Myth buster

When I was a kid there was nothing I loved more than swimming. A lake, an ocean or a pool, it didn't matter. Well I did prefer a pool really because a muddy lake bottom or curious sea creature did take a little of the fun out of it, but it was still swimming. I could swim all day with only food and sugar loaded drinks as fuel. But I'm sure that everyone my age remembers the swimming and food rule. "You have to wait 30 minutes for your food to digest before you can go back in." The parent, or adult in charge would tell us. "You don't want to catch a cramp. You'll sink like a rock." We all heard it. We all hated it. And though none of us knew anyone that had sunk to the bottom from a meal of hot dogs and potato chips, we had to obey. None of us had a watch, so we were at the adult's mercy to let us know when the time was up. Thirty minutes was a long time back then.

You don't hear this rule much anymore. I think I even read on the internet that not only is it not true, but really it is probably good for you to go back in the water and burn off those calories immediately. What I now know as a parent is that the 30 minutes of food digestion time was actually 30 minutes of parental rest time. While I could swim all day, my parents couldn't (or wouldn't) supervise all day. I knew it was a trick, I just couldn't prove it! Kids have all the answers at their fingertips today, and a computer or even a smart phone can make you look like a stupid parent. The internet ruins a perfectly good excuse again! When your kid's favorite show is Myth Busters, you better watch out.