I have a 3 year old
son named Emerson. That's him (see above) greeting me at mile 13 as I run my first marathon. He is absolutely the light of my life. One of the BIGGEST
reasons why I decided to get healthy and run is because of him.
When my running
journey started Emerson was 18 months old. My husband and I looked at ourselves
and knew we were headed down a bad road, one that foreshadowed short lives,
dependent on medication, and possibly subjecting our son to the same fate.
Neither of us wanted that for ourselves and especially not for our son.
I like to think that
I was a fairly active child. I was always involved in sports and rode my bike
around the neighborhood for hours with my sisters and my friends. I even won a
nutrition poster contest when I was in 2nd grade. Lol. But (at no fault to my
parents) I was also prone to laziness and pigging out. These habits came from
not being taught any different.
I fully believe that
good eating habits start at a young age. They NEED to start at a young age so
that children can fully embrace them as they grow into independent adolescents
and young adults. In terms of physical activity, I think children have an innate
desire for it but as adults we need to give them those outlets and those
opportunities. That means putting down the game (or turning off the TV, etc.)
and…
- Going outside for a walk/jog
- Running around the house
- Doing 50 jumping jacks
- Yoga
- Timing your kids to see how fast they can clean their room (It has to be done anyway! Why not make it into exercise?)
- Playing outside. Period. Let them climb trees, crawl under things, explore!
- Riding bikes
- Taking a hike
- Engage them in any type of exercise you are doing. Sit ups, push ups, weights, stretching, that corny aerobics DVD.
- Sports.
- How high can you jump? How low can you squat? Repeat.
- Swimming.
This list could go
on and on. Tonight my son joined me as I did 30 sec planks and then we walked on the treadmill together. Didn't take up a lot of time and he loved it. I think it's really important with kids to make it fun so be
creative. I also think it's important to talk to your kids about diet and
exercise too. "Why are we doing 50 jumping jacks, Mommy?" "Well doesn't it feel good? We work out
so we can feel good and then we don't have to go to the doctor as much."
Or however you want to put it but help them make that connection between eating
right, exercise, and their overall health. This will be something that they
come to value. Isn't that what we want for our children?
I absolutely want
that for my son which is why I knew I had to be a better example. So I run, try
to eat healthy, and continue to battle the bad habits I've lived with my whole
life. It's super hard and I fail a lot but my son is worth it.
Happy running!
Amanda
More pics of Emerson...
Yoga with Mom
Walking the dog
Riding his bike
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