When I was a kid  the prevailing wisdom was that children should be seen but not heard. (look how THAT worked out Ha!)  But in truth, the last thing we thought we could do was give advice or encouragement to our parents.  That’s no longer the case and in fact some say if you need motivation –like for sticking to a diet - you may just want to ask your child for encouragement.

A new study finds that mothers of children specially trained to act as "change agents" of their family's lifestyle lost more weight over a year compared to a control group of moms.

Between 2012 and 2014, researchers recruited 250+ mothers of eighth-graders. Half of the students were taught to identify chronic disease factors in their parents, such as smoking and inactivity, and develop ideas to change the behaviors, assisted by facilitators. Those students then encouraged their parents to take action.

The other group of students didn't receive any training. On average, mothers of the trained students lost close to four pounds, while mothers of the non-trained students gained nearly two pounds.

So inspiration from the mouths of babes, or at least teens and if it works, raise their allowance! (Wall St. Journal)

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