Need help with 9 year ols

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  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    They can improve these parameters, to a degree, with practice. But, there is not necessarily something wrong with those kids who don't naturally have the best starting points.

    Exactly.

    We are human beings - we don't roll off an assembly line. We are living, breathing biological entities. No two alike (unless they're twins!)

    If you expect all kids to have identical abilities, then you'll end up being disappointed.

    I think this thread is being viewed through the lens of an American childhood obesity epidemic. That needs to be combated, sure. But making 9 year olds feel like crap because they haven't reach some arbitrary level of "physical perfection" will not solve the problem.

    One suspects the cultural relationship to food in the US (and the rest of the West - us Europeans have our own demons to slay) is what needs fixing. Making a 9 year old run a faster mile or do an extra push up will not make them skinnier. It'll make them slightly faster or slightly better at push ups!

    A child who runs around outside with his mates and isn't given a TV as a babysitter will be fine. Trust me. Every generation prior to the last couple did a lot of running around outside and playing.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    What the H... happened to dodge ball and floor hockey and TAG! And why on earth are we measuring our kids on their ability to do a chin up, by how fast they run or if they can do push ups and sit ups? This absolutely urks me. When I was a kid there was no testing. We went to gym class and ran our *kitten* off. We had to start changing clothes in grade 6 for gym becasue we sweat so hard and by grade 8 many of us were showering becasue we were sweaty and stinky and we weren't standing around getting tested on how fast we were or how many dang push ups we could do. BTW, when did a kid's muscle strength become so important. They need to get that heart rate going not bench press 220.

    I am 38 years old and I still can't do a "man" push up. And chin ups, are you kidding me. I am working on strength now, but it is for me and no one else. But guess what, now I can out run many of the kids that could. Most of my former classmates would not have came in at 2 hours in there first half marathon - but I did. And I can think of 2, maybe 3 of my former classmates that would even contemplate running a full marathon. But I am in pre-trainining mode - and I'll do my first in 4. I was tall, awkward, lanky....pretty much all through school - my 12 year old is a mirror image of me 26 years ago. And I can see her becoming a runner. She would never win a race, nor would I, but we have determiniation and endurance so we will finish it.

    I HATE standardize testing in general. It is not so much about how your child is doing, but moreso how the school is doing but at the end of it the child is the one feeling badly about themselves. We have run into this time and time again with our daughter. She never excels in standardize testing (average at best), but she is consistently in the top 10% of her class in her grades. So, I put very little faith in those tests. Actually none really.

    Sorry to vent - I just think it sounds like your son is a normal 9 year old boy. Don't think you need to enroll him in every sport in the book now either. My kids are enrolled in more artistic activities - music, etc (and swimming lessons cuz that is a life skill) and activities that will last them a lifetime. My daughter is 12 and she is taking scuba lessons. She will be padi certified in a few months and that is a physical activity that she can do long into her adulthood and senior age if she likes. When they have off time and they are going to the "screens" we will kick them outside to play - biking, trampolining, walking...just kids being kids.

    Um....We're about the same age and I remember doing fitness testing in gym class over 25 years ago. It's not like it's a new thing.
  • lavi73
    lavi73 Posts: 23 Member
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    So my son was the same at that age... he's just never been the "athletic" type in the standard PE way- mostly because he's just not coordinated. He's never been into sports - tried soccer, but he'd get nervous when a mass of kids would swarm at him when he had the ball. Did that for 2 years (4 seasons) and then done.

    He fell in love with horseback riding, which surprisingly is very exhausting and great cardio and strength training. He's been doing that for the past 4 years. He's still long and lean (has a itty bitty pouch). he's now 15 and taking the same tests and his score has improved - he's still a slow runner, but faster than before. He wasn't able to do pushups either at that age, but he can now (sort of). So, i recommend you just find something he likes that get's out physically on a regular basis. Oh and we also got a dog that he walks for 30-45 minutes every afternoon.

    And don't worry too much about the test scores (they don't count for college lol)... as long as your son is eating well, getting some sort of regular activity and is healthy, that's all that really matters...

    I never scored well in school gym tests either and i wasn't at all athletic (i was 130lbs 5'2" and thought i was enormous - i'd love to be that now lol) - the gym tests made me feel insecure and fat actually. oh well, glad i'm over that! LOL!
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Maybe he's in a stage of his skeletal development that messes with his coordination? This can make him slow. How's his muscle development? I don't mean if he has a bodybuilder build obviously but his overall strength. Ask his pediatrician for advice. Good luck!
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    This is madness!

    Testing little kids and making them feel inadequate because they can't run to a certain speed or do a bunch of sit-ups is like some kind of brown-shirt nightmare.

    What happened to letting kids be kids?

    As long as he is getting some fresh air and engaging in some physical activities appropriate to his age (which you say he is), then I wouldn't worry about him being an olympian just yet.

    They did these tests when I was a kid too. I don't see anything wrong with it, and it's def not Olympian standards!!! I would have him do the couch to 5k program. It's easy (for kids it should be) and slowly builds endurance. My son has a pull-up bar and does pull ups. He also could practice push ups. There is a push up app you can get for free, a 9 yr old boy should be able to do at least a few push ups.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    What the H... happened to dodge ball and floor hockey and TAG! And why on earth are we measuring our kids on their ability to do a chin up, by how fast they run or if they can do push ups and sit ups? This absolutely urks me. When I was a kid there was no testing. We went to gym class and ran our *kitten* off. We had to start changing clothes in grade 6 for gym becasue we sweat so hard and by grade 8 many of us were showering becasue we were sweaty and stinky and we weren't standing around getting tested on how fast we were or how many dang push ups we could do. BTW, when did a kid's muscle strength become so important. They need to get that heart rate going not bench press 220.

    I am 38 years old and I still can't do a "man" push up. And chin ups, are you kidding me. I am working on strength now, but it is for me and no one else. But guess what, now I can out run many of the kids that could. Most of my former classmates would not have came in at 2 hours in there first half marathon - but I did. And I can think of 2, maybe 3 of my former classmates that would even contemplate running a full marathon. But I am in pre-trainining mode - and I'll do my first in 4. I was tall, awkward, lanky....pretty much all through school - my 12 year old is a mirror image of me 26 years ago. And I can see her becoming a runner. She would never win a race, nor would I, but we have determiniation and endurance so we will finish it.

    I HATE standardize testing in general. It is not so much about how your child is doing, but moreso how the school is doing but at the end of it the child is the one feeling badly about themselves. We have run into this time and time again with our daughter. She never excels in standardize testing (average at best), but she is consistently in the top 10% of her class in her grades. So, I put very little faith in those tests. Actually none really.

    Sorry to vent - I just think it sounds like your son is a normal 9 year old boy. Don't think you need to enroll him in every sport in the book now either. My kids are enrolled in more artistic activities - music, etc (and swimming lessons cuz that is a life skill) and activities that will last them a lifetime. My daughter is 12 and she is taking scuba lessons. She will be padi certified in a few months and that is a physical activity that she can do long into her adulthood and senior age if she likes. When they have off time and they are going to the "screens" we will kick them outside to play - biking, trampolining, walking...just kids being kids.

    I'm 39 and we had the presidential fitness testing every year in elem school.
  • charlenequinn94
    charlenequinn94 Posts: 99
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    is he interested in any sports. My daughter was not really into sports, but I still got her involved with it . Find something he could be interested in.
  • JulieAnn72
    JulieAnn72 Posts: 795 Member
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    Thank you to all for the thoughts and suggestions. I also remember fitness tests in school and I'm in my 40's so it's nothing new. I just was hoping to help DS improve, if possible, so he'd feel better about himself. I also want to be sure he is healthy.

    I already responded earlier, but I don't think many people read my response so I'll say again that he has done sports. We generally try to have him do some sort of sport in every season. He's been doing golf for a while now, and will be switching to a tennis league in the winter (yes, outdoor tennis in the winter - BRRR). These are the sports he has chosen and is interested in, so we aren't pushing him other than telling him he has to do some sort of sport.

    Anyway, I appreciate all of the comments. I'm really not worried about him. I just want him to be healthy and not be picked on in the future.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Golf is a sport for a 70 year old. Not a 9 year old. It's a game.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Golf is a sport for a 70 year old. Not a 9 year old. It's a game.

    Agreed, it's definitely not a sport that will challenge a 9 year old physically. Walking 9 holes might be good exercise for grandpa, but it's nothing for a 9 year old.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
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    If there is a running club near you I would check into the kids program, if they have one. The running club here does a running workshop for elementary and middle schoolers, with distance scaled to the age of the child (9 year olds do 2 miles at the end I believe). The workshop here runs 6 weeks I think, with a kids only "cross country" race at the end.
  • VelvetMorning
    VelvetMorning Posts: 398 Member
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    I would ask the baby if he even cares that he's a slow runner and/or if people are griefing him over it. If he's healthy and active, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal unless he's looking to be an athlete when he's older. If he does care, take him on some runs with you and see how he likes it. I would imagine that running with you would pick up his endurance and build muscle in a calm, nonjudgmental environment that he can really bloom in. In school, slow runners are generally bullied (or, at least, I was), which can make it very difficult to focus on improving when you're contemplating what snark is going to come out of your mouth at the end.
  • verdemujer
    verdemujer Posts: 1,397 Member
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    I'm not going to read all the string of posts but from the grazing I have done:

    1) The test is an answer from the presidents to tell our kids they need to be better physically fit. Meanwhile there are other expectations so all the recess time and almost all PE time has disappeared from school. That means kids have to find their exercise somewhere else. (My girl stress fractured her foot in 4th grade with part of the presidential test.)

    2) Some type of organized sport is a good thing. We do karate and have since 1st grade. Watching all these little kids exercise is at times funny and times amazing. They have no concept of how to do a proper jumping jack, a proper push up or a situp. It's the hardest thing to get them to do a push up "right". Sit ups too - if they aren't done right - you can actually mess up your neck or your stomach muscles. Jumping jacks - its just looks cool if you can all do them the same and not be lazy about it. I would encourage the push up challenge thing though know he'll lose interest very quickly and won't go through the entire month. That's my experience.

    And get him to play more running games. Speed drills, obstable courses, sprints - it will all build up his speed and endurance. My kid has to exercise if he wants to watch tv or play on the computer. That's our personal rule.
  • Pack100
    Pack100 Posts: 13 Member
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    Check out Kwik golf. We use this in PE classes for golf and fitness.

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