Rachel Cowley-Portillo
Sep 6, 2012 - Limited
For this blog post I chose to write about how we as a society can encourage adolescents to make healthier choices. I am no spring chicken but I can say that when I was a kid, the best part about summertime was being able to stay outside all day and yes, I drank water straight from the hose! I cannot seem to get my teenage boys outside without threatening to take away video games and television permanently. When I do this, they immediately pick up their phones! I look around and see a plethora of enabling parents but no positive reinforcement for making the healthier decisions. Some of the things that I have done this summer are, buying healthy snacks that are readily available and privilege rewards for active non-tv time, and I do these things with my kids! I make sure that if I am going to have a snack, I DO NOT grab a sugar filled snack cake with no expiration date, I grab fruit or have a glass of green tea. I have made it a ritual to take "dark walks" with the boys and our 3 dogs. This has become a time where we talk about what is going on in our lives, the things that are bothering us and the things that are making us happy. It has become a bonding time for us. I'll admit that there are days that I am just not up to it, either because of a long day at work or too much homework, but the disappointment on their faces when I say no to something that I started in the first place quickly changes my mind and I feel so much better after our walk that I forget why I said no in the first place. I think that leading by example is the best way to encourage anyone of any age to make better choices. I also ask my boys if there is a better choice that they could make when they grab a soda out of convenience rather than koolaid or water. I have taken advantage of my knowledge about the effects of soda on the body to explain in detail how they are really messing things up if all they drink is soda. It might be easier for me not to buy snack cakes or soda and thus remove the possibility for them to have these things, but that is NOT teaching them to make healthier choices, it is just preventing them from making a choice at all. I want them to enjoy these things but in moderation while making the healthy choices a priority and the not so healthy choices a treat or luxury. As it shoiuld be!
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