Kids actually DO listen to me. I saw a 6-year-old girl for a check up who was somewhat overweight. As I was giving the mom the basic "you need to feed her healthy foods and get her to exercise more" talk I realized that it's easy to tell a parent to do this, but how do you actually get a CHILD to do it?

I had a brilliant idea. I'd try actually telling the child to get more exercise.

Now, does this mean get a health club membership and a personal trainer? Obviously not. What does exercise mean for a child? What can I get a child to do to burn off more calories? I told this child to take her mom and brother on a walk around the neighborhood every evening all summer long. I also made sure mom was listening, but I focused my attention on the child.

I often don't ever find out if such talks work, because by the time I see them again for a check up I've long since forgotten what I told them a year or two before.

But this mom gave me a call a couple weeks later to tell me that her child actually looked forward to her evening walks, and that they were enjoying the family time together.

Dr. Bob