The cereal companies are now trying to make children's breakfast cereals seem healthy. General Mills has changed everything to be whole grain, but Kellogg's seems to have just changed its box. Pachelbel brought home some Frosted Flakes the other day. The box lists 3 benefits on the front: energy, vitamins & minerals (10), and fat free.
The back has a grid of activities kids can do to "Get Active!" You earn tiger stripes for completing them. For instance, you get five points if you unplug your video game system, five stripes for eating fruits and vegetables at a meal, and 10 stripes for juggling a soccer ball 4-5 times in a row. The goal that really stands out is "Do 25 pullups." 25 pullups is hard even for a hunk! You do get 5 points for each pull up though.
If I were a kid trying to earn those points, I would unplug my video game system several times throughout the day. Do you lose points for plugging it back in?
ReplyDeleteYou get 5 stripes for every day that it is unplugged. Five stripes for every day you don't watch tv. Five stripes if you swim with a friend for an hour. Five stripes for singing the "Mighty Tigers" song and Five stripes for teaching someone else the song. You can get 10 stripes for other things.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember my old-time slang correctly, a "stripe" is a term for a lash of a whip. Maybe Frosted Flakes should tell kids that if they don't do 25 pull ups, they'll get 5 lashes for each they miss.