The Weakening of the American Teenager.

Here we go. On any given day teenagers across the U.S. spend an enormous amount of time sitting and staring at technology. This is happening during their peak physical and mental development state. If they can’t get activity in now and build a base, they are being set up for a lifetime of pain and struggle. Think about it. Hopefully, if you’re reading this and you’re over 30. You remember riding your bmx bike with one speed so many miles it would make most kids now days cry. It was a blast, didn’t matter how far or how many trips to the store, park, etc. All that mattered was when dinner was. Down time was rather rare. Go out and explore. If you sat around you would be bored out of your mind. There were pickup games of various sports happening at the local parks. Groups of bikes laid in the grass and all sorts of fun was going on.

Now you go to a park and most likely it’s parents with toddlers, but by the time a kid is old enough to bike out on their own, they are old enough to have a phone. That’s where it starts. There’s too many distractions on those devices. Lots of posting and consuming of information. Comparing possessions and filters as opposed to actually enjoying the day. I know I sound old and come off as the “when we were kids” type of parent but I’m being honest that the generations are getting lazier than ever before.

I have a client that’s an emergency physician and a pediatrician and she has NEVER, EVER seen such a plague of Type II Adult Onset Diabetes in children as young as 11. That is not good. This is a disease that shouldn’t be seen until people’s late 50’s/60’s. I will happily admit I don’t have the same grit as my dad’s generation that grew up on a farm and can still outwork me at 70 years old. Motivation station right there. That generations capacity to dig in, and their exposure to tough times made them absolute machines. Chores weren’t chores. It’s what they had to do to help 6 brothers and sisters get by because their dad had passed away early and the work had to get done.

We have it better than ever before but to a point of our own detriment. Manual labor has been frowned upon as that was something considered to be for those that didn’t go for the extra education.

Hard work pays off and the body has been built to adapt to those that put in the work. Young humans adapt extremely well and setting up a solid foundation will change their atitiude, self esteem, work ethic, and athletic ability as long as they are able to move.