Sending your child to a summer weight loss camp was probably a difficult decision. An entire summer of camp can be expensive and parting with your child can be heart-wrenching. After such sacrifice on your behalf and that of your child’s, it’s imperative that you help your child transition from the camp experience to normal home life without leaving behind all that they’ve learned. By understanding the top reasons for failure of this important transition time, you can make sure that you won’t make the same mistakes.
1. Expecting Too Much
Realize that a child loses weight differently than a grown up. Because your child is still growing, a lot of weight "loss" is really allowing them to grow into their weight. The time they’ve spent at summer camp will have a greater long term impact than short term impact. Your child has probably lost weight while at camp, but don’t expect your child to run through that door at a perfectly healthy weight. This will take time.
2. Failing to Change
Your child has just spent the summer learning to eat properly and exercise. What have you done this summer? We all make mistakes and obviously, if your child is overweight or obese, there has to be reason for it. It can be difficult to assess this sometimes. We feel badly when we make parenting mistakes and sometimes, we just don’t want to accept fault for yet another thing. But your child’s future health depends on your ability to learn from your mistakes.
3. Failing to Provide a Healthy Kitchen
You need to make sure that your kitchen is in good shape for your child’s return. Get rid of the junk. Get rid of the refined carb’s such as white breads and pastas. Replace these items with healthful foods such as veggies, fruits and whole grain carbohydrates. Replace chips with seeds and nuts. Replace fattening treats like cookies with healthful sweet alternatives such as fruit. They’ve learned so much and have been working hard to retrain the way they eat. Don’t tempt them now with a pantry full of junk.
4. Being Too Strict
In the same breath as the above advice, make sure you don’t go too far the other direction. Though you don’t want your child eating crummy foods on a daily basis, it’s okay to have treats now and again. Hopefully, the camp counselors have done their job and helped your child to CHOOSE better foods, but it’s only natural that we all want something sinfully delicious now and again.
5. Encouraging Couch Potatoism
We’ve all been guilty a time or two of using the TV, computer or gaming system as a babysitter. Now’s the time to change all of that. It’s important that you provide continued activity opportunities for your child. Some of these activities can come in the form of individual time or time spent on a team or other organized class; however, this is also a good time to get the whole family moving. Take on an activity with your child. Maybe it’s a walk after dinner or a run in the morning. Whatever it is, make sure you make it enjoyable. Maybe the two of you can chit chat while you walk and catch up on all that you missed while they were at summer weight loss camp.
