I hope I am rubbing off on her... my kid wanted to go "runni

jrich1
jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Last night my 7yo daughter and I were talking, and I mentioned jokingly lets go running (it was still 97 out at 7pm) and I didnt think anything of it, till about 10 min later she comes down stairs with her tennis shoes on laced up and said OK I am ready to go running. Well it still being hot we waited a few minutes, I told her we can go maybe tomorrow when it was cooler or something, she still wanted to go, so we eventually went, we got our water bottles and i put my HRM on just in case we actually did, but we ran up to the end of the street with a water break, and ended up seeing one of her friends from school, which then we ran down to the end of the other street, and then ended up walking to the park playing for a few min and back with her friend (she was tired). I didnt log anything on my HRM or for exercise, but she sees my going running now and wants to see what the fuss is about I guess. With my wife and I have been overweight for a while her seeing us working out and going to the gym, I hope she decides early enough to make better choices for her life and not get into the situation we did.
I guess just watch because your kids are very observant to what you do and what you eat.. my 7yo always asking how many calories are in stuff and if its a lot of calories or not.

Replies

  • Amber030583
    Amber030583 Posts: 490 Member
    Awww thats great! My son is asking about calories also....only problem is that he is 4! I don't think he needs to be concerned with his calories. But that is awesome with your daughter.....maybe you will have a running partner soon!
  • JUSTFORME2010
    JUSTFORME2010 Posts: 125 Member
    my girls ask me how many calories in everything. I love it!!!!!!!!
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
    Kids absolutely learn by example. Children of overweight parents tend to grow to be overweight adults themselves. That's one of my great motivators.

    Now, to work on my husband....
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    I too think its great that my kids are now seeing me make different choices both in being active and in how and what I eat. For the most part they eat what my wife and I do however we still sometimes make separate meals cause hey every kid wants a corn dog or pizza and I don't always want to blow my cheat meal on something so trivial. But those are my choices and I hope they see that.

    What I do worry about is my oldest daughter (14) not seeing this as a lifestyle change and making this calorie counting and exercise thing an obsession and there by turning it into an eating disorder.

    I get very focused on my diet and exercise and I don't let a lot of things get in the way of my goals. I have very specific goals laid out and have many of them written on the bathroom mirror so I and everyone else can review my progress daily. I know where I want to be and I know how quickly I can get there and be healthy. I have had a lot of weight to lose and have really changed dramatically. I have lost alot already but have another 40 lbs to lose so its going to seem like Daddy is a different person. I'm sure seeing what I'm doing now and her growing up with my bad habits and inactivity is an extreme change. Without her maturity and knowledge of fitness and health I hope she doesn't view it as an eating disorder or a body image issue especially at the age she is at. I try not to talk to the kids about my own body image issues that's a personal struggle that I really don't think is necessary to put them through until maybe when they are older.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    my boys go running with me and we hope to do a family 5k together. they are 8 and 7. :)
  • ShaneT99
    ShaneT99 Posts: 278 Member
    That's great. You're setting a good example for her.

    I was overweight for most of my childhood (probably 4th grade on up). One of the reasons I'm working so hard to lose weight now is to set an example for my children. I want them to see me actively trying to eat healthy and exercise. I always make sure to tell them if I've been running or to the gym and I try to talk with them about eating healthy foods. I don't want my kids to grow up fat like I did. My kids don't run with me because I go before they get out of bed and they couldn't keep up anyway, but I really try to do thing with them to keep them active and discourage things that don't (like video games).
  • steph_armstrong
    steph_armstrong Posts: 67
    haha! I think you are rubbing off on her. I think that if she sees yall sticking with the working out and healthy eating that she just may make the choice for herself. Try to keep her involved as much as she wants to be. Keep up the great work. :O)
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