Children's Exercise (Opinions Needed)

jrrflr

Hey everyone! Here is your chance to offer parenting advice. My 10-year old son enjoys riding his bicycle and running. During the summer, he competes in runs and duathlons. During his races, he has never run more than one mile and ridden more than 5 miles. During his training, he rides 15 miles or less and runs 2 miles or less. A close family member, who is always criticizing someone for something, has said him being that active is not "all that good for him". Her primary reason for saying this is that he can overheat. His races are always very early in the day and he stays well-hydrated. I am proud that my son chooses an active lifestyle rather than staying in front of video games and the television. As such, I am likely to continue embracing and encouraging his activity choices. Nonetheless, I would like other peoples' opinions on this. Fire away!

dls06

As long as he loves it and is not being forced, I say go for it. If you are concerned about health risk of too much exercise I would ask his Doctor.

SueInAz

Your family member is out of line. The miles he is putting in don't sound out of line at all to me. If you're really worried about this, though, talk to your family doctor the next time he goes in for a check up. Kids should be active and you should be very happy that yours is finding something he enjoys to keep himself that way.

jrrflr

Good points. He s not forced. He begs to train with me.

smae1980

Hey everyone! Here is your chance to offer parenting advice. My 10-year old son enjoys riding his bicycle and running. During the summer, he competes in runs and duathlons. During his races, he has never run more than one mile and ridden more than 5 miles. During his training, he rides 15 miles or less and runs 2 miles or less. A close family member, who is always criticizing someone for something, has said him being that active is not "all that good for him". Her primary reason for saying this is that he can overheat. His races are always very early in the day and he stays well-hydrated. I am proud that my son chooses an active lifestyle rather than staying in front of video games and the television. As such, I am likely to continue embracing and encouraging his activity choices. Nonetheless, I would like other peoples' opinions on this. Fire away!

it doesn't sound bad to me, when I was a kid we had to run a mile a couple of times a year for gym class it's not that long actually most kids can do it in less than 15 minutes. It's not like you have him running marathons and over-training and giving up time with his friends. I think it's great to see a kid interested in being active in this day and age of computers and video games and sitting on their butts watching tv and eating all day.

BAMFMeredith

I think it's AWESOME that your child is that active, and wants to be! My son is much like that. He's 5, and he doesn't stop moving at any time. He would much rather be outside running around or doing something active than being inside.

I think as long as he's properly hydrated and everything, it's awesome! Such a way cool hobby for a child to have I ran a half marathon this past weekend and no joke there were these two 11 or 12 year old boys keeping pace with me the whole time. I can't imagine what kind of athletes they'll be when they get older!

castadiva

I'd agree with dls06 in general. I would talk to his paediatrician though, to check whether there's anything you need to be aware of or keep an eye on. You may also want to ask about optimal hydration and nutrition for a child who is involved in a lot of physical activity, particularly at hot times of the year. Apart from that, invest in some very good, as-waterproof-as-possible sunblock (zinc cream? We loved the bright-coloured ones when I was a kid!), and make sure he wears good-quality sunglasses and a hat as much as possible.

UponThisRock

Her primary reason for saying this is that he can overheat.

He's a boy, not an '89 Chevy.

jrrflr

Her primary reason for saying this is that he can overheat.

He's a boy, not an '89 Chevy.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Gashaw67

Healthy habits when he is young increases the likely hood of a healthy lifestyle. You sound like your on top of the hydration which is key! Before during and after!! Other than that let him be as active as he wants!!

Troll

i think we all have those family members. Thank you for supporting your kid's activities, more parents need to get outdoors with their children. As far as his health, make sure he gets enough water and be sure you slap on sunscreen! I dont see what the problem would be, when i was younger id be outside running from daylight until dark.

NeshBeMe

Unless your family is full of Pediatricians, I see nothing wrong with it. My kids' doctor is always telling me my kids need to be more active and trust me, it shows. I can't get them to get serious about working out, even on the Wii. Your son is fine and sometimes people need to learn to worry about 'self'.

walkwithme1

Is it possible that the family member has kids that are inactive and trying to put your child down in order to feel better about their poor parenting skills? (first thing that came to my mind.)
I think it's great that he has somethig he enjoys. My kids beg to get outside even in the winter. they want the bouncer blown up and it's such a good work out for them.
Sounds like you're a great parent, keep encouraging him to exercise!

Chagama

As long as he's doing it of his own choice and desire, and it sounds like he is, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, and getting good habits now and doing something he enjoys will help him out later in life. Wish I could get my kids that focused on something like that.

LilRedRooster

If he is enjoying it and doing it because he truly wants to do it for himself, there is NO scientific evidence that more physical exercise is bad for kids, in any form. Even higher-mileage stuff has been shown to have no adverse effects, so long as it's done with him being well-hydrated and eating enough.

I've always hated when people say "Oh, that's bad for kids to be doing that much", because it's absolute crap. Let him enjoy himself! I say good for him, and good for you for supporting him.

rob_v

Tell them to go pound dirt. Sounds like they are jealous b/c he would kick their butt in a race!
Like others said - hydration is the key.

The other thing just to watch out for is their shoes. At that age their feet tend to grow like weeds. What fit good a month ago, may now be too tight. Just something to be aware of.

2 of my daughters (10 & 12) do a program called Girls on the Run, as well as compete in triathlons. My one daughter bought herself a camel back b/c her bike didnt have a bottle holder, and she loves it.
There is nothing wrong w/ them competing at all. Builds character as well as humility.

bahacca

If he's happy doing it, no reason to stop. I have a friend who's daughters LOVE to run. They ran in a 5K with us--and beat us both--they were 6 and 8 at the time!

shellma00

I grew up in a very small town and the only thing to really do was ride your bikes. You rode your bikes everywhere. If you were going to your freinds, to the park, to the baseball fields if you had a game, and then you just road around town just for fun. When it rained or snowed we were really bummed that we could not ride our bikes. I am sure that on most days, especially days where we were not in school, we rode miles on our bikes. We never overheated, we actually were in great physical shape and we had fun. There should be no reason your son should be restricted because a family member thinks riding their bikes are bad for them.