Single Parent Problems

Options
chynalove2018
chynalove2018 Posts: 2 Member
edited August 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have issues when it comes to working out and being a single parent? A few occasions have occurred when I couldn't workout due to no sitter or a decision to get in a 45 min jog or spend sometime with my kid before bed. How do balance it?

Replies

  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    Options
    I'm not a single parent, so I hope offering my experience is okay. I'm a SAHM with three little kids. I joined a gym with childcare. It's more economical than having a sitter. Perhaps that is an option you could consider.

    The kids really enjoy going to the childcare too, but that depends on your gym.
  • Zoejohnse91
    Zoejohnse91 Posts: 227 Member
    Options
    Single mum here. Yep I feel the crunch with this especially now it's the holidays. But once he's back at school it becomes alot easier. That being said if your little one is under school age it usually means naps so I tried to get them in there if I wasn't too tired. Maybe set your alarm for 30 mins before they rise and do a DVD work out?
  • genpopadopolous
    genpopadopolous Posts: 411 Member
    Options
    I am not a single parent, but I do stay home with my kids and my husband works and travels a lot.

    I have slowly built a gym in my basement. I stalk our buy/sell/trade site for good deals on free weights, benches, a treadmill, resistance bands. It's taken me about 4 years to get it all but it was pretty affordable doing it that way- I got a sweet Nordictrak treadmill for 100 bucks.

    I get up in the morning and get it in right away. My kids usually wake up about half way through, they eat breakfast and watch a show while I finish up.

    I prefer to walk outside but that just isn't always an option for me.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Options
    How old is your child? When I'm with my 4yr nephew, I try to workout before he gets up, and we can take a stroller walk after breakfast before it gets hot. I can also do a workout while he plays an iPad game. I can still keep an eye on him and he can show me what he's doing during my video. He goes to bed so early, I could do a workout then, but I prefer mornings. There is also a company called fit for moms. You could see if you have them in your area. They have fitness classes that meet in neighborhoods and most work around kids in strollers (aka stroller strides).
  • kaitleigh89
    kaitleigh89 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    I’m a single mom as well. We go for a 2+ mile walk every day (weather permitting) and I just push her in her stroller. If the weather is bad I get my walk in on my treadmill. Right now walking is pretty much my only form of exercise.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    Options
    My kids are grown, but I raised them on my own. I worked out at home during their homework time when they were young. Usually it was rush after work to get them from the sitter, get home, get them a snack, I change from work clothes, and then I ahhhhhh'ed for a few moments on my stationary bike or with weights. Inevitably, I would be interrupted a bazillion times for very unimportant issues. It certainly was a struggle, but somehow we managed.

    Once they got older and into activities I used that time for workouts. For example, drop my son at basketball practice and run laps on the track. I also was the crazy mom that did push ups & crunches while the other parents chatted.

  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 498 Member
    Options
    Not a single mum, but feel like it sometimes as I work full time and shoulder 95% of the parenting!! Can you do things WITH your kid? My kids like to join in when I workout at home sometimes, and I often take them for long walks - used to be in strollers but they are big enough now that their little legs can carry them quite far. Which is good for all of us, really. And I wake up at 5am 5 days a week to fit in a workout in my garage/gym before they wake up. Sometime you have to make the time rather than just try to find it.

Categories