I have 4 kids ages 18, 16, 14 & 8. The older 3 are all naturally thin. My youngest isn't heavy at all, but she is just entering early puberty and is starting to show some chub. They all did, so I'm not terribly worried except for one thing. We didn't have much tv when the older kids were little, so they spent less time sitting at this stage than she does. Don't get me wrong, she is fairly active - as much as the heat will allow right now. She swims, bikes and roller skates, but she also sits and veges in front of the tube more than the others did. Since she's at one of those stages where you grow more fat cells I've started thinking of ways to limit her tv. I don't want to just say "no TV for you." If I've learned anything from my older kids it's "No" means "must have". For now I have eliminated television on Mondays. Next week I'm going to turn it off for all of us on Sunday too. Other days I try to distract her with activities, which is really good for both of us.

I'm curious about things others have tried to help their kids live a more healthy lifestyle.

We've always just had time limts on TV and screen time in general (computer, gameboys, etc.). My kids know they get a set amount per day and that's it. But, it's always been a "rule" at our house so it's been easy to enforce.

Does she know you are trying to be healthier yourself? Maybe you can do things together? Tell her you are going for a walk and invite her along...or something like that. Or invite her outside to play a game - even if it is just a card game or a board game. I find that just being outside encourages my kids to stay outside playing. If they are away from the tv and computer, etc. they tend not to ask for it as much. Out of sight, out of mind, I think.

I look forward to seeing what advice others have!

Cris

I would say to just do things together ... like both or all of you going for walks, or going to play paintball, or simply turning on the radio and dancing around your living room together and being silly.

Help her find a sport/activity she loves and get her involved in it. If you live in a more suburban/urban area there is so much to do - martial arts, dance, fencing clubs, running clubs. The one thing we also did with our kids was to stop providing transportation EVERYWHERE (as long as it was to a safe area and it was daylight) and made them hoof it or bike there.

The other wonderful thing for kids who like the video games is Dance Dance Revolution - that's a workout! Nintendo WII also requires a bit more activity.

I posted earlier, but don't know where that went, so I'll do it again. Anything to avoid housework.

We do have limits for the television and computer for all the kids - the tv aspect just gets more complicated with the youngest. I can't tell my 16 year old not to watch Dirty Jobs because all the tv time has been used up on Hannah Montana and I don't want to ban her from the family room because there's a show on that someone else wants to watch. We do ban certain channels totally.

A lot of my fears come from seeing all the kids her age at the pool who are seriously overweight. I don't mention my concerns when she's even home because I don't want to cause a problem with a stray or overheard remark. Doing things together is the best thing I've found to keep her active during this stage of her life.

My older kids are still active because it's a habit they picked up when they were younger. Of course we lived in a better area at the time and I didn't worry as much about them biking around the block. I guess it alsohelps that we've always been too poor to buy expensive gaming equipment. One of my sons finally saved up to buy a PSP and quickly found out that it's not nearly as fun as skateboarding.

I am saving to buy the family a wii. I think we will all enjoy it. Like I said, she doesn't have a problem yet and may never have a weight problem. And if she does, I'll be a lot more understanding of the issue than my 110lb mother. I just hope to help her avoid that issue and develop much healthier habits than I did.