Todays children are tomorrows patients!       The illnesses and injuries that they will be afflicted with are already being predetermined by the choices their parents are making for them now.

We belive that as parents our role is to provide; shelter, food, education, and love, for our children, and that if we do this to the best of our ability, they will be well adjusted, healthy, and successful adults. But in our society, all of our children have access to basic shelter, food, and education as a right, so it would seem to follow that if we just love them they will all be wonderful, healthy and successful, right?  Well so far, the answer appears to be no! Our kids are turning into the fattest and least fit generation in history, and consequently will be carrying a massive risk of developing serious illness and/or injury into adulthood.

Over the last 25 years our focus has been on making sure our kids have everything we did not; junk food on demand, door to door mom and dad taxi services, and endless access to games requiring super fit thumbs, or TV that has 1,000 channels requiring them to press tiny buttons on the remote. We also want to have more time with them so that they really know that we love them! More time to show them our wonderful examples of how to eat and drink sensibly, how to participate in healthy activity, how to use entertainment in moderation, how to be responsible for our own health and wellbeing. That is the example we are showing them, isn't it?  

If this is not an example of you as a parent, then is this; you want your child to have the best possible chance to become a successful athlete. So you find a sport that they show an interest in, or worse  you or their school chooses it for them, and then devote every waking moment to training them to be the best at it. Regardless of how this effects the healthy development of the child or the risk factors they may be accruing that will manifest as injuries later on. Or you know that they are participating in sports, and as far you are concerned that is good and there is no need to worry about which sport or what position they are playing. Because any sport or activity is good for them. Isn't it?

Your child may or may not grow up to be an accountant, physicist, or architect, But you make sure you know enough math to help them with their homework, or find someone who can. Your child will grow up to become an adult, and will need to be healthy and injury free if they are to have any real quality of life. So how much do you know about their development cycles? what activities are best for them? what activities and sports are not good for them? and why? How to help them avoid being obese, diabetic, crippled with chronic low back pain?

We are the guides who will bring our children safely to adulthood, and getting them there with the best potential for a healthy and successful life is not just about giving them stuff we never had, and making sure they can read and write.We need to know how to guide them to good health, through our own knowledge and example. You are actively choosing the future health of your child, it is your responsibility to make sure you are making informed choices. All the information you need is out there, but it is up to you to find it and to implement it in a way that makes your child want to continue choosing the healthy options when they start taking control of their own lives.

Did you know that your child is born with a spine that is curved in such a way as to make it impossible for them to walk upright? Did you know that in order for your child to finally stand up and walk he/she must train hard enough with correct exercises to change the shape of their spine in two places? Did you know that you can choose activities and stimulations that can help this process and ensure it happens correctly? Did you know that if this process is not completed properly your child may be taking a risk factor for developing chronic low back pain into their future? Do you think that information like this and information on how you can influence the outcome, is important to know? And this is just part of the development cycle in the first 12 months!

We all need to pay more attention to the health of our kids. If thay do not become healthy adults all of the rest of what we do is wasted.

Learn as much as you can about the impact that you have on your child's whole development and don't be afraid to make choices that may go against the common practice. Just be sure you make informed choices! You can choose you child's future health!

Mark Honeyman, The Master Trainer, ASC, NCEFT.,NCEFI, ACE, Dip. ITEC.

Medical Exercise Specialist, and Master Trainer.