Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Fitness

I always get a kick out of those fitness articles, like this one in Newsweek, which tries to tell you how to help your kids develop life-long fitness habits. They always leave out the most important advice. They are:
  • stop using the car so much
  • and take the stairs
We manage without a car, using public transportation mostly, at least when it's an option. I know that many places don't have public transportation. My parents don't, and I guess that spending my adolescence in Great Neck was such a nightmare, partially because I was dependent on rides.

It's important to walk places with your kids, as a norm, not for fitness. I remember when my youngest started nursery school, he was under three, being a November baby, and the class was a good mile away, down hill. There was organized transport to get there in the morning, but not to go home. And yes, he walked home with his siblings and friends. All the kids here in Shiloh used to walk such distances without even thinking about it. There were fewer cars then. Today I see lots of cars lined up by the school dropping kids off, even though the school is now in the middle of Shiloh, so much closer to everyone than years ago. You'd think you were in the U. S. suburbs. It's sad.

But at least here, kids walk by themselves to visit friends. "Play dates," organized and chauffeured by parents aren't necessary. I love seeing kids, and adults, taking all sorts of short cuts, up and down mountain paths, something unheard of in the civilized suburbs abroad. One certainly doesn't need a dog for an excuse or protection to walk here, bli eyin haraa, don't tempt the "evil eye."

And of course, not having elevators means that we take the stairs.

This is all the natural fitness that can last for life, especially if it's encouraged as fun and normal, rather than fitness.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of the problems in the US is that suburbs seem to be designed to discourage walking. I can walk from my house to the edge of our development, but to get to any stores, I have to walk along a high-speed highway which, at places, has no sidewalk. I like to walk during my lunch hour at work, but walking to the nearby Target, I become a target for drivers since, again - no sidewalk - I have to walk along the shoulder of the road. :(

Toto said...

I think the society geared towards walking has a lot to do with how we age as well.........compare the older people I've seen riding a bus into town in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and walking the few blocks to their apartment with the people who retire in Florida....the most walking my grandparents do these days is to the car and back. Oh, and maybe the stroll in the pool now and again.

I'm actually looking forward to being a family of only one car....it will be a long shot from my mini-van life, but to me, it's part of the whole package that intrigues me about living in Israel!

...Enjoying your blog.....
~S.

Batya said...

It really is worth making an effort ot walk as much as possible. Thanks for your comments!