Park Runs: Children - Why?

[Knowillbeflamed]

There’s a park run every Sunday near me. They jog along the pavement by the seafront taking the whole damn thing up so no one else can even walk along it.

Honestly, I don’t get running. But, what I understand even less is dragging young children along?! Yes, the older one’s (10+) seem to enjoy it but there’s at least 5x more that seem wayyyy to young - toddlers, very young kids - who hate it. They’re dragged along by their parents, literally kicking and screaming and crying.

AIBU to think if your kid hates running that much or patently doesn’t want to be there, that you do NOT force it on them?! Just because you like running doesn’t mean you force it on them. Find them an activity they enjoy.

PS. Yes I am annoyed by the sheer ignorance of 100+ people taking up that much space and forcing others to dive out the way - but mostly it’s the shrill screams of toddlers being forced to run that drives me bonkers. Someone will pop up and say ‘they love it,’ but I’m sorry - kids screaming ‘it hurts’ ‘I don’t want to’ whilst their parents drag them along by their wrist just angers me. And it’s not one parent one week - it’s multiple different parents on various weeks.

Exercise yes. Running 2k in a formal (if not necessarily competitive event), no. There are lots of ways to exercise.

I said my child complains. I didn't say I drag her along crying. If she wants to walk it that's fine. But if she does complain I gently cajole her around the course.

I’m idly reading it and replying to posts on a Sunday afternoon after rearranging the furniture. I’m not particularly invested. I just get irritated by the kind of behaviour that meant I did no exercise at all for literally decades. My objection is to forcing kids to do a type of exercise they clearly hate. Try to find something they like - or at the very least, dislike less. That way you may help them to set themselves up for an active life rather than the opposite.

My DD occasionally whines about going, but then what you don't see is her playing wonderfully after she's finished, in the playground for an hour afterwards, once the endorphins hit. She then comes home and is happy to eat whatever I put in front of her and her whole mood seems better for the day, for having that fresh air and exercise at the start, despite her protests. I do think its good to encourage exercise, even if its met with some resistance. Toddlers can't do parkrun, they have to be four.

@cardibach

the fact you didn’t do any exercise is completely on you.
lots of us don’t actually enjoy exercise but we do it anyway because it’s essential to keeping fit and well, and it’s good for kids to understand this too.

It's not formal. It's a group of excited kids running or walking round a park, with or without their parents, encouraged and watched over by volunteers. It's about as informal as it's possible for exercise to be. You don't even need to register your child if you don't want to, although most children do enjoy monitoring how many parkruns they've done, how close they are to getting the next wristband, and some get into the whole competing-against-self aspect of trying to improve their times.

Depends how fast you walk. You don’t really have to get your heart rate up much to be in that zone. The best way to burn calories is to build muscle tissue, not do a ton of cardio anyway.

We have loads of kids at ours who are happy to do the run (/walk) but still need a parent there for encouragement and to keep them on track. I think four still needs a parent even if there are marshals. But that doesn't mean they can't do parkrun. It's also a good way to build independence as once they know the route and aee a bit older they run alone.

What has that got to do with people’s responses to the OP about children she saw being dragged round crying? That’s what people are saying is daft. Making a child do a type of exercise they hate, not a child who isn’t massively enthusiastic. Though since children do normally like being active, I’d still say it was better long term to look for something they actively enjoy, rather than giving the impression exercise is something you endure.

I do lots of exercise. I didn’t for decades because of the horrible experiences I had in Pe at school being forced to do things I hated. It took me ages to get over that and get past the idea that all exercise was vile and horrible. You really don’t want to instil that idea in your children.

You were the one who responded to my post which said that my child complained.

Children say they are in pain when they have a stitch.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that there were so many children being dragged round in tears. Unless OP watches the entire event every weekend, I also doubt very much that individual children are being put through this on a regular basis.

I hated running as a child. My parents never took me running. Love running as an adult. It took me a few weeks of finding it hard to start enjoying it though.

I draw a parallel with my child and his piano lessons that he asked for. Loved the first year or two, didn't make the progress he wanted to stopped trying. Asked to give up. I said no, stick at it. Another few years of half baked effort. Now in his teens, he loves it and practices every day. Sometimes, as parents, we have to convince children that something hard is worth sticking at for the end result.

If a child is put off exercise by parents insisting they do parkrun even if they hate it, I would say the fault lies with their parents, not parkrun itself. It would be the same if a parent insisted on a child continuing with football training or swimming club or dance classes even if the child didn't like it. Parkrun itself could hardly be more encouraging and supportive of parkrunners of all ages. I speak from experience. I loathed PE at school and was put off all exercise as a result. I happen to enjoy walking and jogging round now, and I certainly enjoy having done it. Additionally, it's been designed to be manageable by people of all ages and all levels of fitness.

But I agree with others - many children would never venture out of their comfort zone, given the choice, but if given carefully judged encouragement, praise and so on, they will do it, and they will actually get a lot out if it. This is a good thing.

I was going to make the same comment about the exercises you’ve listed - and that you do - being out of the price range of most of the parents.

Kicking a ball round is great for some toddlers, but not all; and a lot of parks prohibit ball games now.

I’m not sure parents should force their kids to do park run if they don’t want to, but equally; I’d imagine that the parents doing this as the minority.., most are probably kids who usually like it having a bad moment. That happens to everyone. Toddlers are changeable.

Mine plays tennis every Sunday morning. 95% of the time he absolutely loves it. 5% of the time he asks to go and then refuses to join in for the first 10 minutes. He’s not really a crier and it doesn’t affect anyone else, but it’s still a pain in the arse.

I don't get them running park run (although we have in the past, in the pushchair), but my toddlers could be kicking and screaming going to the park, or going to the restaurant, or going to nursery, or going to the shop, or - I imagine - going to parkrun.
And be completely fine the next time, or 5 min before the start of the activity, or 5 min after.

You can plan your life on the possibility of your toddler "not liking it".

On the flip side... our parkrun recently closed because the course was too waterlogged too often, and we really miss it.

Thats just an excuse though, an adult is unable to blame anyone but themselves for a lack of exercise if they are physically capable. Just as an adult can only blame themselves for not eating vegetables etc.

Why are they too young to be doing it? Plenty of children will be fine to run 2k but won’t want to do it alone

My parents did the opposite so I didn’t exercise growing up. Everyone is different, your way isn’t always the best way

As long as you are convinced it is the right thing.

Same here, it literally didn’t occur to me to exercise until I was 25 and was told by a doctor I was overweight and should do. I
took up running and never looked back. I wish I’d been encouraged to do sport by my parents and imm absolutely not going to
make the same mistake with my own

Most people don't walk fast enough for it to be effective physical exercise.

However, the effect on mental health is another matter.

Is that the New Earswick one?

@Hwi

well it IS the right thing rather than be stuck in a loveless marriage

How did they get married if it was loveless? Also, do you expect this crazy 'love' to last until when? Do you not suppose for one minute that when the hormones settle, crazy love turns into something much better - real, quiet love. And no, children do not pick up on 'mummy lost sexual attraction to daddy' or vice versa. Children are self-centred. All they need is a civil, traditional, full family. Ask any psychologist worth their salary.