's Motd Wed Feb 13, 2008

[Guest guest]

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

It seems a day doesn't go by that I don't talk with the mother or father of an overweight child. Honestly, they send me E-mails that sometimes just about make me bawl!They tell me how hard it is for their child to go through a weight-gain. They tell me about the doctors and therapists they've taken their children to see. They've had meetings with their child's teacher at school. Truth is, they have exhausted just about every possibility in an effort to help their children lose weight and get healthy.Many parents also tell me how much money they've spent on their child's weight problem. I have picked up the phone on many, many occasions to talk to some of these parents. And last Sunday, on my radio show, I spoke to this really wonderful lady and mom. And, yes, her son needed to lose quite a bit of weight. He was only 10 years-old.She told me that she was trying very hard to help him but that she had a weight problem, too. I asked if I could talk to her son. When he got on the phone, it was immediately obvious to me what a smart and great kid he was. He told me that he was really trying and that he had been exercising with his mother. But he also admitted to me that he had put on a couple of pounds, recently. To get some idea of how he was eating, I asked what he'd had for breakfast that morning. He told me that he and his Mom had breakfast at a family restaurant called Bob Evan's.And what did you have at Bob Evan's, I asked?He told me, I had an omelet, two sausage patties and biscuits with gravy.Oh, oh. After our little talk, I asked to speak to his mother again. There was a moment of silence when she came back to the phone. And then she admitted to me, I know...that was not a good choice for his breakfast this morning, was it ?Well, of course it wasn't! But I could hear the sadness and even a little guilt in her voice as she posed that question of me. From the mouth of her babe had come the truth. You see, she was rewarding her son and attempting to make him feel good with food. And let's be honest, she was not setting the best example for her son by doing that. Even though she loves him with every molecule of her body.She promised me she would do better, for both of them and that she would give me a call soon to let me know how much better they were doing. And I do believe that after our conversation, she's really gonna do her best to work with her son as they walk down a healthier path of life...together!Isn't it time you walked down a healthy path with your babes?Love,