Parental Control

This morning I was talking with some of my classmates before the bell, and one guy was complaining about his boss. He kept talking about how he was such a horrible guy, and his main example was this: 

His daughter, instead of being grounded, was being forced to run a certain number of miles. My classmate went on to say that the father forced all of his kids to stay active in sports whether they wanted to or not. 

This was my response: "Good!"

The classmate seemed shocked that I would support the father's actions in forcing their kids to do a sport, or punish them with physical activity. Maybe I'm callous, but I think that's one of the best parenting strategies that I've seen. 

Some people may say that making decisions like that for your kids is unfair or cruel, but I simply see it as a parental role. It's not a parent's job to be liked, it's to raise their kids to be the best people they can possibly be, and if that means you have to make most of your kids decisions until they're legal adults, so be it. As someone who has struggled to get their eating and exercising under control, I see health and fitness as a vital piece in making you the best that you can be. 

I don't want my kids to end up like this.

My classmate countered by saying, "But what if the kids grow up and rebel by dropping all the sports and rules their parents forced on them?"

That's their responsibility. Parenting can only go so far, once you're an adult, you have the control, and that includes the responsibilities of choosing between an apple and a Twinkie ( or a trip to the gym vs. an all day Jersey Shore marathon). 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I ever have kids, I fully intend to keep them involved in some sort of physical activity. I can only hope that they take those skills and keep them once they're out on their own.