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I was listening to NPR this morning as I drove to the gym. One story caught my attention - the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has committed $500 million to fighting childhood obesity.

This is a foundation that has previously focused on anti-smoking initiatives and the nationwide rollout of 9-1-1 emergency numbers. It really speaks to me that health care professionals think fighting obesity in children is that serious. So I'm super-excited about this!

Even when I was in school, gym was a joke. But at least we walked to school - and pretty much everywhere else. Somehow, over the last 20 years or so, we've reduced physical activity in schools and we've increased the number of kids who take busses to school and get driven around everywhere by parents - presumably in the name of safety, but still - what's more likely? That an obese kid become an obese teenager who becomes an obese adult with a ton of obesity-related health problems, or that a kid gets kidnapped off the street while walking to school?

I know that I encourage my kids to be active, but I also know I'm a bit nutty about physical activity. One thing I do plan to do when my kids are a little older is let them - and expect them! - to walk and bike places they want to go. We're fortunate to live in a neighborhood with quiet streets. The Boy's best friend lives just over half a mile away. There are no major streets to cross (and only three small ones), and this summer, when he's seven, I'm going to let him bike or walk to her house.

I plan to test him with some spy tactics: I'll drive down to the corners where I know he'll be crossing, park my car where he can't see me, and watch in my rear-view mirror to be sure he looks both ways and crosses safely. I'll also make sure he sticks to the main road (there's a dirt path through some woods he could cut through, but I will ensure he knows that's not acceptable), and I'll tell him if I don't receive a phone call on my cell phone within 15 minutes of his leaving my house that I will come get him and he won't be allowed to walk or bike to his friend's house until he's at least eight (at which time I'll test him again).

I'm not going to be paralyzed by fear. When I was a kid, I was allowed to walk to the bakery down the street to buy bagels for Sunday morning breakfast from the time I was eight. I could ride my bike anywhere I wanted when I was 10. I want my kids to be safe, but I want them to learn responsibility, too.

So I'll continue to encourage my kids to do the activities they enjoy - The Girl with her ballet and tap, The Boy with his many team and individual sports. But I recognize that a couple of classes or practices a week aren't enough. The kids need to be active every single day in some way, and if school doesn't provide enough, I will. The kids already know I won't drive around parking lots looking for the closest spot. I always tell them, "That's what we have strong legs for - to walk!"

But I think I'll take it a step further. Forget driving to the store for a gallon of milk. I should be hoofing it - and they should be right with me. Even if it's raining.

Because you know what? I know what it's like to be the fat kid. Forgetting health problems for a minute, it just sucks. You're not comfortable in your own body, people judge you, and it's harder to care about yourself. I really don't want my kids to go through what I went through - especially when I know how to prevent it. An active life and healthy eating...it really is a simple formula, isn't it?