Keep her happy – with Apple slices!

I have just come from Easter Sunday service this morning and have something remarkable to share with you.

On these big occasions I do go to Church – but did not expect to see so special that has inspired me to ask this little girl’s photograph!

I was sitting near a mom whose little girl was busy playing with her crayons drawing numbers and figures. As expected in these situations, the little girl was soon bored and was becoming restless. Instead of giving her sweets or chocolate, mom pulled out a polythene bag of apple slices and grapes.

I was most astounded by this, for several reasons. First and foremost, the little girl seemed very happy with the offer and settled into munching and continued drawing her pictures once more. The second surprise, this being Easter and chocolate goodies aplenty, I would have expected a bar of chocolate to be first offer. Third surprise was that the little girl did not even grumble. She sort of expected nothing less!

This experience struck me deeply, because here was a mom showing me a clear example that children can be encouraged to like and eat fruit. I am sure she is not alone, but honestly this is the first time I have seen a little child with goodie bag of fruit not sweets? How many have you seen in your neck of the woods?

Only a few days ago, a research study from the Ohio State University published a study showing that about 20% of 4 year olds in USA are already obese! Highest rates were found among American Indian - 31.2%, Hispanics 22%, blacks 21%, whites 16% while only 13% of Asians are obese.

This sad state of affairs is certainly not confined to the US, as many studies have shown rising prevalence of obesity in children and adults. The question is what we do about it? I think the little girl I saw this morning provides some idea about how we can address the challenges that we face. She made a choice…a goody bag of fruit for her children. May be we have something to learn from her example.