Jack Truman for U.S. Congress
Missouri
4th Congressional District
Are you ready for a radical idea?
It's time for a political revolution.
The times need to change. Now. For our children. For the future of our country and the world.
Today's culture is going to hell in a handbasket. It's steadily been deteriorating over the last 30 years. And not getting any better. There's been an epidemic building worldwide over the last 30 years.
And it all comes down to our children's health.
These last 3 decades, Childhood Obesity has been building and building, and nothing's being done about it. Money has been being thrown to the wind for research, studies, and big corporations and organizations, and nothing has been done to help change and reverse the problem.
And you know what the problem is?
It's today's culture. And today's technology.
This has been going on for a long time. It seems to have started around the millennium. When cell phones, computers and reality shows took off. Especially over these last 20 years, this current generation has never known anything else.
How have things changed?
Over these 30 plus years, schools have limit or eliminated physical activity in the schools. There's very limited free play for children, by placing locks, having strict rules or having money play a factor with what used to be considered 'free' playing. Having corporations, business and special interest groups with clear agendas, who's products or services are proven to be contributing factors to the rising rate of Childhood Obesity, to line government with money so they have them in their pocket. And to not use facilities and activity centers for free play. This is just a start to the many problems.
We didn't have this problem when I was growing up in the 1970's and '80's. It was a simpler time. I had access to regular gym classes in school. School sports teams had games that actually ran through the entire year. There were physical activities at school all the time where colorful badges were given out for physical fitness programs. Places like tennis courts did not have padlocks on them. Schools did not have vending machines. You were able to go home for lunch and eat something healthy because lunch was longer than 20 minutes. In grade school, you were able to walk freely to school at 8, 9, 10 years old without the need of any protection. There was more free, creative playing rather than 'paid' organized sports for the kids.
How the times have changed. And not for the better.
Obesity is as much about what you eat as what you exercise.
The fight against Childhood Obesity must start by 2 years old. A new policy by the Child Health and Development Institute says the best way to fight things like this is to "require action in a child's earliest year - from birth to 2."
Instead of spending and throwing money into obesity camps and other things, let's look and enforce legislation that can actually make changes :
Impose dietary restrictions and minimum physical activity requirements on child care centers, preschools and elementary schools.
Help child care centers follow federal nutrition guidelines
Provide infants and toddlers with minimum times to be physically active every day
Implement enforcement of blocking 'Screen time' to younger children: Never permitting a baby or toddler to passively watch a TV, computer, cell phone or other screen that older children in the same room are watching
Require physical activity among young schoolchildren
Educate soon to be parents on how to feed their children, beginning at pregnancy
Bring back something like Home Economics so children have some understanding of food
These are some changes we can start with to reverse the epidemic of Childhood Obesity in America.
It's time for some radical changes. We need to go back to some basic things that worked in the good old days. Only by going back can we begin to solve the problem that has moved forward.
Jack Truman for U.S. Congress
Missouri
4th Congressional District
