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Hybrid Mom and Missy Chase Lapine (you might know her better as "The Sneaky Chef") chatted back and forth about kid-fitness strategies. A mother herself, Lapine knows the struggles of pursuing a career while trying to be the best mother she can be.
Q: When do you think the shift occurred--that an interest in kids' fitness went mainstream?
A: Parents are required to be practical by nature–life with our kids is a daily proving ground for every theory in the book. If something works, we use it. Otherwise we don't have the time, nor energy, for too many second tries. The past 20 years has seen a perfect storm of negative influences on kids' diets and fitness. First. the percentage of convenience foods in kids' diets has dramatically increased, as have a host of diet related medical issues. At the same time, societal changes have resulted in curtailed recesses at school and outdoor play, while vastly increasing time in front of TVs, computers and video games. As parents, we have to deal with the effects that these influences are having on our children every day, including health issues, weight gain, food allergies, attention issues, moodiness and low energy, to name just a few.
The good news is that our practical experience has shown us that even a little bit of healthy food and movement mixed in to our kids' daily routines results in dramatic changes. That's how The Sneaky Chef and Sneaky Fitness were born. The return on investment is huge: feed kids a good breakfast and the whole day goes better. Get them moving in the afternoon and the whole night goes better. After a few days of good food and a little movement everything goes better! Parents know first hand that the cost of convenience is too high when it comes to their kids, and conversely, that a little investment bears rich fruit, and quickly, too.
Q: Do you think the market is capitalizing on the mom-guilt syndrome?
I'd say it's more the mom-awareness syndrome. You can't pull anything over on a mom. We get immediate feedback every minute of every day, and that's as natural as it gets. If mom's weren't seeing benefits from the extra time spent preparing meals, we'd switch right back to convenience foods. If we didn't see that our kids behaved better, had longer attention spans and slept better at night, we wouldn't spend time coaxing them to play and exercise more. Child-centered chefs are simply jumping on a successful bandwagon, and our whole society will be the better for it. With The Sneaky Chef and Sneaky Fitness, the proof has been in the pudding and the writing has been on the wall (although I admit, quite possibly in spaghetti!) and healthier kids are on the way again.
Q: If you're a busy working mom, what's the one health/fitness component you should/can add to give your child an appreciation for their bodies?
A: Easy: movement. It's a snowball effect. Once they take that first step, kids feel how fun it is to move. Half the time we have to contain them once we set them in motion! And movement makes them hungry for real food–the kid-in-motion will reach for a hearty sandwich every time over a sugary snack. By moving more, kids become more in touch with what their bodies need. It's a positive cycle that feeds itself. Try just one Sneaky Fitness technique and see the results for yourself.
Find more information and activities to get the little people in your life moving in Lapine's newest book, Sneaky Fitness: Fun, Foolproof ways to Slip Fitness Into Your Child's Everyday Life.
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