I see these well seasoned ladies playing hopscotch and cheering each other on, and realize I don’t want to ever grow up. Our golden years will be more fun if we don’t.
I can remember, fifty years ago, rushing out the school door at recess time. We packed a lot of hopscotch into 15 minutes. Or maybe it was Annie, Annie I Over, or 23 Skido0, or Dare Base, or Pump Pump Pullaway, or Steal Sticks. During the lunch hour, we could eat fast and have at least 30 minutes to continue a game we didn’t finish at recess. As much discussion was given around the supper table to what happened during recess that day as to what happened in the school room. We not only got a lot of exercise, we also learned to play well with others.
It saddens me not to see kids out playing these games like we did. I wonder how many second and third graders would even recognize the names of the games in the previous paragraph.
I think back to my graduating class in 1972. There were 70 some in the class, and very few were overweight. Most of us leaned toward the thin side. Now, as I sit on the bench at Wal-Mart and people gaze, it’s not only overweight kids that walk by – many are obese.
To be considered obese, a child’s body mass index or BMI percentile must be greater than 95%. A child is overweight if his BMI is more than 85% but less than 95%. It is estimated that 17% of children ages two through nineteen are obese.
A scientist with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that one in three children born in 2000, will become diabetic unless our habits change – meaning we need to eat wiser and exercise more.
Those are my thoughts for this week. Just what you wanted to hear after a big Thanksgiving meal, right? Well, do what I’m doing – consider putting a Ping-Pong table in the basement instead of a large screen TV. I’m not sure I’ve got my thin husband on board though or maybe he’s just scared I’ll beat him at Ping-Pong or maybe he’s grown up.
Cathy Harper
Recess times were so much fun as were getting home getting chores done and then out to play with all the neighbor kids. I, too, think kids are missing so much by not being outside playing and having fun with other kids. I hadn’t connected the weight problem with that lack of exercise. Thank you for the reminder of those “good old days.”
Stanley Steamer
Just make sure there’s plenty of snacks around the ping pong table. I’d hate to loose any weight while beating my opponents.