Preventing Childhood Obesity In the U.S. 20% of children are obese. Billions of dollars have gone into studying why kids are obese, and, now we, as a nation, have discovered; food is over-processed, not enough fruits and vegetables, drinking our calories, poor choices, lack of nutritional education, physical education removed from schools, school lunch rooms serve horrible foods, the fat gene, too much television and more. Currently the push in the U.S. is to identify the kids who are obese by the school nurse or counselor, send a note home to the parents and get the kid on a diet. The government, taking a reactive rather than a pro-active approach, is putting the pressure on insurance companies to pay for children to visit with a pediatric cardiologist, (to asses the risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure) a nutritional counselor (educates on fat grams, calories, food portions, ethnic cooking) and exercise trainer. All vastly important and a step in the right direction. However, even with all the support systems in place, children, teens and adults--all of us-- are getting fatter. Obesity and CMB Kids At Camp MakeBelieve Kids, we believe that teaching children social and emotional learning skills is a necessary component for a comprehensive obesity prevention program. Consider the social and emotional influences that keep children and teenagers stuck in negative habits and how easy it is to give up. Think of all the feelings that food conjures up; satisfaction, guilt, remorse, anger, confidence, embarrassment or even power. Feeding someone can be a way to demonstrate love, caring, nurturing. It can also be used to bribe, manipulate or to show who has control. Children discover very early on that what they decide to eat (or not eat) gets them lots of attention, and sometimes lots of control. Age Awareness of Body ImageAt what age do children become aware of the cause and effect that eating food has on body shape and size? When do they become aware of the influence that our bodies have in determining how we are looked upon by peers and how we are treated. Unfortunately, the age gets earlier and earlier. By age 10 or 11, children start to base their own self-esteem and self-confidence on how they see themselves. Our body image, or how we imagine our body looks, influences how we feel. A recent study done on teasing about body weight was consistently associated with low body satisfaction, low self-esteem, high depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and attempts, even after controlling for body weight. This is true for boys and girls and across racial and ethnic groups (Maternal and Child Health Bureau and Centers for Disease Control). For more information on depression and suicide click here.
CMB Kids and Preventing Childhood ObesityCamp MakeBelieve Kids provides obesity prevention programs with the missing ingredient --- social and emotional learning. The Camp MakeBelieve Kids interlocking approach with entertaining educational tools was created especially for children, by Child Therapist and Registered Nurse, Pamela M. Goldberg. A Cardiac Intensive Care Nurse for many years, Pamela is keenly aware of the destructive toll that chronic obesity has on the heart--and on life itself. Pamela now works with children, teens and their families and focuses on promoting healthy life styles that lead to positive self-image, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-control and self-motivation. Teasing is addressed in our Camp MakeBelieve Kids social and emotional program. CMB Kids Character - Tia the TeaserMeet our character, Tia the Teaser, who learns Empathy as she enters 6th grade, ditches her childhood friend and joins a clique of mean girls. Join Tia as she struggles with keeping her values she learned at home vs. giving it all up to be popular. Tia is part of the Step 4 Teaching Tool in the CMB Kids 8-Step Program. Lesson plans focus on the inequalities in relationships and how power can be abused or used in a positive way. Specific strategies that deal with appropriate expression of negative feelings and healthy alternatives to self-destructive behavior is addressed along with intimate discussions that promote acceptance of diversity and prevent exclusion from cliques.
|
