Busing sucks in more ways than one

Occasionally something will happen that makes it easier for me to understand another. As I watched television the other evening, I heard a report that talked about how our children were more obese now than ever before. The report went on to talk about fast food contributions, lack of fitness programs in our public schools, alcohol consumption on the rise and the basic lack of regard our children have toward this problem. That lack of regard starts to decrease and they begin to take their out of shape bodies and rotund figures seriously, as they approach and enter their teen years. Unfortunately, for many it is too late to correct the bad habits already ingrained. By the time they start to worry and feel rejected by their peers some are full-fledged alcoholics. Others are so out of shape they find it almost impossible to make themselves buckle down and begin a serious work out regimen. Some have learned eating habits that are as bad as a drug addiction and just as hard to shake. I realize this problem must be addressed first at home. Only with parental aide can society begin to help.
Now to the event that gave me a little insight into how society contributes to rather than helps solve this ever-growing problem. As I drove to work I got behind a couple of school buses. They would stop, pick up a couple of school children, then go less than a 5th of a mile before stopping and picking up a few more. This went on for a couple of miles until the buses finally turned into a housing area where, I’m sure; they basically picked the kids up at their door. I’m not going to get into the old “I walked five miles up hill both ways to school” adage. However, if we have a problem with these kids weight and their exercise regime it would only make sense we could at least expect them to walk a portion of a mile and catch the bus at a designated stop. This would give them a small amount of exercise in the morning and afternoons and would save money on fuel for the buses as well. Sometimes we do our children a disservice by trying to give them more than they need.