On any given day, children in the urban cities can be seen eating potato chips, hot-flaming or slurping on a twenty-cent flavored drink early in the morning as they make their way to school with their classmates, their siblings or their parents. Every week as I go to work, I see these children and inside I wonder why are so many of our children eating so unhealthy. I know we live in a different time and place where parents are getting younger and younger by the day. I grew up in a time where we simply did not focus on the "hurry up and go" mentalities that many of the children now subscribe to. There is no time for eating a sit down meal with parents or even enjoying the food with siblings, because I guess many children are dealing with broken homes that simply have over-worked parents, grandparents, and stressed siblings who just want to "hurry up" and shove some quick food down the throats of younger children. I wonder what happened to the relaxing attitude of taking time to eat properly among our children.

As a provider of many youth programs, I have seen nutrition become the backseat to social problems and personal issues of the youth I either teach or counsel. Many of the children I serve live in homes where their parents have tight budgets, and they are not eating the proper foods because of economics and the lack of knowledge. I have clients who simply don’t enjoy vegetables and tell me that they like their pops and chips, and it is fulfilling to them. Some of the youth do not focus on eating at all. They stuff their faces with food quickly in between classes, part-time jobs, or before leaving the house. They eat a lot. I mean a lot! I have one client who is only thirteen years old and 180 lbs. She’s a cutie, but I remember when I was in my twenties and 180 lbs. It was because I was eating unhealthy. But at thirteen, you have to ask yourself why? The strategy her parent has is not working. Her mom tries to keep her from overeating and her cutoff point for eating is at 6 pm daily. However, it is the things that she is consuming on a daily basis (when she’s not at home) that is the major factor. I am sure her mom means well with the restrictions; unfortunately, my client is not thinking about eating properly. Her body craves the quick things that seem to be fulfilling.

I think the main thing a lot of the children are dealing with is a lack of family time at the dinner table. I grew up during a time where the family sat down and ate together. Meat was not pushed as much as the modified diet that included portion control. My mom did not have "Little Debbies" or "Jays" sitting in the house. We nibbled on fresh fruit, nuts, and other things. We ate a lot of vegetables. The current dinner table in any urban home may not be of a modified diet, but more of things that contain a lot of carbohydrates like pizza, "hot pockets", spaghetti, fried chicken, salty sandwich meat, lots of bread, and any thing with salt like fried potatoes. Many children do not get a chance to sit down with their parents and eat. Or the family goes to the local McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeyes, or the local greasy joint to grab a combo of hamburger and fries with a pop.

Economics play a huge part in this issue with our urban kids and the family. A lot of families simply don’t have the money to eat properly or need help in learning how to budget their money so they can learn to eat right. My last grocery bill was $69.00 and that was for me only. The groceries I purchased were 80% vegetables, whole foods and grains with 10% being meat, and 10% dairy products. Imagine if you had a family of four and how much that bill would end up being. I know it is cheaper to eat the fatty foods and more expensive to eat properly. A lot of families in the urban areas are dealing with a cash crisis which might force them to eat the cheapest thing on the market… not the more healthier one.

I am hoping that there will be more focus from all of us to be aware of what we put in our bodies, and help our children to focus on their health by providing a way from them to enjoy their meals. The fast food mentality will fatten our bodies and souls in ways that will cost us more later on. More money because of health problems. More money for clothes we wear. More issues with our self-image and body. I am praying that we will all try to be more conscious of the fact that we are all responsible for helping maintain our communities by teaching our children how to be healthy. If it takes one child at a time, then so be it. We can’t complain about the McDonalds, KFC’s, and other fast food chains or local grocery stores if we continue to buy the foods that will fatten our babies. I‘m not saying it’s wrong to eat at these places. I’m just saying we need to unlock this fast food mentality, and try to teach our children how to be responsible with what they put in their bodies. The key to anything is moderation.

Be healthy. Be well.

Pam Osbey