CHILDREN ARE DISCONNECTED FROM THE “OUTSIDE” WORLD
One effective strategy is to re-connect them with the outdoors.
Increasingly children live in the virtual world of computer games and social networking. They don’t even ride their bike to their friend’s houses anymore - they just IM or text each other. This “virtual” existence is contributing to their obesity and overall poor physical condition.

HERE are just a few of the things I have done:

THE “ART” OF TAKING A HIKE
I do a walking stick carving program (outside, of course) - the kids spend an hour with a master carver learning the art of carving a walking stick. The carver helps them to see the stick for what it can become - and use their tools to bring out the best in the stick - after that, we all take a hike with the sticks - it is an awesome program. We have some incredible conversations and opportunities to teach life lessons.

THE EVENING WALK
In my book, I devote quite a bit of time to the topic of family walks. The help connect the family together, get them outside and everyone is more fit for their efforts. GET THE PARENTS INVOLVED and the kids will follow - a big part of the problem is the sedentary lives of us parents.

The lifestyle you lead creates an atmosphere that permeates the life of those around you. It becomes like the air they breathe. As a parent, the quality of YOUR lifestyle will determine whether your children breathe a life of clean fresh air or toxic second hand smoke.–

KAYAKING, SAILING, ROCK CLIMBING and other adventures
The benefits of linking outside activities to ADVENTURE can not be overlooked. When kids can connect being outside with a sense of adventure, we can begin compete against their virtual escapes. I have taken groups of kids kayaking, sailing and rock climbing - they learn a physical skill and they LOVE every minute of it. I even ran a disabled sailing program for a while - the experience was incredible.

ESTABLISH A SAFE ROUTE
As a parent I am concerned about safety - we gave our kids some “freedom” by establishing safe routes for them to walk and ride their bike on - This spark of independence helps them to get out and get moving. With “Chaperone” enabled phones from Verizon, parents can even track where their kids are and get text alerts when they deviate out of the “approved area”

SNEAKY HOBBIES:
Just prying kids away from the computer is a real challenge. Sometimes it is as simple as connecting the kids with a digital camera, and an awesome sunset. We encourage nature photography. You would be amazed how theses “kid made” pictures of the beach, flowers wildlife and sunsets make it onto computer screens as wallpaper, screen savers and email attachments. Now, thanks to websites like Cafe Press, the kids even show off their work on T-shirts, Pillows and coffee mugs. The best benefit is that the best pictures are taken in nature. I know that if my daughter took a picture of a group of deer in the woods - she was there - with them, part of their world and loving it.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS
Don’t underestimate the value of “playing war”. Although I am a bit of a pacifist, my son has taken to going out into the woods and shooting his buddies with paintball like guns (without the paint). Not my idea of a good time - I went once to make sure it was safe. He does get outside even more now. It is working for him and no harm comes from it.

BE PART OF THE PROCESS
The key is to get the parents to make the suggestion - you would be amazed how kids respond to: “Hey wanna go shoot some hoops?” from a parent. It all begins with us. Once we get them in the habit of being outside again - there is no telling where in nature we will end up.

Just being out in nature seems to have a calming effect on kids - they are more centered and focused mentally. Kids that get outside more are not only more physically healthy, they are more mentally healthy as well. Because of their connection to other living things, they tend to be more empathetic as well.

Increasingly children live in the virtual world of computer games and
social networking. They don’t even ride their bike to their friend’s
houses anymore - they just IM or text each other. This “virtual”
existence is contributing to their obesity as well as their overall
poor physical and mental condition. In growing numbers, children are
being diagnosed with a host of attention and behavioral disorders that
they absorb from living in the quick burst, video byte world of the TV
and computer. They don’t read enough, walk enough or play enough and
they rarely contemplate anything beyond the glow of the images
fleeting past them on the screen.

I may have done the impossible! I have made my kids smarter by
changing their TV viewing habits! The experiment was that they were
not to watch television unless they first “payed for it” with physical
activity time. I did not care what the children did but if they
expected to watch television they needed to first do some kind of
physical activity. I found a marvelous device called a time pilot. It
is a simple credit card like machine that attaches to the television
set. As the children accumulate physical activity time they are
credited time on their television card. When they put their card in
the machine the television turns on and the clock starts. When their
television time is up the television goes off. No arguments because
who are they going to argue with, the machine? They tried but it does
not answer them. When I first tried this without the machine, I was
considered a mean and nasty ogre. With the Time Pilot, I am out of
the loop, often not even in the house when the TV shuts down. The
machine is now the ogre and that is fine with me. We endured a lot of
flack about this, but, with the card system, exercise went up and TV
time went down. In a very short time, we saw some amazing things
happen.

In addition to the predictable outcome of having more physically fit
children, we also saw some very pleasant unexpected results. Without
the mind numbing TV, they started to read more. Their grades really
picked up! Both my son and daughter were becoming routine members of
the honor roll. My daughter became a better musician achieving the
lofty position of first chair her very first year of the fifth and
sixth grade orchestra. Her teacher was so impressed that she actually
called us to say that my daughter was on track for a music scholarship
to any music school she chose! All of this because they watch
television less and moved more, it was a breath of fresh air.

As another added benefit it turns out that my kids have
become quite math geniuses now that their TV time has been tied to an
accounting system. They have figured out how to conserve their time
and use it like a bank account. Because of this training they are
already becoming more skilled fiscal managers! How about that! My
children have gotten smarter, more creative and have become better
money managers simply because they move more and watch less TV. My
genius daughter negotiated a deal that if she exercised while she was
watching television she could accumulate television time while
watching the TV off her card “for free.” This led to the kids
petitioning for a tread mill to be placed in the living room! Should
we add the art of the deal to our list of new skills? We are now the
talk of the neighborhood with our “new” piece of furniture. It seems
like all my kids friends can not stop talking about the fact that we
have family dinners together, we go for walks together and smack dab
in the middle of our living room is a hideous looking treadmill. What
amazes them even more is that my kids actually use it.

Dr. Russ L’HommeDieu is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Life Coach, chef-in-training and former stand-up comic based in Riverhead, NY. He specializes in providing guidance and support to clients interested in re-claiming their health and vitality. Although he does work with anyone seeking to improve their health, he is particularly interested in clients battling with their weight. He uses humor and compassion to infuse people with a passion for their health. He helps them to see how the quality of their body’s movement, the clarity of their mind and the food they eat are all vital parts to getting what they really want out of life. He then helps them figure out how to “fit it all in” by helping them to accumulate SMALL changes in their already busy life. He has found that the “right” small changes are easy for people to do and they always accumulate to big results.

As it so happens, Dr. Russ knows a thing or two about BIG! In addition to being a Doctor of physical therapy and a certified Wellcoach(R) lifestyle coach, he has been there! At a top weight of 410 pounds, he has lost over 230 pounds and turned from life full of destructive eating habits to a life full of health and ADVENTURE. His book, “The Truth Diet” is the product of years of personal experience, professional expertise and exhaustive research. Dr. Russ is here to help you live the life you were meant to live! He is available for speaking engagements, cooking classes, private and group coaching, kitchen “boot camps”, physical performance training and of course, physical therapy. His practice, New Life in Progress, is located at 633 east Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901. http://www.newlifeinprogress.com