School and Kids: The Solution

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

“Eat your carrots and you’ll have eagle eyes.” 

"Eating bread crusts puts curly hair on your chest."

“If you swallow too many watermelon seeds, a tree will start growing in your stomach.”

“If you eat spinach and you’ll have Popeye muscles!” 

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” (…or anyone, if you throw it hard enough)

Most parents tell these silly little tales to their children to promote healthy habits at a young age. Hearing this from our parents while we were growing up, we often subconsciously assume that we'll live longer than our parents, but this may not necessarily be the case.

The health of adolescents and young adults is quickly deteriorating. The World Health Organization has defined "health" as being "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being." 

How many people do you know "fit" this description nowadays (no pun intended)?
 

Take a look around you, and while you're at it, don't forget to check the mirror. 

Alma wrote, “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” (Alma 37:6) It really is the little things we do every day that are the most important factors that influence our long-term health. Sugared soda, flashy ads, fatty lunches and lack of physical “fun time” for kids only contribute to the problem. Unfortunately, as time goes by, little is being done to fix these problems and they are only getting worse.

As cliche as it sounds, the future of the world does rest in the hands of today’s up-and-coming generation. If they’re not healthy enough to be productive members of society, then what happens? 

Now, we're not saying that one lone child occasionally indulging in a chocolatey treat will cause the downfall of our nation, but we do need leaders and working people who can think clearly and perform well in their respective fields. 

To do so, we need to encourage healthy habits early in life. We need to teach kids how to make healthy choices and show them the benefits of exercise. 

Kids pick up on things quickly. Their opinions are easy to shape, which is why they are so often the targets of advertisements. What we need to do is to advertise different ideas to them. 

If kids learn healthy habits at a young age, they are more likely to become responsible, functional citizens able to contribute to society. One of the best places to do this is the public school system. Maybe the silly little lies our parents told us weren't so bad after all. 

We hope this blog will open your eyes to how influential a school environment can be. We advocate actions that may seem trivial right now, such as implementing healthier foods and promoting exercise, but it is through these so-called trivial things that great changes are possible.