I read this week that new nutrition rules go into effect this fall for school cafeterias. For the most part, this is probably a good thing, given the fact that a lot of kids these days are carrying way too much weight for their age.

However, it is my humble opinion that proper nutrition for children should probably start at home long before they enroll in school. Given what I saw at the ballpark this summer, it's no surprise that some children have developed a bit of a weight problem by the time they hit first grade.

I watched in amazement a few weeks ago as a "portly" mother pushed her "husky" child in a stroller into the ballpark. The first thing Mom did was pop open a Mountain Dew and poured it into her son's sippy cup. The next thing to come out of the diaper bag was a bag of Oreos. Mom went to the concession stand and bought a big mess of chips and cheese and what looked to me like a foot-long Snicker bar. Of course, they shared.

Inning three It was back to the concession stand for another foot-long candy bar and a bag of popcorn with triple-extra butter and a 24 ounce bottle of fully-leaded Mountain Dew. Is it any wonder this child might develop a weight problem by the time he hits the public school system?

When I attended grade school in Carmi, Ill., we had a wonderful cook. Jo Colson and her staff paid close attention to the kids that came through the cafeteria line. She knew exactly who needed better nutrition and more calories, and who needed to watch their waistline.

I don't remember having free or reduced price meals back then. If you didn't have lunch money, you were given an opportunity to work in the cafeteria to get your meals free. If I had a nickel for every meal tray I scraped and every table I helped clear when I was in grade school, I'd probably be a millionaire today. But I had plenty to eat.

Unlike today, I was quite skinny back then. Some people said I was so skinny, I didn't cast a shadow. Mrs. Colson saw to it that I had plenty to eat, and never went home from school hungry.

It's certainly not my place to tell the Mountain Dew and Oreo packin' mama that she's turning her son into a porker. She will have to figure that out for herself.

But, here's why I think the new school cafeteria nutrition rules that go into effect this year are a good thing. It is a fact that for many children, the meals they get at school will be the best and most nutritional food they'll get all day long. If they get good food in school, and we can teach them good eating habits at a very young age, perhaps their children will be even healthier.

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Good nutrition should start at home, but new school lunch rules probably a good thing