Thursday, Jun. 11, 2009
Physical Fitness
Physicality is a fraught subject in adolescence. While fitness and weight maintenance are crucial for disease prevention, putting too much emphasis on physical appearance — especially when so many teens already feel insecure and dissatisfied with how they look — could trigger unhealthy body-image issues. One way to make sure kids log off the computer or video-game console and get their minimum recommended one hour of physical activity per day is to encourage participation in organized sports — which is also a great way to foster self-esteem and teamwork. But Weitzman cautions that sports should be primarily for the kids' satisfaction, not the parents'.