First, mom and dad need to know where they fit in equation to success. Parents cannot be primary motivator. If a kid is not self-motivated to be on field or in gym early and often, I would say he does not have what it takes. No matter how hard a parent pushes, kids will ultimately change only if their heart is committed. A parent must be primary encourager, not a micro-managing know-it-all. Too many parents try to implement their own agendas in their child’s lives as opposed to providing guidelines, guardrails, and “good-jobs” along way.

Today's kids are technologically smarter than we were at their age, but in some homes technology seems to have taken control of our children's lives. Many parents don't realize underlying effect it's having on their children's health.

Hardly a day goes by that we don't hear a news report on childhood obesity. With our children coming home from school, sitting in front of computer or spending time playing video games it's no wonder obesity is on rise. This being said, there is another problem that many parents may be overlooking.

Each year, reports pertaining to number of bone fractures in children are made public. Each year, those numbers rise. Some reports attribute increase in broken bones to an overload of sugar from too much soda. This may indeed be a contributing factor, but I believe improper calcium balance may be real cause.

Calcium balance is particularly important in our childhood years when we are growing. Over 98% of calcium is found in our bones and teeth. Our bodies rely on vitamin D and weight bearing exercise to help keep calcium levels intact. Weight bearing exercise includes any activity in which your feet and legs carry your own weight. Some good examples include:

* Walking * Running * Jumping Rope * Dancing * Climbing Stairs * Jogging * Aerobic Dancing * Hiking * Inline Skating/ice skating * Racquet sports * Team Sports such as soccer, Basketball, field hockey, volleyball and softball or baseball. These are a few of exercises that can help to build strong bones. Staying in house and playing video baseball, instead of hitting a real Little League home run, is robbing our children of sunlight.