Would you expect a just turned 9-year-old to be able to ?

[AFewScrewsLucy]

Cycle 2 miles on a flat path, Have a fun swim for 45 minutes and cycle 2 miles home after having their lunch after the swimming?

Yes my 7 yr old and probably even my almost 5yr old would be ok with that but they love cycling.

No mine wouldn't do all that. They'd chose to cycle or swim, but not both. Swimming is tiring, especially if someone's a weak swimmer.

Yes probably. I live in a very hilly area with no cycle lanes so we don't get much cycling in, but on flatter terrain I imagine there would be no problem my 8 year old doing this (although beyond 2.5 miles each way she'd moan). My 6 year old would happily do it (and much more) and probably run around in the garden afterwards. Very different children!

Yes for 8yo DS. He often does a kids CrossFit class for 45 mins, then does a mile run to try and improve his time (with me, wouldn't let him run the route alone) and then has a football match. But I'd say there's a big variation amongst his class and others wouldn't for a number of reasons.

Yes, mine regularly cycles longer than that. Depending on how hangry and the weather, may do some complaining along the way though.

Yes, I would expect they could.

I mean it really depends. How proficient is he at all of those things? DS would struggle physically I think to cycle that far and probs ly wouldn't be up for a swim after. And he'd def not want to cycle back.

DS2 yes but he had adhd and does sport 7 days a week 🤣

DS1 at that age would have moaned on the way back.

Some will, some won’t. Some moan about walking, some are full of beans.
Some haven’t learnt to swim / cycle for various reasons.
Some are naturally sporty, some not. Some are fitter than others!

I wouldn’t think it would be beyond the average ability of a nine year old if they are used to being active and can swim / cycle.

yes but potentially with moaning.

My 8 yo would struggle to do these combined, one directly after the other. A 4 mile round trip could be done especially if broken up but the swimming would tire mine out alone, before we got to the cycling.

If we had to do it for whatever reason I'd expect a bit of moaning and would probably consider bribery of sweets for the return journey.

This is MNs though & people will say their 6 yr olds do a triathlon before school.

Lots of 6yos could do that. My 10yo would struggle (we're not a very fit family!) It would be very unkind to my 10yo to expect him to "just get on with it" on the basis that other random children who are not him can manage.

Of course they could, no reason not to. when i was 5 we walked the just under 2 miles to the pool and back and spent 2 hours in the water ( all without parents, just my 9 year old brother) If a child is struggling to do that you have to ask why they are so unfit.

Any child who cycles and swims reasonably often, yes, easily. Whether they would want to do it is another matter, depending on their character etc,.

If kids would struggle to do that.. then it's not surprising there are so many fat kids about is all I can say. 4 miles is really not that far on a bike.

I think it depends on the child. My 8yo moans a lot walking a mile to school- not much stamina. I think she'd flag.

My 10 year would totally have been able to do this at 8/9, and still have energy left over for more.

Definitely. 2 miles should only take about 10-15 minutes to cycle.

If no health, confidence or ability issues then yes. My ds and I go for 18 mile bike rides which we started doing in lock down when he was 8 (with a good hour break in the middle for food). My 7 year old dd wouldn’t manage 18 miles though, probably not even 4 in one go but would manage them broken up into 2 miles then 2 miles without an issue. It’s very child dependent.

mine are capable swimmers but wouldn’t want to swim 45 min non stop- they’d want to swim a bit then play

Yes but having said that my 10 year old can't ride a bike!

It surely depends on the child and where they live. I never got a bike so probably still couldn't ride one, and didn't learn to swim until I was 10, so I wouldn't have been able to do these things. I could've walked forever and ridden a pony though, I could also drive a tractor, but that was my environment.

I'll add a caveat, where I live now I would struggle)unless taking the motorbike ) because it's a 1:5 hill to the swimming pool, that's up then down. It's actually easier to walk as the coastal path isn't as hilly but is completely unsuitable for bikes due to steps

Assuming they were fit and healthy, yes. They'd certainly sleep well that night!

Depends how fit they are? If a gaming couch potato then no. That's a lot of exercise for someone who does none.

Yes unless they were disabled.
I cycled 3 miles to school each day when I was 9 and I think cycling is easier then walking as you can peddle and rest at intervals.