Mummascribbles – Mummies, children and exercise! – Mummascribbles

As I’m off work for two and a bit weeks I’ve decided it’s time to kick start my motivation and get my butt exercising again. I follow the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and also have a subscription to Results with Lucy and am therefore giving them a good mix up over the coming days. I’ve really struggled with exercise in the last few months, I normally do it in the evenings but having struggled to get Zach to bed before 9pm over the last few weeks it’s just gone completely out of the window!

So here I am on day 2 of exercise feeling great despite the aching muscles! Yesterday I got up before the rest of the house and did it in peace. This morning I did it while Zach was sitting in his highchair eating his breakfast. The two mornings were completely different, with Zach cheering me on this morning for support! Watching me, he thought it was hilarious seeing me jumping around and spent some time after I’d finished jumping round the front room saying Zach do exercise and attempting to do press ups, sit ups, star jumps etc., and it got me thinking – with the World Health Organisation regarding childhood obesity as the most serious global health challenge and seeing that a third of 10-11 year olds and a fifth of 4-5 year olds are classed as obese, should we be exercising in front of our children more often?

I know that myself and a lot of other mummies exercise when the kids are in bed because it’s easier but should we be showing them that exercise is good and that they see the overall effect that it has? Should it be something we install in them from a very young age so it’s a normal part of life and so when they come to doing P.E in school, they don’t hate it because they are used to being shown how good it is for you? Seeing Zach running around this morning being encouraged by me getting horribly sweaty but hopefully fitter and slimmer is a hugely positive thing and I will try and do it more in front of him! And if he wants to do it alongside me, I won’t be stopping him.

I certainly don’t have any worries about Zach being obese right now as he doesn’t stop moving but you never know what’s going to happen and I’d like to think I’ll do my best over the years at keeping him fit and healthy.

So maybe just take a thought next time you put your workout DVD on when you’ve waited for your little one to go to bed, that maybe it would be better to do it with them around and let them see the huge benefits that exercise has

Does your little one try and join in with your exercise and do you find it a bit of a pain or do you embrace it and let them have a go? Or do you wait until they’re tucked up in bed? I’d be really interested in your thoughts.

Tags: Parenting, Toddler, fitness, exercise, childhood obesity