^^^^^I just can't blame screens. It seems to be the scapegoat for obesity but really just don't think it's a valid cause. I don't think it is the exception here. I just don't think screens make people as fat as some say.

I just don't see sports as really adequate exercise as a whole really, especially heavily organized "team" sports. I just don't think it's the most efficient way to keep kids healthy.

Well those are other issues right there. lol But I hear of people getting up even earlier than that. IMO, it's ridiculous. Our culture is oversportsed. I don't know anybody who doesn't have a kid active in sports. Frankly, I think the obesity problem isn't solved by kicking a soccerball, and it isn't solved by turning off the TV. It's great that you keep your son active. But I think the main problem is parents not parenting.

I have to agree with you that a big part of it is parents not parenting. But where we have to agree to disagree is where to place a high degree of blame for obesity. Since everyone and their mother is into sports in your area, I have to say that your area is way different than mine. Your argument about diet is spot on, but diet changes alone don't mean shit. My son will come in at noon, and even if I serve pizza or something else that is high in fat and calories (not the norm here, btw), he will have two pieces and be on his way. Other kids who park their tails in front of screens are going to eat more and not burn it off by working the remote. Doesn't matter if it is a sandwich and a fruit salad (more the norm here at lunch)...he eats to get full not to veg in front of the tv and munch.

But what I would really love for you to recognize is that a big part of parents not parenting is parents not getting active with their kids. Or at minimum, encouraging the kids to be active. In my day, (I am 34) we did not have computer, video games and cable. We went outside at eight or nine in the morning and only came in to eat and when it got dark. And so many less kids were overweight then. These days, countless kids spend days off in front of screens, and many boast a larger waist line because of it.

Given my age, you can believe me that I have many friends with children. And I have seen with my own eyes the way kids get chubby when they are allowed to be screen addicts. More often than not the kids are chubby.

^^^^That is because you don't let him. And in all honesty, a half hour at the kitchen table or a half hour in front of the TV burn the same calories. So again, it's not the TV specifically that is the culprit. If parents let their kids watch TV nonstop, they are the problems, not the TV. Maybe parents should spend time WITH their children instead of making the TV the child's key choice in relaxation.

I wouldn't say they boast a larger waistline because of it. I agree it's the parents' fault for not getting active with their kids. You can't rely on the neighborhood to babysit your kid. You can't send them outside and tell them to play and expect them to be healthy. Parents have to do the heavy lifting. Again, it's not TV, its lack of parenting.

And a healthy does make a big world of difference. All things the same, consuming better foods will make you loose weight. Increase activity level, the weight loss increases. TV is not to blame for obesity, lack of parenting is. Why are kids in front of the TV so long? Because parents aren't parenting. You can't just ban the TV either, you need to get active in helping them stay healthy.

So I think blaming the TV is blaming the symptom, not the problem. I think blaming screens only makes the problem worse because it ignores the source of the problem. Not parenting is the problem, and it is THE problem for the activity side of the equation(food is the other). Blaming the TV or the computer is passing the buck. If parents decided to be parents(which goes beyond just turning off the TV), kids would be skinnier cause they would be more active.

Side note: I find it hilarious we're bashing TV on an internet website that prominently discusses TV. _

I must not have gotten my point across as well as I hoped. No, I don't blame inanimate objects on weight issues among kids. Obviously, if parents don't allow it, it won't be. I thought that was implied.

To quote myself, "And I have seen with my own eyes the way kids get chubby when they are allowed to be screen addicts. More often than not the kids are chubby."

I guess what I am feebly accomplishing to get you to see is that the kids who partake in too much screen time are less active, hence less fit and thin, then the kid into sports. I am not arguing the reason for that. My argument is in support of organized sports being a great thing for kids because it keeps them moving.

I say with a kind heart, that you seem anti-organized sports. I don't disrespect that if it is true. I have many friends who feel as such. Though, many of them have their children compete in individualized sports to keep them active.

What may surprise you is that I was in a debate with my son's pediatrician about five years ago regarding television. He said that any child should only be allowed 30 minutes per day of television watching, not to exceed four hours per week. I challenged him on that as my son watched a couple hours a week of TV just in his own sport's footage for training purposes (per my son's request, and not forced on him). Also, him being within earshot of my morning news was to be factored in to the weekly total. I told him that was being idealistic.

You are right that it is funny that we are debating the merits of television among a group that enjoys our shows! I do love my shows, for certain, and would be better served to spend less time online and in front of the tube. But that is why I go to the Y and also bike, play tennis and basketball with my son.

My better half has a physically demanding job and when he is finished with his long day, he more often than not, will be in front of the TV when work and taking our son riding is done for the day. He is not overweight, but I don't think he is heart healthy as he should be, given a history of heart problems. I would like to see him ride bikes or go the gym with me. So, as much as I am an advocate for people doing sports, I also live with someone who is on the other side of it, to a point. He feels that his work is enough for him, and I feel it is not.

^^^^I think the idea that it keeps them moving is really an illusion. I personally think they'd get more exercise playing than organized sports. I also think organized sports makes kids a slave to it's stupid schedules. And while you're right about kids who spend all day in front of the TV being less active, the same is true who kids who spend all day reading, writing, and doing arithmetic.(And playing piano, and studying Biology) So again, I don't blame the screen.

Yes, I am very against organized sports, as against it as everybody against organized religion is against that. (And to prove I am consistent, you won't ever find me watching sports on TV. Vegetating in front of the TV watching other people violently exercise with each other over a ball has never appealed to me. ) I'd rather give me kids a ball and have them just kick it around than put them in an organized sports routine. Never did see the appeal to it at all.(Plus it's a pain to have their cars crowding the streets around a football field, or see them all sitting out there on a dangerously hot day running around, which itself isn't that healthy)

Pediatricians are always very anti-TV. It's their job. They'd rather hear my son was sexually active at age twelve(as long as he's wearing a condom ) than hear he watched a movie that was 2 hours. *cue horror movie scream The war against TV is ridiculous, IMO. If you're active enough and eat right, it won't wear you out. I don't have cable so there isn't anything on to watch for me let alone a kid all day. The idea of kids watching TV so much I think is largely an illusion based on my own experiences. They keep lowering the recommended hours to make the little TV the kid does watch seem like too much. Pulease.

It's even funnier when they tell you to watch less TV on television morning shows. OKAY!

I don't think overworking yourself will help your heart either. But it is easier to stay healthy when you aren't going it alone. I agree that we need to be active but I think we gotta stop making the television the excuse why we aren't.