Why Johnny is obese. Let's follow a day in the life of a nine-year-old boy:

Johnny wakes up and asks for a sugary cereal for breakfast because the TV commercial was so appealing. It was an easy selection for his mom, as the cereal box was poised directly at eye level of his three-year old brother sitting in the shopping cart. And there's a chance to win a really cool prize.

After breakfast, his mom drives him to school even though they live 5 short blocks away. It's just easier and faster.

While at school, Johnny no longer gets to play at recess. The school had to cut back since they needed more time for math.

During lunch Johnny eats pizza, fries, and a sugary juice, even though this contradicts the lessons he learned about the new food pyramid.

After school his mom picks him again by car, even though it is a beautiful spring day. Johnny doesn't want to walk home because he is afraid of the kids that often tease him about his weight.

In the car ride home, Johnny's three-year-old brother points to the fast-food signs signaling to his mom that he wants a snack. Even though the toddler can't yet read, he can easily distinguish the logos for Burger King and McDonald's. The toy prize given away with the kids' meal coincides with that great new movie they saw last weekend.

Johnny changes into his little league uniform but at the game, he spends most of his time standing in the outfield or sitting on the bench. The brief warm-up was the closet he comes to physical activity that afternoon.

When the game is over, the team mom provides microwave pizza and soda, which after all, is the fun in coming to the game.

Johnny has stopped asking if he can go outside and play because he knows the answer – No, it isn't safe. Anyway, no one plays outside anymore. Even if they did, they are so accustomed to organized sports they wouldn't know how to start a pick up game of baseball.

He eats his prepared dinner alone on a tray in front of the TV. His mom is putting the baby to bed and dad had to work late, again – it's ok, he is used to that. In fact the only time the family seems to sit down and have dinner together is when they have company over.

Later that evening he plays an online computer game which rewards him points for all the cookies he could dunk. When his mother finally lures him away from the computer he has a desire for milk and cookies, before bed.

If you can relate to any of these issues, listen to our experts discuss solutions in our Park Bench audio broadcast.

You can also see read about our experts, and learn about some wonderful resources by Discovering Free Reports and printing Park Bench – Are We Feeding Our Children to Death?

As always, we would love to hear your stories. Please send them to stories@parentalwisdom.com

As the summer progressed (quickly), I realized that my very busy five year old needed something to keep her occupied. Going to the pool twice a week and regular play days just weren't enough for her.

A mom from school had mentioned the U.K. Elite soccer camps to me months ago. I had looked into it at the time, but didn't do anything with it. So when I started researching camps for Emma, they were one of the first I went to, and as luck would have it, there was a session scheduled for the end of July. And luckier still, there were openings when I called even though it was less than a month away, so I signed her up. (I also signed her up for a science camp- because Emma loves all things science/nature- but it got canceled. Such a bummer!)

I could go on and on about how wonderful the program was (I tend to get wordy!). The entire experience was fantastic. The coach was amazing, and had such patience with this very active group of 3-5 year olds. And I was very pleased with the focus on the actual skills of the sport, rather than a group of kids just running around with a soccer ball or a lot of competition.

On the last day, he lined them up, called each of them up to the front to shake their hands, give them their patch, and tell them what a great job they did. It was awesome to see how proud my little girl was. She loves soccer, and she concentrated so hard all week to do just what the coach was showing the group.

I'm amazed at how content she is now that she had that one week of organization and schedule. While I thought I was doing her a favor just letting her lounge and play as she pleased, Emma was missing the structure of school. Go figure! I suppose I should enjoy that before she starts complaining about school and begging me to stay home every day! These kids never stop surprising me!!!