Question for NF parents: Are you able to make fitness a family affair?

[smurray]

UGH FINE.

http://nerdfitness.com/community/forumdisplay.php?120-General-Discussion

Let me know what y'all want the sections to be and I'll make them! Just put up a general discussion one now because I dont have kids and have NO IDEA what you want them to be :)

Thanks for the parents/family guild spezzy, we promise we won't make you baby sit. I think two big sections we would probably use would be one for food and diet and another one for exercise and activites.

[macnip78]

I have a 5 year old boy. I think I've done a horrible job of instilling good eating habits. It also seems like he's extremely picky. I don't have consistent good eating habits myself, so that doesn't help. I'm trying to figure out how to kind of "wean" him off the bad stuff. I'm not quite sure how to go about it. The good thing is he does see that I make an effort to exercise (we go to the gym at least twice a week, usually more like 3-4). I'm glad to see there are other parents on here. I had been wondering this same thing.

There is no way to expect your child to eat healthy if you do not. They are going to copy you (or anyone else they look up to, older cousins, etc.). With our son, he eats what we make for dinner or he doesn't eat. If he doesn't eat dinner then he gets his dinner from the night before, reheated, as breakfast. You are the authority. You need to establish that. It sounds mean but establishing this early will do you wonders in the future.

[scotticus]

I'm 32 and have one daughter @ 16 months. Most of my life-changes were inspired by her directly. Shortly after she was born, I suddenly had a real reason to give a sh!t and decided that if I wanted to be the best that I could for her right now AND be around for her later on, I would have to make some serious changes. Intertia is a beotch though, and it took me a while after she was born to actually do anything about it.

I'm on the road now though, and I'm pretty proud to be setting a good example for her. She's just starting to understand the world around her, so this is a perfect time to teach her to take certain things (like exercise and healthy food) for granted.

I think that all parents who undertake this sort of journey should give themselves a big pat on the back. Raising kids it tough, and managing to make big changes on top of those that come along with the parenthood package is no small feat!

[ncwingnut]

Well, being as I am old (40) both my kids are in college (20 and 18 respectively). My son has always been athletic. He wrestled in middle and high school and also ran cross country in high school. He's the one who got me into running a year ago. My crazy goal is to be able to do the Umstead 100 miler in 3 years. I'll be really old then .

My daughter and I go to the gym together and we work out with the same trainer. He likes to make it a competition between us and it works! I just wish I had started sooner with her

[shinigamiPUNCH]

I have a 10 year old laid back boy and a 5 year old hyper active girl. We swim every weekend and play the interactive games at the Y, daughter plays on the jungle gym (sometimes my son does too but he's too old and it bothers him). We also take walks when my allergies aren't bad and run around, just general shenanigans. When they play at the park, I play too (otherwise my son tends to sit next to me). I'm pretty straight forward with my kids, we weren't healthy for a long time so I feel they need to know why we're making this change. I have a lot of allergies, food and otherwise, and just got generally so sick all the time. So they understand that we need to be active and eat healthy to live (and it's also fun). My boyfriend and his Mom are super active and that helps too. They're the only people I know that don't always use food as rewards. That irritates me when people do that!

[Moxie Hart]

My girls are 7 and 10 and I stress out about this sort of thing ALL THE TIME. One thing they do notice is that I have changed my life and the way I eat. They are used to be going to the gym, used to me being active and choosing healthy options whereas they are both old enough to remember when I did not.

The 10 year old.... oy I am trying to get her to put on weight she is so stick thin. I feed her protein and lots of it. Thankfully she loves veggies and fruits but... she also loves sweets. She isn't really into carbs. Therefore my biggest challenge is to teach her moderation of those sweets she likes. I do my best to only have things I am ok with her eating in the house. She also is doing roller derby with me so she gets the idea of being athletic and enjoys it.

The 7 year old is an entirely different story. She would eat nothing but white rice and bread all day if I let her. I find her eating habits ironic because she is the one I took the time to breastfeed til she was 2. Yet she was also the one born when I was in full depression mode and therefore I didn't teach her the best eating habits then. :-/ Thankfully she isn't unhealthy, but I do have to try very very hard to get her to eat things that are better for her... she is increasingly picky as she gets older and able to talk back. With her I have to play video games and push her to ride her bike. Also I encourage her to walk to school with her sister. Its a very fine line to walk and I'm constantly aware of my behaviors with her as to not encourage self esteem or food issues.

[Pat G]

Over stressing isn't a good thing as a parent, you get enough of it as is without having to then add stress about fitness and food.

I reckon, and its been said several times already that the best way to make Fitness and Health a family affair, is you as the parent to lead by example.

Include your kids in your warmups, use them as weights, teach them to do a pushup with you(get them to sit on your back while you do pushups... argh), take them walkabouts.

Even if you don't want to or can't include them in your workouts, Be generally active with them, don't sit down at the end of every day and flick the TV on for the rest of the night.

You're the best lead they'll ever have in life, its up to you, not school teachers, not TV or commercials to instill the right skills and attitudes.

I like this:

Surround him by as much of the good stuff as possible?

Always focus on what you can have, not what you can't; that seems to go double for kids. Good luck!

Strangely with my twins aged 5, one will eat more vegetables than the other, actively chooses it over other food. But the other will only eat it if persuaded. Our method has been to keep on giving the good stuff to the both of them and she eventually responds and eats.

Also.. If you're just starting out on making the change for healthy food for your kids. Remove any "Bad" options in the fridge or pantry that your kid knows they can get their chops around if they kick and scream and carry on about the food that you've placed on the table. That way, without an unhealthy alternative, even if you do feel like backing down and giving up at that moment in time, you still win!

[Waldo]

When it came to baby food, my wife made the promise to our children that if she wouldn't eat it, she wouldn't feed it to them. That really comes to light when you go to a baby shower and one of the games is to sample store bought baby food and you see the disgusting looks on the taste testers' faces. Try to feed your children the same dishes you are eating. If you have english peas for dinner, use a baby food mill and mash it right there at the table. When our children started transitioning to solid food it was very smooth since it was the same stuff they had always been eating. I would suggest to steam veggies, and avoid adding anything to the dish. I started to gain a taste for just the vegetables without salt and butter during this time. My wife breast fed, so we really didn't add meat to their diet until they were old enough to handle small bits of food.

I will also state that we didn't completely cut out store bought baby food. We still had snacks and other quick dissolving treats during the transition to solid foods, but my wife and I taste tested and checked out the nutritional facts first.

The same. Our little one gets store bought snacks, but he's only had the jarred stuff once, it tasted terrible and he didn't like it (we were away from home). We're kinda in an in between stage right now, he hates being spoon fed, but can't use one himself. Lacking teeth there isn't a huge variety of finger foods for him yet. He absolutely loves steamed broccoli though. The only canned food he really gets is pure pumpkin pie filling.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I think making activity a life long habit is the most important part of the equation, so I make sure I'm running around outside with the kids almost every day. I also try to role model good habits, we run errands by bike and she sees me work out. My wife thinks it's the nutrition, so she makes home made meals and her own baby food from organic, local stuff.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1461[/ATTACH]

The toddler in her dinosaur outfit, hanging from the pullup bar in it's inverted row spot, shouting, "I'm getting strong!"

[ZenGwen]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1461[/ATTACH]

The toddler in her dinosaur outfit, hanging from the pullup bar in it's inverted row spot, shouting, "I'm getting strong!"

Not a parent or anything, but I just had to say... that is so awesome.

[67alecto]

My kids do that sort of stuff all the time. When my son (9) and I were doing the 100 Pushups program, my daughter (4 years old) would get down there with us. I bought some kettleballs last week, and my daughter was having a blast picking up the 40lb kettleball after deciding the 20lb wasn't heavy enough. I congratulated her on a nearly 100% BW deadlift.

[Pat G]

haha. that is awesome Alecto. You've got a super athlete on your hands.

Included my girls in pushups last night. 2 sets of 10 with one of them on at a time, 20 with the baby and then 4.5 pushups with all 3 on.

good fun

[Ryan Sannar]

This. Is. So. Awesome. All of this. I can't wait to be a dad now.

*Yells at girlfriend* Hey we need to go get married.

[dodsfall]

My oldest daughter (3) is really into yoga thanks to her grandmother and as a result it has turned into a weekly family activity that all 5 of us participate in. Even the 10 month old baby is starting to get interested in joining us. During the warmer months we also do a nightly bike ride which all three of the kids really are enjoying.

@scotticus: I agree, having kids got my ass in gear to quit smoking and to get healthier. Not wanting them to see me as a smoker made quitting the easiest thing that I have ever done with out a single relapse these few years later.

[Tom Kenobi]

Just checking back on this thread. Definitely still agree with my earlier post and the others that have voiced the same. Gotta lead by example. My three girls now ask to do pull ups on my power tower. I hold them by their sides and give them a little weight assistance. They are learning. On wednesday night, I did get a report card of sorts on how I was doing with leading the charge. We were taking these two kids home from our church activity (both of them are pretty overweight and their parents don't exactly lead the example), the boy we were driving was talking about piggin out on candy, and, while my girls DO love candy, my oldest after awhile chimed in with "Ok, can we talk about GOOD food? You know, like veggies and protein?" hahaha, she is using my language!

[Sloth the Enduring]

This. Is. So. Awesome. All of this. I can't wait to be a dad now.

*Yells at girlfriend* Hey we need to go get married.

She doesn't read NF does she?

[Maledictus]

What challenges and successes have you had that have included your kids? Are your kids an inspiration in you achieving your goals?

I only started on this health kick because my youngest bullied into jogging back from picking her up from school one day and humiliated me all the way back.

As for including the kids, I try...

http://nerdfitness.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=1534&d=1326832888

[Ryan Sannar]

No, but she's on board.

[Sloth the Enduring]

http://nerdfitness.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=1534&d=1326832888

Nice; horseplay is built into our after-dinner routine (gets me out of doing the dishes too). While we're playing I end up doing squats while carrying the kids, pressing them, farmer's carrys, sometimes I'll curl them, my daughter's new after dinner routine is to sit on my feet and yell at me to do leg extensions, "Bounce Daddy, Bounce!". I figure the progression is built in as long as I keep feeding them.

[Thrillho]

I have tried, but it's remarkably difficult for a number of reasons.

My oldest is 10, and has juvenile arthritis. He's back on his meds, which is SERIOUSLY depressing him, so he's back on multiple pills and weekly injections. He's doing so much better this year than last year, though, and he's actually lost five pounds since October. Normally that might not be a good thing in a child, but he's noticeably less pudgy (he was sure taking after me there for a bit). He's really into sports, but his speed isn't great, because of his knees (for almost the entire age of four I just carried him around since he couldn't walk, and he's never really caught up). He's 4'9 and 104 lbs, though, and wears bigger shoes than my mom. Gonna be a big guy.

My middle girl is five, and she can probably beat me up. No troubles there. She is also about four inches taller than anyone else in her class. I make big babies.

My youngest is four, and she is finally UP to the fiftieth percentile for size. She has been quite underweight for most of her life, and severe anemia was only discovered a month ago. She is very energetic, though, and we no longer have many worries about her.

My wife is 5'11", but is nearly as big as I am (and I am 6'4" and quite chunky). She is not the 'working out' kind, and anything beyond walking the kids to and from school usually leaves her sore and cranky for the rest of the day. I try to get her to work out with me, but she usually just leaves the room when she isn't being outright demotivational. I am hoping in the summer I can find some way to entice her to work out, maybe get her to note her current limits (squats, situps, something) and then try to beat them. She works well with deadlines and prizes / compensation, so if I manage to find work again I am hoping that I can work something out where she can buy more yarn / fabric the more she works out.

This year, we live eight blocks from an awesome beach on a warm lake, and I plan to use that to the absolute fullest.

[knifeboots]

My 7 yo is in an after school TKD program. No shortage of exercise there. My 4 yo does gymnastics once a week, and in the warmer months does soccer fundamentals once a week. Both boys play outside on the weekends - there is no shortage of running around.

I am trying to get them to eat less grains, but it's a slow process (and my husband still eats grains, so it's not like I can just clear out the house and say "Mommy doesn't buy that anymore" - well, I could, but I might get served with divorce papers!). Mostly I try to lead by example. I've told my boys that I don't eat grains anymore because they make me feel bad (bloating / weight gain / carb fog), and I know they pay attention to what their father and I eat. Now if I can just get my other half on board with the no-grain-brigade...

[morethanjustamom]

Hubby and I are pretty active people, even when we're not working out for fitness, we're playing ultimate frisbee in the yard, or gardening, doing home improvement projects, going hunting, fishing, camping, etc. As soon as the kids were big enough, they've played baseball (boys) and soccer (girls). The two older kids also run cross country for their school team, and my eldest plays soccer for the school as well as runs distance for the track team, and refs for the soccer league. My oldest boy wanted to try his hand at soccer this year, and I think the two younger boys will join him in the fall. They all run in the fun runs when I run 5ks.

We swim, water ski, kneeboard, jump on the trampoline, make them help us with yard work (free labor!), challenge them to pullup and pushup competitions, and my husband is notorious for yanking a kid off the couch and instigating a mega pillow fight or wrestling/tickling match for no apparent reason.

As for diet, I keep fresh fruits and veggies/dips around for after school snacks, and junk foods are kept to special occasion treats. We drink water and milk (coconut milk for me), I don't buy sodas or juice, and very rarely buy sports drinks. I do buy everyone a small sonic drink every Friday to celebrate another week of school survival. I do allow sliced bread into the house for the children's lunches, but they know I have to be gluten free. We eat paleo dinners, but I don't have a problem with my high-mileage running teen making herself a baked potato if meat and salads/veggies don't quite fill her up.

[Kim]

I always ask my kids whether the food they want is healthy and what part of the body does it help. It's a fun game for them (ages 4 and 6) and it helps them understand the purpose of eating.

They love watching me exercise and since they have no shortage of energy, just going to the park is enough to get them moving. I always wonder how kids can become so heavy when they naturally have an incredible amount of energy. Food has to be a huge part of it. Even the kids I see at the park that are heavy seem to run, jump, and play as much as the others.

[zenmom]

My 13 year old has found a fondness for floor hockey. I'm kinda suprised by it but she asked to sign up for a class so I let her. She loves it.

[LRB]

Both my kids play soccer. One also plays basketball. And we live across the street from a field with a climbing structure, a back stop, two soccer fields, and a basketball hoop. They stay active. And their eating is okay. Not great, but okay. And I try to model mindful eating for them, too. Neither of them is under- or over-weight, and they are both relatively healthy.

At 9 and 11 years old, they are past the age where I get to choose what they will eat. But I can still choose what they may NOT eat. So we do our best, and they do their best, and it's all working out okay as we muddle along.

Editing to add: they see how great I feel after a workout, and they've noticed that their dad (my husband) is much happier since we got a dog and he walks at least a few miles every day.