Park Runs: Children - Why?

We regularly get 13 and 14 year olds - they run 5k on a Saturday and 2k on a Sunday - different kids win at each distance. Plus we have a few who have run 300 junior Parkruns and are going for records.

I don't think the wide age group is a problem. Nobody expects the 4 year olds to win but watching the older kids gives them something to aim for and also it clearly isn't "just for babies" which is the risk of a younger age limit. It also means a 12 year old can still start with a 2k rather than launching into a 5k.

I think junior parkrun is great but I agree with the op that it shouldn't be something a kid is dragged round crying. My kids have all done parkrun at one time or another but absolutely at their choice. My aim was also for them to enjoy it so we walked and chatted if they wanted to!

In my experience kids being forced round crying was thankfully rare. And any time I did encounter it it was absolutely a pushy middle class parent in expensive work out gear with a kid called Ottilie or Rupert being screamed at so I don't think it was a case of this being the only activity they could afford...

A memory me and my husband still shake our heads at is some poor sobbing out of breath preteen lad being screamed at by his dad as my husband went past him at parkrun 'DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU, DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU'. I mean, bloody hell it's supposed to be a chilled out run in a park not the Olympics!!

You have never ridden a horse, have you? Not saying it's an affordable alternative to Parkruns, but it's certainly exercise!

@Knowillbeflamed

dog walking isn’t really exercise, certainly not in the same way running is. It’s not really gonna get your heart rate up. Same for horse riding- it’s exercise for the horse but not so much the human who is literally sat on their arse.

Exercise doesn’t have to be enjoyable, it’s just something we have to do to be healthy and fit.

Why use fat parents as your example of people who have sedentary lifestyles if you don't want them to reply to you?

I'm tired of lazy stereotyping and always happy to challenge it.

Took my fat arse to the park this morning at 9.30 with my 7 year old!

As I said in later posts she also does other exercise that she actively chooses to do!
I am eternally grateful that my parents forced me out on runs and hikes with them throughout my childhood despite all my complaining- it would have been much easier for them to let me sit at home and watch TV. I also force my children out hiking on weekends and on holidays and despite initial complaints they usually end up having a great time. Sometimes children need a little push!

You should pick - gymnastics, swimming, cycling, skating, horse riding

check your privilege @Knowillbeflamed
every one of those sports costs money

horse riding FFS 🤦‍♀️

I clicked YABU, only because you left dogs out of your post. YANBU about kids and Park Runs, but dogs should be left out of Park Runs. I know of a Park Run, where dogs are banned, but some runners bring them anyway.

@Knowillbeflamed

for goodness sake, so what if it’s more for the parents?! it does kids to do stuff that others like, and it’s not all just about them.
and it won’t have hurt, the child will just have been trying it on. Running is a completely normal thing for the human body to do.

@mitogoshigg can you really truly not think of any other forms of exercise that are free?

YANBU. I hated running in PE and my parents dragging me out on a damp and cold Sunday morning to run through a muddy park would have been hell for me. There are many other physical activities that are cheap or free and can be enjoyed as a family - cycling, walking, hiking, swimming, climbing, skating, badminton.

I think YABU about parkrun, it's only an hour a week and something you could easily avoid.
But I do agree that children (especially younger ones) shouldn't be forced to do something they really hate / that's causing them serious discomfort. I've witnessed a child actually vomiting at the end of parkrun due to over-exertion (reported it to the RD), and several others being berated by parents for not trying hard enough.
I run with my youngest (12) and eldest (13) runs with my DH (too fast for me) - youngest needs a bit of encouragement sometimes but feels proud when he's done it. We sometimes even stop off for an ice cream / hot chocolate after a run but it's never a bribe as such. I always stress that when it's no longer fun, or too hard going, we should just walk or head back home.

Walking?
Kick about in the park?
Swimming in the sea?
Beach combing?

Good for you.

Why reply if you're not the sort of parent I was clearly referring to?

Exactly. When I was a kid “park run” didn’t exist, but I was forced into plenty of team sports at school, which I hated. It put me off exercise for years. I just assumed I wasn’t an exercise person, and as soon as I left school I did nothing. It wasn’t until my mid 20s that I discovered aerobics could be fun, and then a few years later I started running. If I hadn’t been forced to play hockey in the rain for years, I might have found a type of exercise I enjoyed a bit sooner.

So park run is the only alternative to obesity? It's not even enough to have any effect on it to be honest.

Neither does going for a walk in the park. Cycling is a one off cost for a bike shown many kids have.

To be fair, very few 14 year olds do it. Once you get to 11, you can run 5k PR on your own so most graduate to that. We get them occasionally when they need a time trial for something like the London Mini Marathon. They get a talking to about taking care of the little ones.

As a parent of a child with a disability, it's great to know he can still take part. I would love to move him up to 5k, but unfortunately it's a bit far.

And if it means she refuses to do any exercise for years once you can't force her to go? It's really short sighted to insist on a form of exercise someone hates. Find something she likes.

I agree OP.
Kids should be encouraged to do exercise they enjoy, not forced to do something they clearly hate just because their parents like it.

I like running, I’ve been running regularly for decades, but my kids don’t. However, they’re both sporty, so when they were younger we were always out and about, in the park, playing football, cycling, climbing trees, playing hide and seek - exercise and fresh air in a way they actually enjoyed. I would never have dragged them out running with me.

My DS wasn't "sporty", not very good at football, no confidence etc. But we took him to junior parkrun every Sunday. When he got to secondary school and started doing proper athletics, to his astonishment he found he could beat the huge majority of his classmates. This increased his confidence no end.

*need.
I rest my case 🙄

*encouraging.
We bed editing in the app

Is it e coursing them if they hate it? I get that they are doing some exercise right then, but being forced into exercise I hated put me off all exercise for decades. The choice isn't running or sitting in front of the TV stuffing in sugary treats. There's also a walk in the park, cycling, swimming, team games...

All of these activities you have mentioned cost money. Junior parkrun is a free and accessible activity for everyone. Those ten year olds that are happily running were, in most cases, the younger child that was being “dragged” along by the parents at some point. Do you have children? The easy option on a Sunday morning would be to give your child an iPad or switch the tv on then go back to bed and ignore them for a few hours. As a parent, getting up on a Sunday morning with whinging children and taking them to the local park for 9am for a 20 minute run, which they are resisting, is hard work. But we do it because it’s good for them, it’s instills good habits, and it pays dividends when they are older and have healthy attitudes rather than sitting on their arse watching tv or gaming all day. Perhaps if your parents had encouraged a bit more physical activity when you were younger you might “get it”.