A moving experience

The television and newspapers have recently had many programs about childhood obesity. Each article or episode gave suggestions for keeping your children active. The emphasis was on action and movement. Some parents had hired trainers for very young children to keep them in shape.

My first reaction to all of this was to go back down memory lane and remember my childhood and even the childhood of my now adult children. It seemed that without trainers or much in the way of organized teams for sports, we kept very active. In the summer, without air-conditioning, when our chores were done, we played outside. That usually meant a running and or hiding game. If we wanted to play with our neighbors in the country, we got on our bikes, rode a horse, or walked to the nearest house that had young people. There were enough outside chores such as mowing the lawn, cutting weeds and watering plants that we used many steps just getting our jobs done. The implements for doing these chores were usually not mechanized, so we walked each foot of the lawn when we were mowing it, and swung a scythe or hoe cutting weeds.

My next thought was about the local children here in Vernon County. I spent a few hours at the Vernon County Fair last week and I was thrilled at the number of children and youth who were everywhere on the grounds. And it seemed that most of them were running. Some were playing an informal tag with their friends. Others had water bottles they were squirting on each other as well as on their animals to cool them. Some were industriously preparing their animals for judging and were scrubbing, combing and washing their projects.

I didn't attend the rodeo but I was told there were many young people there also being involved and busy.

After I left the fairgrounds I drove past the Skate Park where, in spite of the hot afternoon, several boys were doing unbelievable stunts on their skateboards. My next stop was the swimming pool (OOPS aquatic park). The swimmers are not supposed to run on the concrete outside the pool because of danger of slipping and falling. But the pool was filled with young and not so young swimmers jumping into the water, climbing out again, swimming, diving, going down the slides, and just bobbing up and down in the water as they laughed and called out to each other.

Some of them were outside the park heading for their homes in groups of three or four or more. They were walking. A couple of bikes were in the racks waiting for other swimmers to leave for home.

I reached the conclusion that there is no need in our area to hire trainers to keep our young people active. All we have to do is offer opportunities for them to enjoy being together. The activity comes naturally. I also was thankful that we lived in a community where a child could walk, ride bikes, and run around the fairgrounds without constant supervision. We have maintained a community where, within limits, a child can be free to be active.

When I reached home I was so exhausted from watching all this movement that I had to sit out on our deck with a cool drink to think about my day. I mentally cut off some weeds at the side of the pond and then listened to a neighbor's lawn mower. But I wasn't about to move. Maybe I need a trainer!