exercise and a toddler

jacquemo118

Gym with free child care?
The father watching the kid?
Babysitter?
Grandparent watching the kid? (they always love to spend time with their grandkids)
Exercise videos while kid is asleep?
Keep going when the kid whines and will eventually give in?

Many options.

This. I joined MFP when my son was 1 - he's now 4. I've developed and stuck to an exercise routine the entire time. My gym has two hours of childcare included and he loves it. We bike with a bike trailer. He stays home with dad during some workouts. Yep, he's complained while we go on stroller walks or runs but guess what? I'm the grown up. Now, we ditched the stroller for walks and he uses his own little legs to come along and he whined like crazy at first. But again, I'm the grown-up and this past weekend my little guy hiked about 7 miles a day with us...on his own two feet, with basically no complaining.

I look at it this way. Growing up, I seldom saw my parents engage in purposeful exercise or even much active recreation. What an opportunity my husband and I have to model healthier living for our son. He will grow up seeing that his parents exercise sometimes on purpose (gym, exercise videos) and often for fun (biking, hiking, walking). Fitness will be a part of his life. He will see sights most children never see, from high hills overlooking rocky coastlines, waterfalls on rushing rivers. He will be exposed to the outdoors. He will be fed healthy meals. He doesn't get in the way of this Healthy Lifestyle(tm); he enhances it and is the REASON for it.

Involve her when you can. Let her see that fitness is a priority for you. Let her see that it can be fun and will take her places. She'll thank you for it when she's a healthy adult.

:happy: :bigsmile:

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jacquemo118

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