Children Running?

mgraue82

Hi!

I run into this problem quite frequently - I finally get the kids settled down for the evening and think I have some ME time, which is the time I designate for my working out and bettering myself since it's literally the only time in a day I have and then I get the guilt trip from my soon to be 7 year old son - "Mommy!!! Play with me! Read me a book! Let's watch a movie!" All of which I previously finished doing before said ME TIME! So my question is, how early do you think you can get a child into "running/jogging/walk-running" etc.? I'm doing C25K and he's fully capable of doing this with me but I wondered if anyone has any tips or experience with your children or someone you know starting their kids in the running journey with them??? That way I can kill a few birds with a big old boulder - I get my work out in and get to spend a little more time with my little guy.

Thank you in advance!

MissAnjy

My kids ran their first 100m dash yesterday and they are 3 and a half.

freeli

I have to say first that i don't have any children of my own, but I used to be the cross country skiing coach for the kids in my hometown, they were between 5 and 8 years old. sometimes I had to bribe them with sweties to do some laps instead of playing games but they were fine. I guess you gotta try it out and see how it goes.

And my brothers wee boy is 7 now, he does not go runnig I think but the last time we went hiking together I could hardly keep up with him!

omma_to_3

My daughter is signed up for Girls on the Run this fall. She'll be in 3rd grade and just turned 8. Almost 7 should be fine.

kerricolby

There's a woman in my neighborhood who runs in the street while her kids ride their bikes on the sidewalk. I can't wait until my kids can bike!

ShaSimone

I don't have any childrenbut I think that kids who play sports and run are okay and my niece started soccer when she was five. You may have to make it interesting by racing him ( to the next stop sign, tree, mailbox) to keep it interesting. Maybe he can ride his bike while you run.

billsica

At the park I see a lot of kids riding bikes lapping there parents, or going around them in circles.

I just push my jogging stroller.

NikkiSmo

My son ran his first 5K when he was 5, so 7 is fine. He didn't really keep up the running until I started the C25K but this past Saturday my husband, my son (now 11), my daughter (16) and she pushed my 2yr old in the stroller ran MY 1st 5K together! It was an awesome experience! I also do my exercising in the evening after the baby is down but sometimes it doesn't always work out and we have to take everyone along. I think its a great thing for your children to see you working out. Mine -as I'm sure your will too- think its FUN. Good luck and just roll with it....

KANGOOJUMPS

mine run with me! SUPER! GET THEM INVOLVED!

thrld

Consistency is the key for keeping ME time. If you put it aside, then that just teaches him that his wants (play with me, watch a movie with me) comes before your wants (me time, workout time), and that working out is not important. So hold fast, be consistent and he will not only stop asking, but will probably remind you to workout (even when you want to take a break).

fatboymax

My daughter warms up with me (1-3 km). I gave her 1 of my old ipods and put in Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez etc... She is 5 and loves to run with me. My son is not quite ready he is 3. I tried with him but he stops and gets distracted.

omma_to_3

Oh yes, when I go running, if the kids HAVE to come with me (I really prefer it if they don't LOL) they will bring their Razor scooters. Bikes work too.

lisapr123

Our school district hosts a running event for kids 3+. The little ones do a hundred yard dash. The max distance is a 5k, which a lot of the kids are doing by 3rd or 4th grade. One of the great things is it showed parents that they can bring their kids to the school tracks, where everyone can run together but at different paces and distances.

brendarun

My 9 year old has been running 5k parkruns for nearly 2 years. On Friday night we did Race for Life and she smashed her time coming in at 30.07 mins. My nearly 5 year old often does 1 mile of the park run and my 2/12 year old is also getting very keen to run x

Becoming_A_Butterfly

Two of my four stepkids (ages 13 and 10) have gone running with me. I sit and talk with them first about how their bodies need to build up to it, get stronger, get used to it, and they won't be Olympic runners the first time out! I didn't want overly high expectations to ruin their running experience. I also talked to them about warming up properly and stretching and why that is important. I had them stop running and go stretch even though they wanted to keep going, because I knew if they got really sore the first time out, they may not want to go again. It is something to work up to and build up to, for adults and for kids.

They got very excited about it and liked that they were running like me We ran on a high school track so I could keep an eye on them, even if we were at different paces, and that worked well.

tdmcmains

Our kids are a good bit younger -- 2 and 4, but what works for us is doing things that they can do too. My kiddos won't run but we can bike together (baby in a trailer), go for hikes, and they even sort of participate sometimes (looking quite ridiculous) while I do pilates videos or other DVDs.
I think if you want to run, I don't see any reason the 7 yo CAN'T do it, as long as you can convince him that he shoudl do that instead of watch TV! It's a tough sell!!

junipuni

I think it's a great age to start! My son is almost the exact same age - will be 7 in less than a month and when I was doing C25K I have taken him with me before. He did really well. My best advice is to try and go somewhere like a track where he can stop and rest if he needs to without you having to stop. I would take both my boys (5&6) and I would do the track while they played in the grass in the middle. They would do a few laps with me but mostly they would run in the middle, play frisbee or play in the sand. Worked out great for all of us and we were still together.

Nikkiham520

Mine never did C25k with me, but I make running and playing with them a game. We do sprint races, see who can jump rope the longest, see who can hula hoop the longest, etc. They love it and never see it as a workout, but i know i am burning major cals!!! They both have done 1 mile fun runs, though, and I have seen lots of kids 5 and up doing a full 5k. Good luck!

My kids are 5 and 9.

alarae

The only things I have heard is that children need good running shoes and not to let them over do. Good luck to both of you.

TheirEllie82

I started the C25K program in April and I have a 7 year old son. He either rides his bike with me while I run (it is hard for me to keep up at times) or we walk up to the park near my house and he plays while I run around the track. I am able to keep an eye on him the whole time and a lot of times he will carry a water bottle with him that he'll let me take sips from after my run.

microMXL

awesome thread, you are giving me awesome tips when my daughters grow