Healthy children are happier, peaceful and do much better in school (Eberts and Gisler 108). They are also willing to play and exercise their hobbies while participating in available recreational activities. They also effectively interact and enjoy being with their friends and families. In this case, children’s mental, physical and social health is very important to their well being. Enough exercise and good health are prerequisite for healthy development, strong growth and general well being of children. Healthy nutrition is also important for the development of children’s brain which is also essential for healthy learning. Regretfully, many children eat very little quantity of food, do not have enough healthy food, some are provided with too much calories and others rarely exercise. This has resulted to emaciated and/obese children, slow learners and children who generally have poor development. Consequently, it is important to initiate healthy nutritional programs for children early enough so that the same can be enhanced in their later age.
In her article, “Working Together for the Health of America’s Children”, Michelle Obama (America’s first lady) illustrates the importance of keeping our children healthy. She first cites the problem of childhood obesity and demonstrates the seriousness of the problem. She notes with a lot of concern that three out of four America’s children are obese or overweight and are at a great risk of contracting cancer, heart disease and diabetes which are costly to treat (Obama 2). The problem of childhood obesity is intensified by the assumption that children are not fond of healthy foods which make manufacturers shun from such foods. According to Michelle, Solving obesity in children is a problem since companies are not willing to change the products they produce.
Nevertheless, she notes that positive change has been observed in Americans’ way of living through her launch of “Lets Move” program. Individuals, groups and companies have in this case come in to improve the health of children. Food manufacturers have for instance promised to reduce calories from their products, restaurants have changed their menus for kids and national chain stores like SuperValu and Walgreens are creating more spaces for fresh food (Obama 5). Various groups have also initiated nutrition sponsorship programs for children and their families and a law was passed by legislation to include healthy foods offered to children in schools. The community is also aiming at installing salad bars in around 6000 schools and a significant number of professional chefs have agreed to help schools improve kids’ menus (Obama 6). Some celebrities have also come in to inspire children to exercise and stay healthy through dancing and dribbling and active children have been rewarded (Obama 7). Parents have also contributed positively by forcing their children to be active and reading food labels before buying products.
The promise of a nation can only be fulfilled when children fulfill theirs (Obama 9). Children make a nation by continuing life through their generations. This article is important in ensuring that the heath of children is maintained. Although Americans earlier held that ending childhood obesity was impossible, Michelle’s program affirms that it is possible to keep our children healthy and individual and groups’ initiatives can make a big difference if the problem of obesity is not left to the government alone. In this case, all stakeholders should play their role to keep healthier children and society.
Works Cited
Eberts and Gisler, Margaret. Careers in Child Care. USA: Library of Congress, 2001. Print.
Obama, Michelle. “Working Together for the Health of America’s Children”. CNN. CNN Special Edition. 2012. Web.