Children Running?

mgraue82
mgraue82 Posts: 168 Member
edited December 22 in Fitness and Exercise
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!
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Replies

  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    My kids ran their first 100m dash yesterday and they are 3 and a half.
  • freeli
    freeli Posts: 43
    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
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    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
    kerricolby Posts: 232 Member
    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
    ShaSimone Posts: 270 Member
    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
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    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
    NikkiSmo Posts: 180 Member
    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
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    mine run with me! SUPER! GET THEM INVOLVED!
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member
    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
    fatboymax Posts: 90
    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
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    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
    lisapr123 Posts: 863 Member
    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
    brendarun Posts: 26
    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
    Becoming_A_Butterfly Posts: 2,534 Member
    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
    tdmcmains Posts: 227 Member
    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
    junipuni Posts: 264 Member
    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
    Nikkiham520 Posts: 117 Member
    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
    alarae Posts: 263 Member
    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
    TheirEllie82 Posts: 162 Member
    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
    microMXL Posts: 51
    awesome thread, you are giving me awesome tips when my daughters grow
  • AJ_MotherRunner
    AJ_MotherRunner Posts: 175 Member
    mine run with me! SUPER! GET THEM INVOLVED!

    ^^^this

    My 10 year old daughter is on a competitive travelling soccer team so she runs with me in off season to keep up endurance. The 7 year old daughter does short runs, but usually rides her bike instead. I incorporate my kids into my fitness time as much as earthly possible!!!

    Have fun!
  • TaylorsGranddad
    TaylorsGranddad Posts: 453 Member
    My 13 year old son wanted come running with me so I did W1D1 of C25K I made sure it was at his pace and he knew to stop if he wanted to, he's starting week 2 tonight and loves it...
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    At my last 5K there was an 8 year old in front of me most of the race jogging along with his iPod splashing in all the puddles, talking to the ducks. He finished 2 minutes behind me and waved to his parents when they looped back around. As long as the kid is interested I'd say go for it.
  • tinycowa
    tinycowa Posts: 2 Member
    We participate in 5Ks as a family. When the boys were under age 5 they used to stand at the finish line and cheer. They couldn't wait until they were old enough to run too. I would say about 6 years old is a great age to try a 5k. If you have other families that like to jog too, chose 2-3 5Ks per year to jog and take turns as adults jogging for fun with the kids and letting one person run for a competitive time. Scooters and bikes make great running partners. With that said, you sound like a GREAT mom and YOU deserve some ME time!
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 928 Member
    when i work out at home i make my son (he's 5) participate. he does push ups (his scaled down version of course) sit ups, jumping jacks and toe touches. it buys me time so i can do some "me" stuff. if i want to jog i put him on his bike or scooter and i run after him. it puts us at the same speed usually.
  • mommyskis
    mommyskis Posts: 277 Member
    My 8 year-old son just started running with me. He saw me do a couple of 5Ks and he wanted to try it. You do have to change your expectations though. No more 9 or 10 min. miles and we have walk breaks! I have to think of it as "together time" not "my workout time" and that helps a lot so I don't get frustrated. I run early in the am for me and after supper with him (not every day). We did have to have a long talk about how he wasn't going to place or get a medal, which was really tough. He was sure he'd get a medal:) But the races we do have him in a category with 18 and under (those cross-country high school boys run it in like 15 min!) He had to be okay with we are running for fun and to be healthy. I did not want tears on our first race. Just keep it fun. When he wants to walk, I try to get him to run to the next lightpole or something to push a little but not too much. Go slow and have fun!
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    I understand your problem here. I think you can incorporate exercise into their day in a variety of ways BUT I am going to come at this from a different angle. I am a teacher and a fellow teacher had a problem with her planning period always being taken up with kids needing to "make up a test" or whatever... My advice to her was that she was going to have to establish a schedule when they did this on HER terms.

    Without down time, we wear ourselves out and we cannot be all that we can be for our children. My suggestion is to be firm with bedtime or a settling down time and don't fall into the guilt trap. You do not owe them every waken hour of your time.. You have to have some time to recharge or in the end, you will not be able to hold out... You have to have time to unwind and deal with things that YOU need ... whether it is exercise or just talking to your husband. When you lack this time in your life, the resulting stress can cause you to be less than you can be... And the boundaries will actually do your 7 year old some good... you run your house... not your children... And bedtime is just that...

    Of course when a child is sick or has special needs, there are times we have to just "suck it up" and deal with it. If the child is healthy, it is ok for him to be told, "honey, there are some things mommy needs to do right now and it is your bedtime". Hope this helps.
  • curiositycat
    curiositycat Posts: 111 Member
    These are all fantastic ideas, and I've personally had success with many of them: track running so you can go at different paces but still supervise your kids, they bike or scooter while you run, etc. I do lots of workout videos at home, too, and my six-year-old daughter will join in. She has a pair of 2-lb. hand weights, and she even has her own little step for step aerobics. Once kids hit about age 5, there's so much they can do with you while you work out.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
    Why not get up super early in the morning? Ya, it sucks and is hard to do...................
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I have read stories about children as young as 6 finishing marathons, while this strikes me as a bit young it seems the current research suggests that there's no reason not to as long as it's something they're really into. (It was believed for a long time that too much running could have a detrimental effect on the growth plates of younger runners but this seems not to be the case)
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