DH running with dd(8) at 5am

I also live rurally, so no, there isn’t street lighting. 8 year old with a head torch at 5am on narrow country lanes with tractors, no chance.

I’m far from a wet blanket. Running at 7am in August, as the sun comes up - bloody lovely. 5am, in the pitch black in February? Fucking weird.

@RollOnSunshine do guidelines recommend that distance for 4yos

It does, and it says maximum distance for a 9yo is 5k, and OP's DD is eight so not exactly years off.

Yes, it says she shouldn't be running 5 days a week but she's clearly very fit and loves exercise, and isn't being forced or pushed, so I would personally let her enjoy it while she can.

Does she eat enough to compensate for this amount of exercise? I personally think it’s too much for an 8yo, they should be tucked up in bed at 5am!!

I’ve also had a teen with an ED and that started with increasing amounts of exercise, it’s not an uncommon way for kids to tip in to a calorie deficit which develops into anorexia.

OP this sounds like a you problem. Especially given that they both want to do it, it was her idea and they make every effort not to disturb you.

So how much sleep is she losing? If it's half an hour I guess the argument is not as strong. But if it's an hour plus that's a significant loss for her. Plus she is waking up the younger children and disturbing their sleep as well as yours. YANBU given the amount of exercise she gets. I hate my sleep being disturbed with a vengeance. It has a real impact on how I function.

Exactly this.

Our local kids 2k parkrun has 4 year olds smashing it. For a sporty 8 year old 5km is absolutely nothing.

As long as she has sufficient sleep and nutrition she will be fine.

Just because most mumsnet readers get lactic acid walking up the stairs does not mean children should be limited to short runs.

how can an 8 yo keep up with a grown man for 30 mins? I would’ve had a stitch 15 mins in at that age! Maybe I was an unfit child

It must slow him down hugely. Does he mind ?

They give guidelines for training as well

Guidelines for competitions are different from casual running though, surely?

Aww I see a dad and daughter duo out running and think it’s so sweet. Albeit not 5am.. I’d tell her that she needs to be quiet when leaving the house and if she continue to wake everyone else, then she doesn’t run. Equally if faffing around and late for school — no more morning runs.

I follow the UK athletics guidelines for children.

If I saw a little girl that age, running in the pitch black I would think it was neglectful to be honest. I couldn’t give a shit about being woken up but I would care about her being knocked down, catching a cold, being too tired for school, losing too much weight as she’s doing all those other activities.

That is incredibly dramatic. She's out doing something she wants to do with her dad, who presumably wants to keep her safe and doesn't shove her in the road or force her up against her wishes

Why shouldn't she regularly run that distance if that's what she wants to do and it's what she enjoys, though?

She's clearly very fit. And as a PP said, she could easily run that distance at parkrun if she wanted, she's not limited to the 2k junior race.

Neglectful? If appropriately dressed and with a parent? Come on, seriously.

Catching colds happens when you are exposed to the cold virus, not from running on the streets when there's hardly a soul about 😂

Pitch black - do you not have any street lighting?! Heard of head torches?

Most kids in this country are overweight, and healthy, active kids given a healthy diet wuth sufficient calories will not lose dangerous amounts of weight.

I live in a rural area and it's quite normal for wee farm kids to be up with their parents feeding the animals and whatnot before school, even at 5 or 6am. We have a smallholding and ours used to come and feed the chickens and the ducks early morning before school, then they turned into grouchy teens and were less interested.

If you convey to your child how very dreadful it is to have to wake up at 7:45am in the winter to go to school, they too will start to believe it's a terrible hardship and (surprise) find it harder to get up for school. Again, be thankful you don't live here where the school bus would be round at 7:15am sharp because they have to collect all the other kids from the local villages as well!

No wonder so many kids are afraid of their own shadows if their parents are such wet blankets! Dear me.

Not everyone likes or thrives on unstructured time.

She's choosing to do this, so clearly enjoys it.

Way way way too much for her age and agree it’s far too early too.

See if there is a local Junior ParkRun, and get your DH to take her and run with her at that. It’s 2km every Sunday morning.

Junior park run don't "limit" them to 2k at all, that's literally the length of junior park run. You can join the standard 5k park run from your 4th birthday, the main difference is that children can run on their own younger at junior park run (over 14s are only there to accompany their child, so it's safer)
Anyway the junior park run I go to most of them run but not what I'd call fast. It's more of an amble than a run. For overtraining the intensity is far more relevant than the distance.
See a physiotherapist or other suitable professional if you have concerns, but I think focus on the sleep angle.

@saltandvinegarpringles not much unstructured time

Then don't stifle her interest in sports.

You have said you fall back to sleep straight away. 5km is not far for an athletic 8 year old.

This is such a non problem.

She probably likes the daddy daughter time OP. That's alright.

5K a few times a week for an 8 year old is too much.

No, I mean that training could work up to running 5K max now and again, NOT regularly running that distance.

She gets nearly 10 hours sleep which seems fine if she's not struggling.

In terms of downtime, lots of people fill theirs with constant activity. It's not a bad thing to like to stay busy.