Mini Elliptical Me: Kid-Sized Gym Equipment?
The childhood obesity epidemic might be tapering, but it is still an important public-health issue. People are trying to figure out how to conquer the problem by downsizing adult exercise equipment. Sized for kids, gym equipment, such as treadmills and ellipticals created in child-friendly colors, have made their way onto the market. Parents can buy these expensive gadgets for home use or send their children to a gym that offers kids fitness programs.
While I'm all for kids being healthy and learning to love exercise early on in life, I'm not sure this is the way to approach this issue. My girls like playing school, ballet performance and soccer, but they never play "let's go to the gym." What happened to kids biking or playing a lively game of tag? And are team sports just not cool anymore? I'm worried that this focus on fitness will take the fun out of exercise, so kids will eventually shy away from it. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
