207949

here is the story itself in case you can't get it to load though the link also has the clip with the commercial on it



"This 'Let's Move!' Ad Isn't Going to Get Kids Moving
by Lenore Skenazy (Subscribe to Lenore Skenazy's posts)
Mar 29th 2011 11:00AM

Filed under: Media, Opinions


"Let's Move!" has an ad campaign running that should be called "Let's Lie!"

A mom is in the kitchen when her daughter, age about 11, calls down from the stairway, "Can I have a dollar?" The mom sees her wallet right there on the counter next to her, but smiles to herself and yells to her kid to look upstairs. Then downstairs. Then up in another bedroom. Then down in the dining room. Then through all of the closets upstairs and down until finally the girl comes into the kitchen and sees the wallet has been sitting there the whole time.

In the ad, it's a cute moment. In real life, I just don't know a lot of kids who'd grin, "Thanks for the wild goose chase, Mom! I love being tricked!"

But, amazingly, lying to your kids isn't even the most galling thing about this ad. What's worse is the idea that it is up to us parents to come up with endless clever ways to get our kids moving. Let's see ... this little ruse was good for maybe a minute's worth of mild exercise? Now all a mom has to do is come up with another 59 pointless tasks and her kid will have an hour's worth of cardio. (And a lifetime's worth of therapy material.)

"Mom was here!" the ad exults, but that's exactly the problem. Why is Mom expected to come up with activities for a girl who is clearly old enough to entertain herself? Why doesn't she just tell her to go outside and play? It worked for our moms! But the new idea of a "good" mother is one who is always involved. A constant companion. Some might say: a helicopter.

That's ironic because one of the reasons kids are so sedentary -- and chubby -- is that we keep them glued to our sides. If we don't let them ride their bikes around the nabe, or walk to school, or play in the park, of course they are going to be stuck inside. And we are stuck trying to prod them off the couch.

"Let's Move!" seems to believe our kids are unsafe having an old-fashioned childhood, even though FBI stats show there is less crime today than when we were kids running around in the '70s and '80s.

Until the campaign embraces the idea that kids can get moving on their own, they won't. They'll get fat and we'll feel guilty.

Great."

 

[Thomas423]

When I was a kid we only had 4 channels to watch and nothing good on.
I loved being outside.
I also remember being outside all day. In the woods....down the road....anywhere I felt like going.
My mother had no idea where I was most of the time.
Times are different now.
We have to keep a closer eye on our kids and since most mothers work now, it harder to spend alot of time outside with them.
TV has become a babysitter while busy moms are cooking dinner, cleaning house, doing laundry or just plain relaxing.

With all that said, time still needs to be balanced.
My philosophy with my kids (when they were little, they're grown now) was that
a messy house will wait, their childhood won't.
Children need time with their parents.
Hiking in parks and throwing rocks in the water is free entertainment.

I'm now watching my granddaughter grow up watching videos because her mom works 10 hour days.
Her parents do try to get out occasionally but.....oh well, I won't be judgemental.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

For most of my childhood I practically lived outdoors (we lived in the country). When my parents divorced, mom and I moved to the city and I didn't go out anymore, there was no place to play and mom was either working or on dates and she told me that people would kil me if I went outside

. Either way it became a learned behaviour to stay inside and just play with my dolls or watch tv. Now I am trying my hardest to UN-learn it because it is not healthy. My children LOVE being outside though!

 

[Teach97]

I spent most of my time outside as a kid...

currently so do my kids..how simple...they don't have a game system or a TV with all the channels in their room. They complain i get creative...windows need washing (wife's family's answer to I am bored), chickens need water/food/cleaning, hole needs to be dug, I can always find something...they tend to not ask...plus I go outside real regular and throw balls or we have shooting competitions (basketball, bows, bb guns...) We don'thave a lawn but we do have most of our pass routes well marked out! They do break bike though...I don't think they make them the way they used to...

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Have you seen the new one???

These kids are playing a video game on TV. All of a sudden the lights and TV shut off. The kids pick up a basketball and run outside. The camera flips to the mom who has FLIPPED THE BREAKER OFF.

I mean...REALLY?

 

[babymakes6]

We don't even own a television-never have, and it will stay that way.
Now I will play "devil's advocate" a little bit: Do you teach your children about Santa, or the Easter Bunny? Isn't that lying, too? We do not lie to our children at all-if I want them to be able to trust me, I can't do it by telling them things that are not true.

 

[Spookwriter]

Being outside and exercising is important for a child.
--Just as it is for an adult--

Yes, I'm outside with my daughter a lot. Almost daily during
good weather. I make it a point.

IS she outside by herself? Sometimes, but not like we were
as children. Times have changed. Can't trust people.

 

[ramirezframing]

I grew up outside doing stuff like horse riding, playing with the kids down the road, in the woods and creek, fishing. And yes learned not to say I'm board around the parents cause there was always chores to do outside! I am trying to do the same with mine, but I am worried about them being kiddnapped!

 

[Smittenroade]

Lets stop relying on the Government and big companies like Nickolodeon and take some responsibility for ourselves and the people that rely on us. It's the small things that matter in the end like playing a game of hacky sack with your kid, or playing catch in the backyard. I'm not a parent yet but I will remind parents, it's the time you spend not the money.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I agree there My parents never did that to us and I won't be doing that to my children.