Kids and Sports
Sports are not what they used to be and by this I mean sports used to be for fun and exercise. Today, our children are participating in sports which are very competitive. With the rising cost of college tuition, some kids and parents are banking on their sport activity to provide them with a scholarship. If you’re like me, I want my girls to participate to be healthier, team oriented, build character, and have fun. Unfortunately, there are a lot of injuries occuring in kids today and it is because their foundation has not been layed properly by us as parents and we have to take responsibility for our kids and their health.
Many injuries could be prevented if our children were healthier. According to the CDC, 1 out of every 3 children are struggling with obesity. This puts them at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and many more diseases. It is now common place to see these kids in your dance classes, gymnastics, soccer and football fields, and cheerleading. If we want our kids to be athletes, then it is up to us as their parents to feed and train them appropriately so that we prevent injuries. As with any contact sports such as soccer, football, and even cheerleading (more broken bones than any sport) there will incidences where the healthy status does not prevent the injury, but it will help their immune system and healing time if we have them healthy.
As parents, we need to ensure they are getting the proper nutrition and training for whatever sport they choose. Nutrition is the foundation of their success in sports. I would like to add that mindset also plays a big role here because if the mind is prime, then keeping the nutrition in check is an easier task. Nutrition, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle is a learned behavior and before you get disappointed at their performance make sure that you as a parent have done your part in the preparation for their best outcome.
Kids who are active require more calories, but if a child needs to lose weight you will require balancing their macronutrients such as the protein, fats and carbs. For the obese child, you would need to have more fat than protein so you are looking at high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrates. Note protein unused will be turned into glucose and stored as fat. If you have a fit athlete, he/she can consume high protein, moderate fat, and low carbohydrates. Hydration is even more important in athletes so adequate water intake and proper supplement with electrolytes may be necessary just make sure the electrolyte supplement is low in carbohydrates and the right ones stevia or honey. Absolutely no sucralose or aspartame which are both neurotoxins and carcinogenic.
A parent may not choose the sport, but if you support your child in being an athlete, then it is your responsibility to support the child in being his best making sure he/she is fueled properly and in their best shape. In the long run, their performance and rides on how healthy of an athlete they are. Whether your child is an athlete or not, lifestyle is a learned behavior that our children model. Our children are our reflections so make sure you as a parent are taking a good assessment and walking the walk promoting a lifestyle that will not only let our children be the best athletes, but will allow them to live longer, stronger and without diseases.
