why don't parents stress physical fitness?

lifthardheavy

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Growing up, my parents always stressed how important it was to study and get good grades. But when it came to fitness, they didn't seem to care. There was one time, when I was 16, that my dad casually said, "hey since you're a guy maybe you should lift weights." I refused and that was the end of it (I was ecto). If I took the same approach with school he woulda whooped my ass right there. It wasn't until my mid/late 20's that I took fitness more seriously.

I work with a lot of smart people, and the typical guy is 5'9 260 pounds @ 40%. I'm one of the very few under 15% and they think I'm a fitness god or something lol. Their exercise program consists of chewing on candybars. What's the use of being super smart of you look like that and have cholesterol levels hovering at 300?

The body is as important as the mind, so all you parents out there, remember that.
 
Rodja

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The parents would then have to be accountable if they were to let their physique slip, but I see your point. I have always been active and I seldom get sick(injuries are a different story though). It seems that there is a pussification of the US lately and exercise is hard so why should we have to do it?

If activity isn't stressed, then I think that diet should be emphasized because, as we all know, diet is just as important as lifting/cardio.
 
Jayhawkk

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I've tried with my kids but when you're stressing greades and priorites and drugs and alcohol and sex then your stree just isn't as strong as it once was. And the food the schools choose to serve along with your kids friends when they are at their house.

You can definately be on top of things and make sure they are aware. Just as I do mine but i'm also human and have to prioritize things.
 
Kam

Kam

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All i'm going to do is keep my kids active (when they come) The first thing is to get them into gymnastics and motorcycles as soon as they can walk. Gymnist can do any sport very well. Then it's off to peewee football/basketball/baseball.

And there diet will be awsome, if i'm rich i'll have weekly urine samples to make sure there getting all there nutrients. ahahaha, i'm not kidding. and to make sure there off the rocks and roids.

If you are a good role model they will know nothing less then what you show them, and it will be part of there life too.
 
Jayhawkk

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If you are a good role model they will know nothing less then what you show them, and it will be part of there life too.
Until you let them out at John or Jennie's house and let them go to public school and let them watch tv :)
 

Mess

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well, thats very touchy subject especially for parents like my self, you got to find balance for your kid and i mean in terms of diet and activity level, if we are talking diet for kids its important not to allow fatty food all the time because at this stage where body builds fat cells as much as it needs and it can determine how much fat they will carry around in future. i let my older kid which is a 6 yr old boy eats whatever he wants in moderation and by that i mean me and my wife monitor what does he consumes on daily basis, we make sure that he has fun eating candies and fast food but in smaller amounts and for sure not every day and we talk to him about it (educating).

for the activity part, you dont want to stress the kid with too much activities to a level where it turns out to be done for your own satisfaction as a parent and the kid will totaly hate it, during the last 3 years, my son got a blue belt in Taekwandoo, learn how to swim over period of time, took some soccer classes, and some horse back riding, and he knows what i do in terms of fitness and wieghts training and he is monitoring my progress. i'll try to let him try everything in order for him to test what he likes th most and continue doing so, what i'm trying to say here is that, parents have the full responsebility to rais a healthy fit kids and they can be an awesome model that your kids will keep talking about you to their friends and dreaming of becoming you, or you could rais a fatty flobbery kids that can turn out to be joke material for everybody else even though if they are smart.
a good part of my teenage years were lousy because i was overwieght and after 20 years i still remember it.
Just My .02
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loki82

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Wheni was a kid, candy or fastfood was pretty much taboo. Only on special occasions my parents allowed me to eat sweets, i was the crying kid that got small piece. As for fitness, i grew in a competitive family, my dad and my brothers used to do 10 pushups everynight. We called it "Man Time", so i remember my moms smile when she saw her 4 boys and her husband flexing like the hulkster and grunting like football players, before bed. AS for educating me in fitness in general, i was'nt really taught anything, other than my dad telling me to try to not to lose.
 
Ziricote

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My folks never emphisised sports or eating healthy because they didn't need to, I was always eating plenty of clean foods and running around a lot.

They're the "Do what you want" kind of parents, not against anything I decide to do but not supporting me to do anything. I'm just glad I took the initiative to take part in sports during my youth and teens otherwise I'd be a fat arse.

All parents really need to know is that feeding their kids junk/dirty food and not exercising regularly will lead to problems like you see in so many kids today. Thing is a lot of people already know this to a degree but don't change for the better...
 

jet11

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instead of spending millions on tv advertising saying "dont do druggss mmmmkay" we should preach that to live healthy, and the not doing drugs and less drinking and less fast food comes naturally
 
Markio

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Good post lifthard'. I'm always mildly taken aback when I see obese kids [young uns - 5-10ish], I can't help thinking that if this is not some form of mental or physical abuse on the parents part, then it surely is a lack of care of duty. Rather than trying to get them into a healthy mindset they give them candy as it'll shut them up!

In the later teens, being healthier will for most people help self esteem/confidence, enable them to be better learners/thinkers and a host of other things that is synergistic with getting good grades anyway.

It must be said though I'm not a parent and maybe I dont understand the stresses involved, and it is not always the parents fault of course!!!!
 
Jason Pegg

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I think alot of it has to do with the pussification of parents and demanding schedules. If parents had the balls to tell their kids no instead of caving whenever there is a disagreement, I think there would be less fat kids. We all know, too, that generally, fat parents have fat kids. Between fast food and fat parents who are always busy, no one is around to set an example. Passing the job of parenting to the Playstation is not the answer that parents want it to be, but it is easier than telling little Billy to get his ass outside. Laziness breeds laziness, IMHO.

Jason
 
thesinner

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My dad would have my head if I stopped doing cardio, but I think the reason that parent's stress good grades, etc. and not fitness is simply the fact that more people lead 'successful' lives through good schooling as opposed to fitness. Look at all the physically fit-looking CEO's on CNBC (sarcasm). Granted both need to be addressed, schooling is often the one that's stressed because parents typically want their kids to have a better life than they've had, and are convinced that a greater income is the solution.
 
B5150

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When I was a kid no one needed to stress physical fitness. We played baseball, hockey, football, rode bikes and all sorts of physically active games. We needed no organized sports we played on sandlots and in school yards. We got out of the house as soon as we could and got home as late as we could.

We had no video games, internet, myspace, text messaging, big screen TV, pay-per-view, DVD's and all of the other sedentary lifestyle promoting 'inventions' that our society has today. We promote this technology as a society and then as parents complain because our kids are fat and lazy. The parents as just a guilty of the same.
 
Jason Pegg

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When I was a kid no one needed to stress physical fitness. We played baseball, hockey, football, rode bikes and all sorts of physically active games. We needed no organized sports we played on sandlots and in school yards. We got out of the house as soon as we could and got home as late as we could.

We had no video games, internet, myspace, text messaging, big screen TV, pay-per-view, DVD's and all of the other sedentary lifestyle promoting 'inventions' that our society has today. We promote this technology as a society and then as parents complain because our kids are fat and lazy. The parents as just a guilty of the same.
Im from the same type of household. I was lucky enough to have parents who realized the importance of both. We were encouraged to bust ass in both school and sports. There was pressure to succeed, but it was all done via positive reinforcement and telling it like it was, not being negative or sugar coating it when we performed poorly. This will sound cliche, but I hope I can be the Dad to my son that my Dad was to me. He pushed me to better myself, but wasnt over bearing at the same time. I think that approach instilled the work ethic that alot of my peers dont have. Also why I wont be discouraged when class reunions roll around!:icon_lol:

Jason
 
alan aragon

alan aragon

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When I was a kid no one needed to stress physical fitness. We played baseball, hockey, football, rode bikes and all sorts of physically active games. We needed no organized sports we played on sandlots and in school yards. We got out of the house as soon as we could and got home as late as we could.

We had no video games, internet, myspace, text messaging, big screen TV, pay-per-view, DVD's and all of the other sedentary lifestyle promoting 'inventions' that our society has today. We promote this technology as a society and then as parents complain because our kids are fat and lazy. The parents as just a guilty of the same.
This is gospel right here.
 

Funny Monkey

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My folks really emphasized grades and studying. They let me eat whatever I wanted and since my mother owned a restaurant it got out of hand and quick. By the time I was 14 I was over 300 lbs. Then my parents tried to get me to lose the weight, but it didnt work I felt horrible too. Needless to say I didn't excel very much at the school part.
When I finally took an interest in dieting and lost all the weight went down to 13% bf. I got real motivated in all areas of life and I am now a nuclear engineer married and doing well.
As said above I think my folks always played outside and never had to think about staying fit. I had tv, video games etc., and I just don't think they thought about it until it was to late.
Now I am the nutrition guru of the family and everyone comes to me for fitness advice my folks took an interest and between the both of them have lost over 100 lbs and look very healthy.
In some cases I think its a lack of understanding rather than apathy
 
wastedwhiteboy2

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I dont really mind that none of the boys on the block can keep up with my little girl. wait until my boy gets older!
 

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