to jog with DD?

[theweekendisnear]

I used to jog pre-children - last time I "ran" was 10 years ago, a half-marathon while a few weeks pregnant with DD1 (I did it in over 2 1/2 hours, so nothing to be proud of).

My DD1 (10 y.o.) asked me to start jogging together. I think it will be fun, but she is so skinny that I don't know if she has enough fat to burn while jogging. She is not even 24 kg, on the shortie side. She is a picky eater (and has a few allergies, so I don't push too much with her diet) and doesn't have a big appetite, but she eats healthy foods (pasta, rice, a little bit of beef, some chicken, fruit) and very little junk food. She has always been in the lowest centile for weight, even as a baby, and her bones are so tiny (she takes after her dad, not after me).

I think it will be fun to jog together, and it would make me exercise a little (she doesn't really need more exercise - she does ballet and gymnastics), but my worries are:

1. if we start jogging together, will she get even skinnier?

2. Is 10 too young to start jogging regularly?

3. Should she have proper jogging shoes, from day one?

Thanks for any suggestions/comments.

Jogging may give her more of an appetite?

My 8 yr old dd has done the race for life 5k with me for the last 3 yrs. Doesn't run regularly with me though.

If she is going to run regularly then yes I would get her proper shoes.

I started running with dd when she was 9. She did a 5k from nothing, though found that pretty hard. I don't think there would be a problem even if she's little, I'd have thought her body would naturally demand more food. My dd is a type 1 diabetic, so I could see it really does use up the energy, I had to feed her sweets along the way. Maybe you could try and see how it goes?

My friend was told not to let her 7 year old run more than 2.5k though, so it might be worth seeking professional advice. My dd ran in her ordinary trainers, I think that was fine. I miss the running with her now, don't no why we stopped, we used to have nice chats.

My 5 year old comes along for my cooldown (after my actual run) and we go at a veeeeeerrrrry gentle pace, for not very far.

I wouldn't want to have a child run for any sustained amount of time - i would do it as a cooldown, maybe half a km or so? You could see how she copes, maybe extend to a mile. More than tgat is pushing it.

Do it though, i love 'running' with dd, and she loves it too. It is great on so many levels

she wont get skinnier if she has no fat to lose, she will possibly tone her muscles more..

Thank you for the nice, encouraging comments about doing it gently/not for long. Thank you!

Yes, maybe we could try 5x(2 minute running, 1 minute walking) or something like that to start with.

and bearing in mind also.. by 11 and at high school.. many kids are doing cross country running.. (I hated it!)

It will be fun for both of you, start off gentle

Re Shoes - Don't buy trainers with a large heel as this can damage the knee, make them quite flat..as she is a young age you don't want her wearing out her joints

I think it sounds a great idea

Training for a gentle race for life sounds good

a new musculoskeletal study has concluded that the average modern running shoe is significantly more damaging to your knees, hips and ankles than running barefoot - or even walking in high heels. With osteoarthritis of the knee representing the biggest cause of disability in the elderly, this is a serious finding that's worth taking into account if you want to protect your joints.

Time and again, nature's solutions for physical architecture prove the most effective in the long run - and the world of running is waking up to the fact that the traditional cushioned running shoe might actually be doing more harm than good.

When you run barefoot, you naturally run on the balls of your feet, which lets your foot and ankle act as a wide-angled shock absorber for your whole leg. It's a scaled-down version of the way four-legged animals use their rear legs. The arch of your foot flattens with each stride and provides extra spring to the next step.

But when you use the average cushioned running shoe, with its elevated heel and arch supports, the tendency is to hit the ground with your heel first. While the shoes are designed to soak up a fair bit of the shock, they transmit the rest back up through the ankle, knee and hip, cumulatively causing the joint and cartilage damage that leads to conditions like osteoarthritis.

I would get some proper advice about how to start. I did cross country from about your dds age and it has messed up my knees good and proper. Maybe consult a doctor or a physio to see the best way to aproach it.

I think gentle is the key. My brother-in-law ran with his father from the age of 8 (lots of 5k races) and is facing partial knee replacement at the age of 36, while his sister, who also ran, has dicky ankles that prevent her from doing much more than walking.