To Your Health
by Ana Leurinda, M.D., F.A.A.F.P., Family Medicine Associates, LLC
Manual Not Included
—so keep it simple and consistent
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons
and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come
through you, but not from you, and though they are
with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give
them your love but not your thoughts, for they have
their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but
not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of
tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your
dreams. You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make
them like you.”
—KHALIL GIBRAN
Yes, before you know it, it’s here: the day you drop off
that first child at college for the first time. I remember
it well and I suddenly realized that I am just a steward, and what an awesome responsibility that is! As I
drove back, I remember going through the inevitable checklist
in my mind: Will he have a passion for excellence? Will he be
kind and empathetic? Will he cultivate physical, mental, and
spiritual fitness? Will he love the Lord? Will he floss his teeth?
That very day there were so many emotions happening at
the same time that I chose to humbly trust and embrace every
thought with faith, hope, love, and gratitude.
Everything starts at home. We begin the journey the day
the nurse hands us that beautiful newborn perfectly wrapped
in a hospital blanket. (That day you know you are in for a ride
when you attempt to rewrap that child in the same perfectly
wrapped blanket and it is never that perfect again!) Children
begin to forge their identities then, depending on us, their
parents, for much longer than any other mammal. And because
they don’t come with a manual, we must keep it simple but
consistent: pay attention to your self as a person first; expect
your kids to obey; lead by example; say no and say it often;
nurture your kid’s sense of responsibility; and be aware, assertive, accepting, affectionate, approachable, and alert.
From a doctor’s perspective, I recommend that you start
early feeding them healthy diets, encouraging daily exercise,
and having yearly check-ups with screening labwork. The
statistics are alarming and childhood obesity is a plague. Just
look at the numbers:
19% - percentage of 6- to 11-year-olds who were obese
in 2004 — up from 4% in 1971
32% - the percentage of kids who are overweight,
a recent plateau in the figures
90% - percentage of overweight children who have
at least one avoidable risk factor for heart disease
From Time Magazine, June 23, 2008 issue;
Source from: CDC Journal of American Medical Association and Children’s Hospital
As parents, we have only a short time to instill in our
children what they need for a healthy and successful life. Accept the challenge with me to do all you can to impart to your
children the building blocks they will need to be all they can
be and remember in the words of Gibran, “They come through
you, but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they
belong not to you.”b
