We are wondering at the logic behind the decision made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to spend $193.5 million on trying to get kids to go outside and play. This is regarding the July 16 article titled, “Call to action from feds to kids: Get out and play.” Their idea of running a campaign of ads on the TV to encourage children to get up from in front of the TV to go outside and play seems like a good idea, but where do the children go play at?
Right now Washington is shutting down parks, charging for the use of the remainder parks and raising the taxes on everything else. We are a family of six, and for us to go to the Seattle zoo it would cost over $60 just to get in, not counting gas and food. To take the family swimming at the local swimming pool is $48, and the YMCA is $10 for 30 minutes. There is always the option of letting our children run around the streets and become either victims or statistics. For families that can’t afford the $5,000 a year health clubs, or the $500 per child for summer camp, we are left with very few choices.
The CDC could fund so many community pools, playgrounds, campsites and safe, free places for families to enjoy physical fitness. People are not made to be sedentary, but when it comes between paying the bills and going to the zoo for the day, the bills will always win. We don’t believe that the nation is obese because they want to be, but rather because of the almighty dollar. When some people can afford to spend thousands of dollars just for a weekend of skiing and the majority are lucky to pay the light bill, something is wrong with this picture.
With four growing boys, we spend over $800 a month on groceries. When trying to feed all these boys, do we spend $1.50 on a head of lettuce that will only feed three of us or do I buy the four boxes of mac-n-cheese that can be made into a meal to feed all of us? We know we are not the only ones with these dilemmas, otherwise why would the feds be willing to dish out millions to try to get people to lose weight? It’s kind of like the DARE program: it sounds good, but will it really get to the problem?
There isn’t much in the community unless you can afford the $100 uniform for the local league or join a church, which isn’t everyone’s choice. We’ve been fortunate that in the past the Stanwood V.F.W. has helped us with gas vouchers so we could take our boys to the state park to play on the beach and run. Now that the parks charge, that is no longer possible. Where do the families of the working-class go to enjoy the outdoors and get exercise without getting into debt?
Chris Little, Taylor Forbes, Nick Little, Johnny Little
Camano Island
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