Is it bad my daughter wants to shred?!?

rosiereally2

She just wants to emulate you. My 9-year-old son is the same way.

Let her do it, but I would recommend letting her do a Walk Away the Pounds video or something similar with you instead. It's simple and safer for a little one.

My son already knows how to safely do push-ups, etc since he's about to test for his karate black belt, but I would be concerned with the pacing of the Shred leading to sloppy form and potential injury, so I don't let him do it.

contingencyplan

30 day shred is no different or more difficult than the stuff they have your children do in PE class. It only seems difficult to us adults because we have been sedentary for so long. A lot of the exercises uses in 30DS were basically "borrowed" from the stuff our PE coach made us do as a warmup before running around and playing sports in elementary school. I suspect not only will she not injure herself, it'll be EASY for her.

ThatCatholicGirl

No it's not bad at all hunni. Encourage her with her exercising and give her a couple of empty water bottles (soda size) for "weights" - that's what I give my lad he loves to exercise with me!

As someone has already said, be careful about how you talk about calories and weight loss. Our children look up to us and desire to imitate us, it how they learn. My son once asked me if he needed to lose weight too and I told him "No, mama has to lose weight because when I was growing you in my tummy I became a lot fatter. You haven't had a baby nor are you fat so you don't have to worry about having to lose any weight do you?" When he told me "no" I figured he'd got it and hasn't mentioned it since. I told him he eats healthy food so he can run really fast (which he loves!) and be the best at sports, rather than eating healthy to help lose weight. However, my son is 5 so a little older than your daughter, but you know how much she can comprehend.

Overall, I think it's great that you're being a positive role model for your daughter and instilling good habits

Pami_225

30 day shred is no different or more difficult than the stuff they have your children do in PE class. It only seems difficult to us adults because we have been sedentary for so long. A lot of the exercises uses in 30DS were basically "borrowed" from the stuff our PE coach made us do as a warmup before running around and playing sports in elementary school. I suspect not only will she not injure herself, it'll be EASY for her.

Exactly.

BinaryPulsar

This is normal for kids this age to want to be like mommy. My 6 year old daughter has some little weights and she lifts them, and says that when she gets older she wants to lift weights so she can be strong like mommy. She also asks to get on my back, so I can do squats because she wants to "be my weights". And we also dance together (I am a dancer). Even when we brush our teeth she watches me and does what I do and then says she wants to be just like me when she grows up. You should be aware of how you talk about things, though. I tell my girls I am building muscle, and I focus on muscle. I don't talk about fat with them. I don't want to introduce that aspect too soon (they are very slender and could actually benefit from gaining). Also they do circuit training on the playground and they run (my 9 year old came in 4th place in the kids portion of the Vancouver marathon for her age group).

nauticaboo

30 day shred is no different or more difficult than the stuff they have your children do in PE class. It only seems difficult to us adults because we have been sedentary for so long. A lot of the exercises uses in 30DS were basically "borrowed" from the stuff our PE coach made us do as a warmup before running around and playing sports in elementary school. I suspect not only will she not injure herself, it'll be EASY for her.

This as well. My DD does some of the exercises better than I can do them, because she hasn't lost her flexibility, stamina, or energy.

oregonzoo

It's great she wants to exercise. I agree you really need to limit the amount you talk about calories, or weight.
Those aren't things I discuss. When my daughter asks why I eat what I eat, or why I like to go to the gym so much I just explain I want to be healthy and strong.

I want healthy happy children with healthy happy minds. I do not want them to be prisoners of calories.

nekoxvampyx

aw adorable! let her it'll be good fun and if shes getting into fitness at a young age even better

Tanja_CHH

Let her work out and make sure she is safe and has fun, but do not let her undereat at the age of 6 and stop talking about calories and weight with her! Its okay to encourage an active lifestyle, but you do not want her to start becoming obsessive over what she eats at the age of 6, as long as she has a healthy, balanced diet.

shivles

It's not a bad thing at all, shes seeing you exercise and obviously wants to be just like mummy! However like other have said, watch your language, emphasise being fit and healthy instead of loosing weight. Let her do shred with you so you can watch her do it and make sure she's not going too hard, give her very light weights or bottles, correct her form and enjoy the time together. A 6yo version of shred is not going to be the same as an adults version, she will just have fun, my daughter who is 2 plays 'exercise' when I do my insanity, she lifts her arms, jumps and trys to do a push up, it's cute!

Showmm

It is not an argument it is a statement. I am not trying to convince you of anything. My statement....
"The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise."
is fact. Says nothing about the little girl being worried about being fat. If you choose to teach your children that you exercise because it is fun and helps your muscles get strong that is your choice. I think that leaving out the fact that it prevents you from being fat is just as important as the others. It is not okay to be fat and when ppl stop coddling children about it or hiding it from them we will be a much more healthier world. It is never too early to teach a child that fat is not okay and can lead to many health problems.

Yes, it can be too early to teach a child that fat is not okay. A child of six should have NO concerns about how fat they are or are not. Even if they were fat, I think telling them to exercise so they wouldn't be fat at age 6 is a terrible way to try and get them to do it. That's a great way to introduce poor body image complexes, eating disorders and lack of self-confidence.

Sarahmeridith

Imsure she just wants to do it because you are, my 3 year old has been trying to do the videos with me too, he pretty much just jumps around though... but Im sure she just wants to be involved, maybe if you have a wii you could play one of the dance games together or something so she could feel like she is working out with you without it being anything to intense?

puckers82

Id say let her have a go but watch her and dont use weights.

My 7 year old wanted to do insanity with me, he only did it twice and stopped half way on each as he struggled but keeps saying he wants to do it again. Him and my 6 year old are very into fitness, the younger one will often start doing push ups/ sit ups but is really wants to get on the weights, hes been told no! Both want to start running to up their fitness. Both play rugby and the oldest will start contact next session.

I make sure i let them know they need a healthy diet and will educate them about all this as i didnt get it as a child nor was i encouraged to do any sport/ exercise.

As long as they get educated properly about diet and exercise i cant see it being an issue.

2FatToRun

It is not an argument it is a statement. I am not trying to convince you of anything. My statement....
"The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise."
is fact. Says nothing about the little girl being worried about being fat. If you choose to teach your children that you exercise because it is fun and helps your muscles get strong that is your choice. I think that leaving out the fact that it prevents you from being fat is just as important as the others. It is not okay to be fat and when ppl stop coddling children about it or hiding it from them we will be a much more healthier world. It is never too early to teach a child that fat is not okay and can lead to many health problems.

Yes, it can be too early to teach a child that fat is not okay. A child of six should have NO concerns about how fat they are or are not. Even if they were fat, I think telling them to exercise so they wouldn't be fat at age 6 is a terrible way to try and get the to do it. That's a great way to introduce poor body image complexes, eating disorders and lack of self-confidence.

There is no mention of telling the 6 yr old to exercise not to be fat so stop making the statement into something it clearly doesnt state. the above statement addresses the issue that they need to be taught it is good to eat and along with exercise can/will prevent obesity because being fat can lead to health issues. How you are getting anything else from it baffles me.It is NEVER to early to teach a child healthy eating and exercise habits and consequences to not following them. 6 is a prime age to teach them these things seeing as they will be eating mid meals at school and need to make the right decisions NOW. Not when they are in 5th grade and fat.

3foldchord

I'd say humor her and let her "shred". It's great that she wants to be like you...Just don't let her get too crazy

As a parent, I agree with this. She just sees you doing/talking about these things and wants to be like you. I include her in getting fit and being healthy. ( But stop talking about losing weight, eating less since she is copying you and she doesn't need to worry about calories and losing weight. Talk about ,macro nutrients on her level "This chicken gives me protein for my muscles.. This spinach has iron and calcium not just fiber and vitamins”- talk about what good things your food choices do instead of what bad you are avoiding)

ruqayyahsmum

my 7 year old has joined in with me, in her own fashion since shes disabled but i didnt stop her and she wasnt allowed any weights.

my daughter also comes to aqua aerobics with me and sits pool side to watch

ive always explained my food and exercise choices to my daughter in simple terms as i want her to understand the correlation between food, exercise and body weight, health etc

my daughter is underweight for her height so she has to have a high calorie diet but she understands thats not an excuse to eat poorly and be inactive she just has to be creative with her activitys to compensate for her physical difficultys

scookiemonster

It is not an argument it is a statement. I am not trying to convince you of anything. My statement....
"The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise."
is fact. Says nothing about the little girl being worried about being fat. If you choose to teach your children that you exercise because it is fun and helps your muscles get strong that is your choice. I think that leaving out the fact that it prevents you from being fat is just as important as the others. It is not okay to be fat and when ppl stop coddling children about it or hiding it from them we will be a much more healthier world. It is never too early to teach a child that fat is not okay and can lead to many health problems.

Yes, it can be too early to teach a child that fat is not okay. A child of six should have NO concerns about how fat they are or are not. Even if they were fat, I think telling them to exercise so they wouldn't be fat at age 6 is a terrible way to try and get the to do it. That's a great way to introduce poor body image complexes, eating disorders and lack of self-confidence.

There is no mention of telling the 6 yr old to exercise not to be fat so stop making the statement into something it clearly doesnt state. the above statement addresses the issue that they need to be taught it is good to eat and along with exercise can/will prevent obesity because being fat can lead to health issues. How you are getting anything else from it baffles me.It is NEVER to early to teach a child healthy eating and exercise habits and consequences to not following them. 6 is a prime age to teach them these things seeing as they will be eating mid meals at school and need to make the right decisions NOW. Not when they are in 5th grade and fat.

I totally disagree. Teach them to be active and healthy? Yes. Teach them to be active and healthy so they don't get fat? No. Children do not need to be instilled with a fear of being fat. It's that kind of mindset that leads to disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food in the future. Kids should be active because it's fun, and should eat healthy foods because their parents have instilled in them an understanding of the importance of health, not the importance of avoiding fat. A kid who is raised with a healthy activity level and mindset won't be "in the 5th grade and fat." They'll just be a healthy kid. A kid who is raised to worry about being fat will spend the rest of her life worrying about being fat. This can lead to a negative relationship with food and with their bodies in adulthood, unreasonable restrictive dieting, and, in some cases, dangerous and life-threatening eating disorders.

There's nothing wrong with encouraging your kids to work out and eat healthy, but you need to watch how you talk about it with young children. There are enough messages out there promoting unhealthy body images. Young girls today need to be taught to love, respect, and care for their bodies, not to be afraid of getting fat. The end result is that they will have both a healthy body and a healthy mind, not just a skinny waistline. There's nothing wrong with her doing the 30 day shred with mommy, but if a healthy six year old is talking about losing weight, then that's a problem. It's important to change the conversation with her from one about weight loss to one about health and self-care.

squatsandlipgloss

If it is just her wanting to be like you I wouldn't worry too much. But I would tell her she's beautiful and doesn't need to lose weight, and explain about the other health benefits of exercise. Maybe try her with some fun dancing exercise. You can get Zumba routines on youtube, or if you type koo koo kangaroo into youtube there are dance routines aimed at kids that my class of 6 and 7 year olds love!

The best advice you're ever going to get.

Don't let her do the shred. Not good for her. Make sure you explain to her the benefits of exercise - do it because it makes you happy and healthy. Don't tell her it is to lose weight. Then look for something fun you could do together.

EvetteM41

My 4 year old like to exercise just because she thinks it's fun. Especially kids yoga. Which is too hard for me but easy for her.LOL I would kind of watch what you say about being fat or watching calories. But exercise is great for her. THey have kids exercises. I found kids yoga on cable .

thisismeraw

You might want to change your language at home, saying that you need to get fit, rather than lose weight. That' what I do to prevent my kids getting unnecessary hang-ups from my attempts to be healthier. You can tell her also that she's welcome to do it (I'd say without weights) but that she gets fit from running around and playing outside, so she doesn't need to do a special routine the way mommy does.

This. I would never talk about calories or needing to lose weight in front of children. You don't want her to develop any kind of issues with her body, especially at this young age. I would not mention losing weight or calories in front of her.

If she wants to do it have her do it with you, minus weights and see how she does. You can explain to her that she gets her exercise through things like playing outside, sports, etc.

nick64quandry

shred? like a skateboarder?

2FatToRun

It is not an argument it is a statement. I am not trying to convince you of anything. My statement....
"The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise."
is fact. Says nothing about the little girl being worried about being fat. If you choose to teach your children that you exercise because it is fun and helps your muscles get strong that is your choice. I think that leaving out the fact that it prevents you from being fat is just as important as the others. It is not okay to be fat and when ppl stop coddling children about it or hiding it from them we will be a much more healthier world. It is never too early to teach a child that fat is not okay and can lead to many health problems.

Yes, it can be too early to teach a child that fat is not okay. A child of six should have NO concerns about how fat they are or are not. Even if they were fat, I think telling them to exercise so they wouldn't be fat at age 6 is a terrible way to try and get the to do it. That's a great way to introduce poor body image complexes, eating disorders and lack of self-confidence.

There is no mention of telling the 6 yr old to exercise not to be fat so stop making the statement into something it clearly doesnt state. the above statement addresses the issue that they need to be taught it is good to eat and along with exercise can/will prevent obesity because being fat can lead to health issues. How you are getting anything else from it baffles me.It is NEVER to early to teach a child healthy eating and exercise habits and consequences to not following them. 6 is a prime age to teach them these things seeing as they will be eating mid meals at school and need to make the right decisions NOW. Not when they are in 5th grade and fat.

I totally disagree. Teach them to be active and healthy? Yes. Teach them to be active and healthy so they don't get fat? No. Children do not need to be instilled with a fear of being fat. It's that kind of mindset that leads to disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food in the future. Kids should be active because it's fun, and should eat healthy foods because their parents have instilled in them an understanding of the importance of health, not the importance of avoiding fat. A kid who is raised with a healthy activity level and mindset won't be "in the 5th grade and fat." They'll just be a healthy kid. A kid who is raised to worry about being fat will spend the rest of her life worrying about being fat. This can lead to a negative relationship with food and with their bodies in adulthood, unreasonable restrictive dieting, and, in some cases, dangerous and life-threatening eating disorders.

There's nothing wrong with encouraging your kids to work out and eat healthy, but you need to watch how you talk about it with young children. There are enough messages out there promoting unhealthy body images. Young girls today need to be taught to love, respect, and care for their bodies, not to be afraid of getting fat. The end result is that they will have both a healthy body and a healthy mind, not just a skinny waistline. There's nothing wrong with her doing the 30 day shred with mommy, but if a healthy six year old is talking about losing weight, then that's a problem. It's important to change the conversation with her from one about weight loss to one about health and self-care.

If you teach them to be healthy and exercise they wont get fat lol Is it just me or did the turnip truck make an extra stop in this thread?
ADDED afterthought............fear is not always a bad thing if it wasnt for fear when fat ppl went to the dr and the dr tells them they need to start meds or are possibly going to die due to their bad habits it is fear that motivates them to change. My 15 yr old daughter isnt afraid to get fat because she is well aware of how it happens and knows what to do in case she does start to get chunky.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I think it depends on why she wants to do it. My daughter (who is 3) exercises with me ALL the time. She's done 30 DS, Butt Bible, Kickboxing, 6w6p. She "uses" my 3 pound weights. She doesn't actually do anything with them, but I get them out with mine. And dances along. But both her and my husband work out to be healthy, not lose weight.

Since she's 6, she more capable of actually doing the workout -- you'd have to make sure her form is good - but if she just wants to be like you or have something to do with you, I say why not? If she thinks she fat or needs to lose weight (particularly if she doesn't) I would try to channel it into sports or dance classes or something that would also build self confidence through being a member of a team or learning a new skill set etc.. If that makes sense.

Microfiber

My 11 year old and 9 year old are currently doing Insanity :noway: They are 2 weeks from completing the programme - they simply wanted to show me that they could do it :laugh:

When they finish, they eat chips (fries) etc :laugh:

Shawnzgirl78

My 6 year old did like 3 partial days out of the 12 or so that I have been doing it. It's not going to hurt her as long as she is eating healthy Kids are VERY active and this is a great way to keep 'em busy.

spacemuffins

OH OK!!! so the 30 day shred is not about dieting? How stupid of me.
I guess thats why I asked.

30 day shred is about exercising.....what you consume is about dieting. Two totally separate things but when accompanied together properly will help you reach the best results possible. She just said her little girl wants to do what she is doing exercise wise. She is too young to correlate weight loss with eating and exercise so she needs to be taught that. Starting by allowing her to participate is a great first step to introduce health and nutrition to her. Plus she will be able to eat more if she likes it and exercises with mommy. The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise. She is setting her daughter up to never have an ED. Very smart mommy!

I'm not so convinced by your arguments. I don't think it's a problem to let her 6 year old do 30DS, but I don't think she should being led to the idea of needing to exercise to lose fat. At six, she should understand you exercise because it's fun and because it's good for you. If she needs specifics about why it's good, I'd stick with things like it helps your muscles get strong, it helps you sleep better at night and it's good for your brain to make your blood move fast around your body by moving your body fast. I would strongly suggest leaving out all reference to exercise and fat loss at this age.

It is not an argument it is a statement. I am not trying to convince you of anything. My statement....
"The goal is to teach them it is okay to eat and that eating can lead to fat loss coupled with exercise."
is fact. Says nothing about the little girl being worried about being fat. If you choose to teach your children that you exercise because it is fun and helps your muscles get strong that is your choice. I think that leaving out the fact that it prevents you from being fat is just as important as the others. It is not okay to be fat and when ppl stop coddling children about it or hiding it from them we will be a much more healthier world. It is never too early to teach a child that fat is not okay and can lead to many health problems.

this is why so many children get eating disorders. No, I'm serious. Exercising is a good thing but teaching children to diet is very wrong. Also you have to be very careful with saying things like "exercise because then you can eat more and not get fat" or anything suggesting exercise is for weightloss or for stopping you getting fat from what you just ate.

also this child is 6 years old but seriously the kind of talk you're suggesting will lead to her feeling uncomfortable in her body.

I suggest reading the accounts of people whose eating disorder developed from how they were talked to about dieting, weightloss and fatness at home. Or reading up on the very interesting results of studies that showed that weight management and obesity prevention measures in children increased the risk of anorexia in the teens.

The issue is can a 6 year old do the 30 day shred? probably not but doing a fun dance workout with a child seems like a fun way to get her involved. The fact she's asking you about her weight is very worrying though. Have you seen the statistics for how many 9 year old girls are already on a diet?

bonniecarbs

my 11 yr old grand started exercising with her mom and me about 3 years ago. when its a fun DVD we don't care if she does it, kids spend a lot of time on hand held contraptions, youtube, tv, etc quite a bit these days. Children ran and played all day long in my daughter's era. Right now that child has madonna arms and thighs, and its not because she was "working out". she does slim in 6 with me whenever i pop it in.

BeachIron

Boogage

I think its cool if your kid wants to work out with you. I've tried getting mine to do jumping jacks and burpees ect for fun but they aren't that interested. Occasionally my 3 year old will have a go at some of the exercises with me and I enjoy watching her try.

I would say most of Jillians exercises are safe for kids and exercise should be encouraged from an early age.

I would only be worried if she is thinking she needs to lose weight as this could lead to some serious mental and physical health issues. As someone else said, don't talk about losing weight in front of her or talk about not being able to eat fattening foods. Educate her that she can eat whatever she likes in moderation and that healthy foods should be enjoyed more often than less healthy options for good health.

I talk to my children about food quite a lot and sometimes when we have a particularly unhealthy dinner I say 'tomorrow I think we should have better foods to keep our tummies and bodies happy'. They agree and seem equally pleased scoffing pizza and garlic bread as they do eating grilled chicken salads so I'm happy that they have varied diets and food is fun.

SoDamnHungry

It's not bad that she wants to work out with you. It IS bad that she's asking if she's lost weight. Stop talking about weight around her, PERIOD. If it continues, I'd suggest to take her to a child therapist since she's already worried about it at this age.