to wonder how much exercise is too much for a 4yo / 5yo

[disneybee]

Is a daily 3k run in the snow, plus hillwalking 13k in the snow (no carries allowed!) followed by another 3k run the next morning and a 3k round trip on the scooter in the afternoon too much for a 4yo / nearly 5yo?

Oh well on 13k not 16k
Poor child.

Awesome.
My dd doesn't do that but she loves to run. She's 5 and comes jogging with me. We do about 4km each time. She has loads of energy left afterwards. To be honest she never sits still and has no interest in tv. She has never complained of being too physically tired. Unlike her older brother!

The mother is setting her child up for a lifetime of good health with developing the love of outdoors, exploration and exercise.

Children absolutely can and should have this level of stamina and her daughter will thank her in later life when she has lovely kids, tons of energy, abs of steel and all her mummy friends are green with envy struggling with baby fat!

@ProfessorSillyStuff

The mother is setting her child up for a lifetime of good health with developing the love of outdoors, exploration and exercise.

Children absolutely can and should have this level of stamina and her daughter will thank her in later life when she has lovely kids, tons of energy, abs of steel and all her mummy friends are green with envy struggling with baby fat!

Definitely very valid points! x

Obviously 22km in one go would be much too much, but over a couple of day, not necessarily.

What I find more disturbing is that there are so many children who do no exercise at all and would struggle to run 1 km - not because of an underlying medical condition but because they are so incredibly unfit. Those children do not grow up to be healthy adults.

My friend is like this with her son - just pushes him instantly to run all the time - he is a bit older than 4 but one day he will just refuse l think.

It’s sounds a lot but depends on the child. My DS would easily do this but my DD wouldn’t.

I have some Norwegian friends who did this length of hiking regularly with their kids. Also long cross-country skiing trips. But they didn't have a "no carry" policy and when the child was tired, they got carried.

I think physically what your friend is doing is fine and like others have said, is setting her kid up for good health in later life.

But she's missing the psychology of it. Bot engaging with how her kid is feeling and pushing her harder is very likely to end up with a teen who refuses to leave their room as a way of rebelling. The sport isn't an escape for the kid, it's an escape for the parent(s). However, if the child isn't too scarred by it then in adulthood there's a chance the child will come back to it. If it's associated with not being good enough, needing to suffer to be worthy of live, however, then it's a good way to turn your child off exercise as an adult too.

So 1.8 miles a day generally and a day with 8 miles. That really isn’t to much, especially if they are used to it. Years ago my 3 year old would walk her siblings to school with me, come back, take sibling to nursery, come back, go to get from school and come back - a total of 9 miles (14.5km) a day. And I didn’t pick her up either, if need be we’d walk slower on trips back, sing, chat, splash in puddles. I never felt the need to tell people “no carries allowed” though, that’s the bit that jars for me - it does seem a bit boast but there’s nothing wrong in being proud of your children’s achievements especially to a friend.
I wonder how your friend would feel if she knew not only were you judging her but you put this online for internet crows to pick over...that’s not friendship.

I’m assuming my child will be able to do that once they are 4/5 years old. But then it’s part of our life. DH takes her out most mornings in the stroller for a 5k run, I’m a sahm and go hiking 2-3 times a week with her - now she’s in a backpack but until 6 months was in a wrap or ergo, our hikes are between 5-12 miles depending on where we go and what time we start, we also go out for a quick neighbourhood walk after dinner sometimes 10 mins sometimes 30 mins.
DD isn’t yet walking unaided but I’m already making note of hikes which will be suitable for her once she starts.
I can imagine a friend of mine making the same comments as you are about yours. It comes down to lifestyle and what’s important to you as a family.

It's impossible to wear out my 5 year old. If we don't get her out she bounces off the walls.

In snow/slippery conditions she won't get carried either, except on the flat as too much risk of getting dropped - and the flat is the easy fun bit!

I think the hiking distance and the runs are fine considering they're on different days. We certainly did similar with the DC when they were younger. DS would happily have walked that and DD would have moaned for a carry for part of it. Not fine would be refusing to carry and still continuing (although tbf, I wouldn't have been able to carry mine any distance when they were 4/5) or not stopping for breaks or continuing to run when the child needs a rest. Also if the child is properly equipped- a lot of kids stuff is not as good quality as adult mountain clothing and sometimes people DH forget this.

Mine (DD) started refusing when she was 7 and had discovered other activities so we have now come to an agreement that we go every other day in the holidays, when we're at home.

I agree it's not the distance (my cousins living on the Alps do dimilar with their DC), its the "no carries allowed" that's uncomfortable (my cousins have a back carrier, I see from Instagram)

Well my dc were out in the snow for 9 hours yesterday running up and down hills etc but I wonder if they even clocked up 13km . If they are doing it without complaining though then it's not too much - if they are complaining/upset/tired then it's too much 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know a 5yr old who cycles 10km next to his jogging mum, then they go to the pool together for 30mins of laps/play. And that’s just their morning! The 5 yr old seems to love it. So I don’t think your friend is pushing her child too hard. Why are you envious that she takes her DC trekking in fun places while you only go locally? Could you suggest you and your DC joining in? There are so many fantastic trekking carriers for your little one. I think embrace it with you friend, get involved a few times, and that will answer your question

@MrsOmelette puts it in perspective a little too converting it to miles. It's really not that much for a fit child. The fact that someone actually finds activity disgusting is quite sad. I remember aged 3-5 when my mum couldn't drive we'd frequently walk in to town which was a 5 mile round trip but being dc especially as I got older I'd be running and zig zagging probably doing double the distance. Some days I might have moaned on the way back but my mum couldn't have carried me as she had shopping. The occasional longer hike on a weekend with family etc was a breeze.

My DD age 6 normally does approx 10 hours of gymnastics training a week but because of lockdown we have been out running / hill walking most days. Yesterday we went for a gentle 'stroll and ended up covering more than 5 miles.

She came back home, watched 30 mins of TV and was then again full of energy. Some kids are just built different - I wish I had half her energy!

She came back home, watched 30 mins of TV and was then again full of energy. Some kids are just built different - I wish I had half her energy!

My nearly 8 year old is the same. 9 hours they were outside in the snow yesterday - they only ate because I brought food out and she still didn't manage to sit through a movie without going off and doing something else a bit more active. My 11 year old is even more bubbly but at least seems to have an off switch eventually these days.

My child of the same age walks/skips/scoots 3km easily most days. We do a 5-6km hilly/woodland walk with her and she does it fairly easily but yesterday she said she was cold and tired towards the end (no snow here but it was raining at the end). There’s a nice 8km loop near us that we want to do but we’re leaving it until the spring and will probably have to carry her some if it. There is no chance she would manage 16km at the moment but my friends did 10 or 12 with their child of the same age a couple of months ago. I’m assuming the child in the op has worked up to that distance and wasn’t just chucked into it! I wouldn’t be able to cope with the level of whingeing or how long it would take with a 4 year old in tow!

Sounds fine to me. With some children you just have to walk them until they’ll sleep. DS isn’t 3 yet but we do a couple of miles a day minimum, with much longer walks when the weather was nicer. I also don’t carry him (not an actual rule - we take breaks instead because he’s tall and solid).

I’m not particularly outdoorsy, just desperate to tire him out.

It sounds ok to me. Sounds like the 3km daily is regular and the hike isn’t daily.

3km-1.8miles should be easily done by most children daily. Aren’t they supposed to be ‘moving’ for min 3hrs per day according to NHS.

I think the issue isnt the daily 3km run or the 13km hike, it's the perceived forcing of the child. Theres always different parenting styles so do you really think there would be no carries if the child was struggling? My 4 year old did a 7 mile walk the other day with no carries. I was fully expecting whinging and requests for carrying but they only asked once early on the walk to which I said no (as I know they weren't really tired). After that they were fine and running around, scrambling up small hills etc. Made me realise I had been worrying about longer walks for nothing and they can handle it fine. I know this year has impacted their fitness as they dint get playtime to just run around with friends so walking is all we can do and needed.

Wouldn't be able to fit most 5 yo in a proper framed carrier. Most have a 15kg weight limit. Possibly 18kg. My 5yo is just in that limit but would be very uncomfortable in the carrier, as would the person carrying it as she'd be too long.

We regularly do 10k hikes with 5 yo, carrying 2yo in carrier and letting him out for flat/down bits. She's generally up for going further.

If we had an emergency we could probably fit her in the rucksack, but carries would definitely be emergency only and not on difficult terrain. She prefers to run the easy fun bits anyway!

2 yo walks at least 2 miles a day on the school run, with some casual carries. Add a mooch to the park and he's probably doing another mile or 2...

Sounds fine but obviously in a country where reaching across the couch for the remote has people breaking out in a sweat, it's going to sound pretty hardcore

My dd1 was like this. Ran loads and walked miles. She was very sporty until she was 17, competitive runner, then discovered boys and booze. She's now a normal healthy young woman who swims a couple of times a week and has a fitbit.