(1888PressRelease)
December 09, 2006 - Sheila Rae
Sheila Rae Productions
517-610-1467
www.educationalassembly.com
Healthy eating is becoming the catch phase among Americans. We are told to eat healthier, take this vitamin and that mineral, eat less, eat more, eat fats and proteins, and eliminate them. The market for weight loss is huge and growing everyday. These companies are playing a game with our mind because our self-image is low. We think we need to weigh 100 pounds and have our bones showing or we are not beautiful.
I recently added this topic to my speaking platform. I am concerned about our children and the pressure we put on them. We want them to be thin. I was speaking in a school in the Detroit area recently and a young man came up to me after the program and asked if people could be too thin? I told him that being too thin could be just as unhealthy as being a little overweight. He was just perfect, however, from his expression I have a feeling someone has told him he is fat.
What are we doing to these kids, the messages are confusing? We promote high sugar cereals, fat laden meals and every kind of soda pop on all the stations that are targeted to our kids. Have we lost it? Have we decided money is more important than our children are?
What I find when I visit with these students through my educational assembly programs they have no idea how much to eat and what not to eat. I start the programs by explaining the most important item they can put into their body everyday of the year and that is water. I invite eight children forward to represent the eight glasses of water we should drink everyday and then I give the audience the task of cheering them on. When they have finished the water, I ask the children why we cheered for the eight. I share with them that every time they put water in their body that is what the body does, it cheers. Somewhere over the years, we have put less emphasis on water intake and have replaced it with soda and power drinks. What is wrong with this picture?
The next part of the program focuses on soda pop. I ask the students if they know what it is and of course, everyone does. I then pull out a bag of sugar that represents how much sugar is in the soda. Teachers and students alike are in disbelief. I ask if they think they could just eat that much sugar from their mother’s sugar bowl and most say no.
Support funding for special programs in your school that teach this most meaningful lesson. Schools have so much pressure because of all the new testing requirements they no longer seem to have much time to emphasize some important life issues. Take the time to research, ask questions and learn the facts about nutrition and help your child build a strong self-image. Make your school aware of wonderful programs that promote healthy eating like those found at www.educationalassembly.com.
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