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.

There aren't that many ways if you're poor, or time poor. Which clearly you're not if you have 3 spare hours every day for swimming and walking, before you've even ridden your horse.

You’re not wrong OP.

Why is parkrun the only thing you can think of to do for free? Go to the exact same park and walk, or play tag, or use one of the many free playgrounds around the place.
Oh but hang on... None of those things enable you the adult to get the run in that YOU want, so you drag your kid around the parkrun because you want to do a full run yourself rather than a more chilled out bit of footy or tag in the park.
Parents who do this are just putting themselves first. Especially the ones insisting on little 5 and 6 year old completing the full adult 5k parkrun, yes there are parents who do this!!

I agree DC shouldn’t be made to run just because their parent enjoys it and wants to. There are fun and more child friendly ways to exercise as OP said, being ‘dragged around’ a park run route would be counterproductive to building healthy habits.

I say this as someone who got dragged on long walks as a young child. It didn’t make me resilient in any positive way.

OP on your side, I appreciate it may mean a change in your routine but can you avoid the route during the run?

@Hwi

its fine for kids to have to fit in with adults sometimes.

there will be lots of single parents whose only chance to exercise is to do park run with their kids. Are you saying those parents shouldn’t be able to exercise?

You think children used to be put first more than they are today, have you got an example? I think the opposite is true.
Your comment about single parent family's i couldn't disagree more with either.

Off topic a bit, but kids absolutely are affected by parents in loveless marriages. They very much 'give a toss' about adults who barely communicate with eachother or row a lot, but even if that's not going on and parents do their best to keep it civil and friendly, kids aren't stupid.
Best thing my parents ever did for me was get divorced when I was a child. I have seen too many adults who lived through the alternative of 'staying together for the kids' to ever wish my parents had tried it.

Parent's needs can take priority sometimes.

I think it's a bit sad that we consider 5k a long way these days.

Yes, I dragged my 6yo the full 5k. Yes, they complained. A year later, they are asking me to do new park runs.

@Tagyoureit

and it’s ok for adults to put themselves first sometimes especially when it comes to exercise! Getting in some good cardio (which walking isn’t) helps you with your health so you can be a fit , healthy parent to your kids.

I mean it doesn't really bother me - I'm not actually inconvenienced as they tend to move out of my way (the benefits of being stereotyped)! The 'others' I referred to are more along the lines of just other people out for walks or morning runs.

I'd find the general poor attitude ('let's jog six abreast along the sea-front') less irksome if the kids were clearly enjoying it...but most of them aren't.

A good blast of fresh air, it is 2k - over very quickly
they can’t MAKE a child run, so probably, walk, trot, run, chat moan whatever !!!
like loads of people have said, it’s is free, good for health, gets kids off tech for a bit, it is brilliant !!!!

Or actually going to the park and playing in the playground. I hate running, love going on the swings! Good exercise too. 😁

There are plenty of ways to exercise without park run it’s not the be all and end all for anyone including single parents.

If their DC is young and in pain and upset no of course they shouldn’t be forced to run.

Why the fuck do you care OP? You could just not care. It’s really consuming to spend time getting annoyed with other people’s parenting choices. They aren’t making you do anything, just parent your kids the way you see fit and let the judgment go. Besides, you don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives, leave them be.

As it happens, I have run round junior park run with my youngest crying the whole way. I said we can stop, we don’t have to carry on. He wanted to keep going because he really wanted to finish and he was very proud of himself when he got there. Sometimes people (especially kids) cry when something is hard, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to do it. And even if they don’t want to do it, sometimes you are trying to teach your child the value of doing something worthwhile. Gosh when they were toddlers, my kids would cry having their teeth brushed. I still made them do it.

Entirely depends how fast you walk. Walking is excellent aerobic exercise and 8s easier in the joints for those of us who have to care about that. Dont dismiss other forms of exercise. It’s attitudes like this that make some people think they might as well not bother.
Why would you do exercise you don’t enjoy? Something you have to force yourself to do is far less sustainable than something you enjoy. Have a look for something you like, for goodness sake. Stop being a larger and judging anyone else who doesn’t martyr themselves. (Walking, weights, PT, cycling, tai chi amd yoga here - I’m very active. I can’t and won’t run)

Sunday park runs are for kids. The grown up one is on Saturdays

how do you think you get great cross country runners? How do you think you install good habits in kids? How do you think you build resilience and determination and discipline?
by doing activities with your kids and showing them they can get better each week if they practice.

In general, parkrun has a lot of positive aspects. But there will always be specific locations, incidents, parents, runners, who don’t behave as well as they should.

Saturday parkrun is 5k, will generally be over in an hour, participants are always reminded to be considerate when parking and that the area ( might not always be a park) is for other users too. This will not stop some ass holes from totally ignoring that.

Sunday is junior parkrun, 2k, so over in about 30 minutes. I’ve run and volunteered at lots of Saturday ones, as well as volunteering over 100 times at juniors. Rarely there will be pushy parents forcing their children in an unacceptable fashion - a good Run Director will have a word. You are right to be concerned if you see something specific that worries you. But as others have said, you don’t know the individual circumstances.

my parents constantly let me quit things quickly if I wasn’t enjoying it. If’s really ruined any resilience/motivation/ perseverance I’ve had and I won’t make that mistake with my children.

You can’t think of any exercise other than park run which is free? How odd.

Kicking around football around a park involves RUNNING. Were you aware of that? or do you not get that either?

Astonishingly, not everyone lives near a beach in this country.

And swimming in the sea? In January, in the UK? For young children? Is that really an option (and I say this as a year-round outdoor swimmer myself, but I would not be dragging a 4yo child into 5 degree water with me 😂)

Of course parkrun isn’t the only free activity that exists. The point is, it’s a damn good option. It’s safe, well organised, sociable and rewarding.

Indeed- if my parents had taken me swimming in the sea in January I would have absolutely hated it. I cant believe you think a swim in freezing cold water would be preferably to a gentle run 😂

Park run at 4 year old pace is no more exercise for the adult than a walk would be

Cardio absolutely can be good cardio. Don’t be silly. And running at child pace is probably no faster than walking - especially if they are resisting all the way.

I think you missed my point...most 4 year olds would probably prefer that to be dragged around by their wrist by their mother or father at 9am on a Sunday.

I think you're just being purposefully rude tbh.