CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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Children will learn that there is a big responsibility involved with taking care of themselves. The workshops are designed to give older children and young adults an opportunity to take over the responsibility of their own health and weight management. They will learn that the things they do while they are still young will effect how they look and feel when they get older. The things they do now may even determine how long they live.
When children become armed with this knowledge, it will be up to them to start making the right choices for themselves.
The boot camp is a resource for parents and kids. It consists of several topics for discussion that you may find online at skipaday.com. You may copy, rewrite, and modify the workshop material for your particular needs. Also, you may build on Obesity Boot Camp in designing your own boot camp for kids.
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To conduct workshops, choose a facilitator who can guide the discussion and keep the group on track. Small group workshops of about ten to twelve people will give everyone a chance speak and respond to comments. The groups can be mixed with both parents and children or they can be just parent or just children with an adult facilitator. The goals of the discussion should be to give the children an up-close and personal look at themselves, from the point of view of other children and adults. This will let everyone there know that overweight children are just like everyone else. They care about being overweight, and they are sensitive about how they look. They notice when people are staring, teasing, or talking behind their backs. Also, the group will learn that being overweight is not the child’s fault. It is generally the parents’ fault. When a facilitator brings the facts out in a discussion, parents might admit that they should do a better job of managing their children’s diet and health.
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The facilitator may guide the discussion by asking questions and keeping the group focused. Otherwise, things will get off track. The facilitator can use questions that give both parents and children an opportunity to talk and express their feelings on different subjects.
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Facilitator Managed Group Discussion
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Sample Discussion Starters:
Facilitator speaking to the group:
* We are having this discussion regarding children who are overweight because we want to find solutions to the problems and you can help. We want to show that people, who are overweight, are just like everyone else. I want to get the point across that overweight kids are regular boys and girls.
* I will be asking questions of each of you and giving you a chance to add to the discussion with your comments. That way we will get to know how you feel about the issue of obesity in children and what we can do about it.
* Before we get started, let’s get to know each other. We will go around the table (room) and give each of you a chance to introduce yourselves and tell us what you enjoy doing for fun.
* Optional: Tell us what you like about school and what you would like to do when you grow up: doctor, lawyer, dentist, teacher, fireman, actor, or police officer.
*Since this discussion is about overweight children, I will ask you some questions directly in regards to being overweight. Also, if you are not overweight, I will ask you similar questions regarding overweight children you may know. I will also ask parents questions related to their own children or other children they know.
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1. How does being overweight bother you?
2. Is being overweight a problem for you?
3. Is your weight a problem for other people with whom you come into contact?
4. Do you think there is a problem with being overweight?
5. How do you think you got to be overweight in the first place?
6. What are your favorite foods?
7. What are your least favorite foods?
8. If you could lose all of your excess weight and get down to your correct size, what would you do to keep the weight off?
9. If you could give a message to other young children to help keep them from getting overweight, what would you tell them?
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Questions for Parents
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1. Is it easy to say no to your children when it comes to giving them what they want?
2. Do you have a clear enough understanding about nutrition to make the best food choices for yourself and your children?
3. Would you be willing to learn what it takes and try it with your children if it means better health for them?
4. If you could start over in manager your children’s weight, what would you do differently?
5. When given a choice, what type of food do your children choose food that is healthy or unhealthy?
6. Do you think children would refuse to eat and holdout until they get what they want?
7. Do thank that if you sat down and had a long talk with your children about making the right food choices that they would understand and cooperate?
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