I weep for future generations.Toddlers sent to bootcamp as parents struggle to find time to play with kids outdoors
CHILDREN as young as two are lining up to join "toddler bootcamps" as chubby tots start the battle with the bulge.
Parents struggling to find time to get children to play outdoors are booking them into "bootcamp" classes.
Rip Fit Tots fitness coach Dale White said parents booked their children into the classes before school age.
"A lot of people want to take their kids outside and play but don't have the time," Mr White said.
"The instructor can do all the running around and organise the equipment for them it's easy for parents.
"Toddlers are at the perfect age to start moving and get into a routine ... they get hand-eye co-ordination skills while getting outdoors and playing with other kids."
Queensland mum Virginia Pedler, 37, of Waterford, said it was a good opportunity for her two-year-old son Kylan to get active.
"He's not even three but he's a big boy, so any exercise is good," Mrs Pedler said.
My Fitness Club at Sippy Downs holds hour-long exercise sessions for children aged five to eight and nine to 12.
The program, which changes every week, includes strength training, obstacle courses, mini Olympics, fitness education and boxing.
Gym floor supervisor Mel Charlton said parents appreciated the chance to work out while their children improved their own fitness.
"We have a couple of overweight children but since they've been with us their co-ordination and confidence has increased," Ms Charlton said.
Even childcare centres are getting in on the trend, using benches with 2kg weights, exercise bikes, pint-sized rowers, air-walkers, exercise pony and non-motorised treadmills.
But Queensland Food Smart Schools Program dietitian Kellie Hogan said toddler fitness groups were "futile". "They're counterbalancing a complete lack of activity at home," Ms Hogan said.
"We have an opportunity to engage them and keep them active at home in an unstructured way.
"Because of too much screen time in front of TVs and gaming consoles, parents feel the need to put them through formalised fitness but helping out doing chores around the house and in the garden can be just as effective."
Nutrition Australia dietitian Aloysa Hourigan said toddlers should be strengthening their limbs for growth and development.
"Toddlers and preschoolers should have at least three hours of activity per day," Ms Hourigan said.
Fitness Australia said there were some benefits for toddlers from aerobic and resistance training.
One in four Queensland children are overweight or obese, with 122,000 aged 5-17 overweight and 71,000 obese in 2007-08.
US research shows preschoolers consume more sweetened beverages, desserts and snack foods in a day than fruit or vegetables.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/toddler ... z1crxygabD
Excercise with the fit man, Johnny ....
Excercise with the fit man, Johnny ....
.... Mummy and Daddy just don't have the time!
Bah!
Re: Excercise with the fit man, Johnny ....
As do I.
The primary reason I left my ex was his parenting. Kids in front of the TV/Wii 90% of their waking hours. Played outside at most 15 min./day, in summer only. I begged, pleaded, and yes, NAGGED him about it endlessly. He seemed to think I was an evil shrew for wanting the kids to have mandatory playroom time in the playroom I'd created for them, where there was nothing electronic - but there was a king size mattress on the floor for them to wrestle on, a room full of games, puzzles, books, toys, a table on which LEGOS could be built, etc.
The saddest thing was, his kids didn't seem to know HOW to play. They'd go to the playroom for 15 minutes, then come back wanting more TV. Their dad wasn't willing to say no, go use your imagination.
I wasn't willing to participate in that kind of neglectful parenting. I'd rather not parent at all.
I miss them terribly, but it's good to be reminded why I had to walk away. Both of their parents are obese and though they are still normal size now, given that they do nothing physical & eat candy and snack cakes daily, I expect both to be fat by middle school, if not before.
So fucking sad. Call me fucked up if you want, but I think setting kids up for life with no critical thinking skills, no patience, no habit of reading or otherwise utilizing imagination and the ability to self-entertain, and no habit of physical activity, is a damn sight shittier parenting than occasionally smacking them on the ass with a belt after they've been caught doing something like stealing.
The primary reason I left my ex was his parenting. Kids in front of the TV/Wii 90% of their waking hours. Played outside at most 15 min./day, in summer only. I begged, pleaded, and yes, NAGGED him about it endlessly. He seemed to think I was an evil shrew for wanting the kids to have mandatory playroom time in the playroom I'd created for them, where there was nothing electronic - but there was a king size mattress on the floor for them to wrestle on, a room full of games, puzzles, books, toys, a table on which LEGOS could be built, etc.
The saddest thing was, his kids didn't seem to know HOW to play. They'd go to the playroom for 15 minutes, then come back wanting more TV. Their dad wasn't willing to say no, go use your imagination.
I wasn't willing to participate in that kind of neglectful parenting. I'd rather not parent at all.
I miss them terribly, but it's good to be reminded why I had to walk away. Both of their parents are obese and though they are still normal size now, given that they do nothing physical & eat candy and snack cakes daily, I expect both to be fat by middle school, if not before.
So fucking sad. Call me fucked up if you want, but I think setting kids up for life with no critical thinking skills, no patience, no habit of reading or otherwise utilizing imagination and the ability to self-entertain, and no habit of physical activity, is a damn sight shittier parenting than occasionally smacking them on the ass with a belt after they've been caught doing something like stealing.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Excercise with the fit man, Johnny ....
Today we will go watch Hatch play basketball.
Interestingly, on her college course, the "International Baccalaureate Diploma," sport is a mandated part of the curriculum.
Interestingly, on her college course, the "International Baccalaureate Diploma," sport is a mandated part of the curriculum.
http://www.ibo.org/diploma/
Creativity, action, service is at the heart of the Diploma programme, involving students in a range of activities that take place alongside their academic studies throughout the IB Diploma Programme. The component's three strands, often interwoven with particular activities, are characterized as follows:
• Creativity - arts and other experiences that involve creative thinking
• Action - physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the IB Diploma Programme
• Service - an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”