Adventures in Drool: Exercise for the future

Good morning droolers - today's blog is going to include both Adventures and Fitness Friday - can you dig it?

We celebrated Droolface's first birthday this weekend, and boy was it a great party. We feasted on chicken tacos, pineapple cupcakes and punch - and in the end, we all got naps!

The first birthday signifies the end of babyhood and the beginning of toddlerhood. While Droolface is not quite a toddler yet, per se, he is on the verge of walking. Walking then morphs into running, and then there will be nothing holding the little guy back.

Children are constantly growing and changing. It seems like every week they form a new opinion or learn a new trick. It is important to keep in touch with reality as day after day swirls past us on this rollercoaster of life. Some days, I just feel like it all goes so fast. Soon the little guy will be in school, and what do I really want for him to gain out of that schooling?

I tend to agree with our Sen. George Bunting, who is promoting more exercise in schools.

Here is a little story about Bunting's attempt at mandating school exercise programs:

Bunting wants 150 minutes of weekly exercise

Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach, said as his retirement approaches he is thinking more and more about the future.

Much of that future revolves around schools and children who will be taking the reins, Bunting said, but he also sees a lot of concerns in the future of today’s children.

“This will be the only generation of children that won’t outlive us,” Bunting said. “That’s because of obesity.”

Bunting pointed to statistics showing more and more school-age children are visiting A.I. duPont Children’s Hospital with diseases that used to only affect adults.

Legislation passed in the Senate earlier this month would require students to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week.

“I’ve been working on the issue of exercise in school since 2005,” said Bunting, who sponsored the Senate bill.

He worked with Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Middle Run Valley, to get a similar bill sponsored in the House. The House bill remains in committee, but Bunting said he is hopeful it will reach the floor for a vote before the legislative session ends.

“I am seeing lots of positive things with pilot schools increasing activity,” Bunting said. “But more schools need to get on because healthy children directly correlate to academic achievements.”

Bunting said activities like walking to the bus could count towards the 150-minute goal. He said children in America’s schools need to have higher goals and compete with children from other countries.

“The future is longer school days because of the world we are competing in,” Bunting said.

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I think he has a good point - we need to talk to our school administrators and get hard facts about what they intend to do to promote physical activity during the school day. But, as parents, we also need to promote healthy eating and exercise at home. It doesn't have to be walking the treadmill or running a mile - it could be fun outdoor activities with the family. Kick a ball around for an hour or get them excited about a game of tag - exercise can be fun.

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Quick recipe for your enjoyment:

Low-fat pineapple cupcakes: These are the best cupcakes you will ever have - well at least the best ones that don't include oil or excess sugar!

Combine one box of yellow cake mix with one can of crushed pineapple in juice. Mix well. Scoop into lined cupcake tins and bake according to the instructions on the box. (Note: I always bake them a bit longer because they can come out a bit soft.)

Enjoy!