Forums >General Running>Children Running
Dream Maker
I don't see the point and think it is a bad idea. When I was 16 in 77 i did a 15 mile race. I had to get a doctor's permit because I was under 18 Both of my grown kids ran some 5k's with me when they around 11-13. Neither one runs now.
I don't see the point and think it is a bad idea.
When I was 16 in 77 i did a 15 mile race. I had to get a doctor's permit because I was under 18
Both of my grown kids ran some 5k's with me when they around 11-13. Neither one runs now.
I did not need a doctor's note for a 15 miler at 15... I don't worry too much about anything a teenager does. I'm not sure what the "line" is...
I don' have kids, but if he were my kid I wouldn't have a problem with him doing it, as long as it's his idea. It would be hard to predict whether there will be any long term damage to his development as there just aren't any studies to show what that high of mileage does to kids just because there aren't many kids running that kind of distance. (There is this article that suggests there may be no damage done to kids doing high distance: http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school-training/should-kids-run-long?page=single
Sometimes I think limits are arbitrarily set with good intentions of preventing injury, but I for one hate to see someone limited because someone else says they shouldn't be doing something. As a young female I can recall hearing the myth my uterus would fall out by running too much-I think that myth is still around. Women's marathon didn't become an Olympic sport until 1984 and most females were discouraged from running that kind of distance because someone thought it would be too damaging. As a young female swimmer I was told we weren't physically capable of doing a mile swim competitively--40 years later there is still no mile event for women in the Olympics and I think that is absolutely BS.
Now that I am old I don't have to worry about my uterus falling out by running; I didn't need it back then and certainly don't need it now; but if anyone tells me I am too old to take up running because I'll ruin my knees at my age I won't pay them any attention, I may kick them in the shins and run off.
fatchick- If a kid wanted to eat only candy for every meal, is that ok "as long as it's his idea?" There's a reason parents are parents.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
I wonder what Chris UK is up to.
Runners run
Best Present Ever
You know, none of the concerns about growth plate damage is based on any actual evidence, and what evidence there is suggests that strenuous exercise does not impact growth plates. I worry about kids spending too many hours on any one high-pressure activity, but is seems like a decision for families to make for themselves.
. But that was dependent on if there was any cute boys racing.
Your child is smart beyond her years. Isn't this why all of us run as adults?
My opinion was stated in the context of running long distance-not so much in other areas. For instance, kids are allowed to shoot and own guns. Would I let a 13 year old kid shoot an Uzi even if the shooting range allowed it and the kid begged to shoot one? Absolutely not.
I think if you examine the statistics of injuries in kids sports you might find a pretty high injury rate, both acute and chronic, in high intensity sports like soccer, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, basketball etc, yet most parents don't think twice about allowing their kids to participate but often actively encourage them to participate. Other activities like skateboarding, bicycling, sledding or jumping on trampolines, you know, kid stuff! often results in serious injuries too. Might as well ban your kids from all recreational activities because the potential to get hurt is there. My opinion is that supervised long slow running at an early age might be less damaging. I don't wonder how all the Kenyans get so good...
Kalsarikännit
I'm 30, no kids, no current plans for kids,
Selfish!!!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/12/385735269/couples-who-chose-not-to-have-children-are-selfish-pope-says
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Selfish!!! http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/12/385735269/couples-who-chose-not-to-have-children-are-selfish-pope-says
Yes, us unselfish people have children to vicariously live out our unfulfilled dreams!
The Kenyans are very biomechanically efficient and don't spend a lot of time sitting on their asses in front of computers, TVs etc either.
Repetitive impact injuries are extremely common from running, as we all know. I wouldn't have wanted my kid to play football, by the way. He had two high school classmates die as a result of football injuries. There is just no reason for a young kid to be running marathons or ultras and, frankly, it is unlikely to come up unless the parents are pushing it for their own reasons. Doing it to attain elite Marathon Maniac status........what's that about? Clearly about Dad or Mom.
I'll rest my case on the fact that both my kids- now 28 and 30 (one is on this forum- kmays)- are runners/triathletes as adults. They do it for themselves and always have- even though both of their parents were decent competitive runners (and triathletes back in the day).
runktrun
I was kinda diggin' the pope until that...
Most days I can't manage to put on underwear before I go to work. Tonight I ate a bag of baby carrots and a brownie for dinner. Oh, and I'm still at work...how the hell can I be responsible for another little human!?
Not running for my health, but in spite of it.
Feeling the growl again
I don' have kids, but if he were my kid I wouldn't have a problem with him doing it, as long as it's his idea.
My kid wants to fly a helicopter to India so she can lift tigers from areas where they are being killed and fly them to a safer location. Would you suggest I sign her up for flight lessons? There are examples of parents doing just that, and the kids dying in a crash as a result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff
I'm not trying to be snarky or anything here, just point out that kids will willingly do crazy, foolhardy things if you let them, and part of the job of being a parent is to know when you need to step in or at least not enable questionable behavior.
Parents need to let their kids dream and have goals. If my kid wanted to run a 10K or something, fine, I'll help them through it even on minimal mileage. But this is 100 MILES. I know of a lot of kids who worked themselves incredibly hard at something at a young age of their own free will, only to burn out and want nothing to do with it again before the age of 20.
I've got no problems being the a-hole parent and restraining my kid for their own long-term good, since they rarely are thinking too far ahead.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
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My kid wants to fly a helicopter to India so she can lift tigers from areas where they are being killed and fly them to a safer location. Would you suggest I sign her up for flight lessons?
Again, I stated my opinion in the context of long slow running; it wouldn't give a green light to every whim of the kid. (And bless your child for wanting to save the tigers!)
The concern here is for the health of the kid, right? I am just pointing out that most normal kids engage in youth sports or recreational activities day in and day out where there is always the potential for serious injury or death. I'm not sure that ultra running presents a higher risk of injury; (certainly the risk of concussion is a lot lower than contact sports a lot of kids play). So long as the miles are kept barely below walking pace the risk of injury is probably pretty low.
Sport burnout or career burnout--it is not that uncommon especially if the individual is at all competitive. I think if it's the longevity in a certain sport that someone wants for their kid I say its mostly a matter of the individual kid. Some kids put in hard work through their own competitiveness in spite of their parents insistence on keeping it low-key, often they don't see continued improvement in performance and they get discouraged and give it up. Some go on to other aspects of life like college or career or family and the focus of life has shifted; many will pick up the activity again when time allows--there is nothing wrong with that. Some young adults reach the highest level in their chosen sport and then start a decline in performance so they retire from the sport, never to participate again; as it's hard on the ego to be a "has-been". I love seeing folks like Joan Benoit out there still running marathons 30 years after her Olympic victory. But isn't that fairly rare to see folks like her?
I've got no problems being the a-hole parent and restraining my kid for their own long-term good, since they rarely are thinking too far ahead
It comes down to what you as a parent perceive as what is best for your own kid. If you lean on the cautious side I am not here to judge. I would have failed as a parent.
Village people
I spend lot of time around youth sports. The general consensus is that a kid should not specialize in one sport before puberty. I let my kids play a variety of sports, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball and I am encouraging them to run in track. I see kids with that competitive drive and not all of them have it at a young age. There is certainly the option and pressure, given by clubs to parents, to have kids play a certain sport year round.I don't think it is a good idea and I think it wld cause more harm than anything.
I have never run 100 miles but it sounds like it would be a pretty long and involved training. I have made my kid sit out practice when I thought he might have banged his head. He did not like it, he cried, but that wa my job as a parent. This is just my opinion. All kids are different but I just din't see it being a good idea for a third or fourth grader.
Just for the record, in this kids' case of running the ultra, I don't think it is the kid's idea. I think he is doing it to shine in his dad's eyes. His dad was the one who researched the youngest ultra runner out of his own curiosity then told his kid how cool that kid was; I think dad planted the seed intentionally knowing his kid would take the bait. I predict this father and son duo will both burn out; they've been running a little over a year now. I think this attention-whore dad is doing everything for a "wow" response from friends and strangers.