Molding Healthy Lifestyles
As parents of three children, my husband and I have attempted to model a healthy lifestyle. We are surprised how frequently they mirror a healthy lifestyle back. They have also floored me with their embrace for our biking, hiking, paddling, skiing, and racing adventures, often humbling me with their enthusiasm and perseverance.
Building a Family Culture
We got an infant sling so we could begin bike commutes to the babysitter.
In an era when life expectancy is decreasing and mental health is at an all-time low, largely due to a technology-aided sedentary and convenience-driven lifestyle, setting the tone of a healthy lifestyle in the next generation is vital in our household. Modeling a healthy lifestyle from the beginning has already paid off dividends, while creating lasting memories. A few unexpected consequences for cultivating a family culture of healthy lifestyle have already included getting dropped by a five-year-old (read the full blog post here) or having my kids “ruin their dinner” by eating too many vegetables out of the garden (check out more here), and has brought many smiles.
Starting at the beginning
Incorporating cart rides (in a jogger, pulk, or bike cart) into a routine set the stage for our children to be content on longer rides without the need to bring entertainment. As Michael Easter explains in The Comfort Crisis, this has provided them opportunities for creativity, which adds a new dynamic. We still burst out in the original tune “I Wanna Ride My Cow to the Zoo” years later on rides.
Molding a lifestyle didn’t take long. The look on my daughter’s face when I was on maternity leave (so there were no daily cart rides to the babysitter) as she hopped into the bike cart and begged, “Please!” cemented how much she enjoyed her rides. I struggle to hold back a burst of laughter when they innocently inquire if they need to get their helmets to bike to the next town for swim lessons…when it’s 40F and rainy.
Payoffs
With the essential extra snacks packed for the kids, there were plenty of times I benefited from the boost when I was hungry on a ride or run! I also was more likely to bring an extra layer with a convenient place to stow it since the extra weight was inconsequential.
My husband kept up with our son, age 5, during the Kocourek Kids run. They covered 2 ¼ miles in 22 minutes! (I wouldn’t have believed it without Strava to prove!)
Be warned, as the kids grew, pulling or pushing a cart/pulk with 100 pounds of precious cargo transforms even the smallest hills turn into a workout. But no matter how out of breath I’d be, the smirk on my little girl’s face as she effortlessly bounced by was worth my agony. There were times my thumb got sore from shifting so much on hilly bike rides! However, sherpa-ing the kids not only had a payoff with the kids developing a passion for silent sports, but there were training benefits. Going into a 24 hour mountain bike ride 13 weeks post-partum, hauling the mama train (see banner photo) was half of my training volume which was adequate to propel me to the win! Pulling a passenger (or two) in the sled on skis was such a taxing workout, I could only last an hour. Literally unhooking the trailer (or sled) and climbing that same hill at the end of my regular workout downgraded the hill from Everest to an anthill. To avoid disappointment, I stopped looking at my watch to see my pace on the way up. When sweat was pouring down with my muscles burning, I’d swallow my pride and welcome the opportunity for my little one to also get some exercise by hoofing the uphill. I’d be honest about my struggle on the hill, so when they were on their own, they would know it’s ok to walk up hills, too. Luckily, shouting speedometer readings descending hills was fun in direct proportion to the effort of the ascent.
Growing with the kids
I found that I didn’t need to invest in a pulk to take my kids skiing, but a garage sale sled did fine with my oldest learning how to ski alongside us.
As my children began to propel themselves, hauling the younger kids was a great equalizer biking, skiing, or running (similar to breaking trail while snowshoeing). Another equalizer was bringing the cart and piling library books or the kids’ backpacks inside to ease their load on the way home from school. Plus, we could make room in the cart in case someone needed break (either rigging the bike on the cart or locking it up to pick up on the way to school the next day).
Volunteering for my children’s youth programs was a great way to learn the basics for technical sports such as mountain biking and cross country skiing. Most of these programs need parents to pitch in and I grew in knowledge with my children. Without any instruction in mountain biking, I’d go home dig deeper into topics including proper body position such as level pedals. Then when I’d remind them to practice their new skill, I’d also remind myself!
Transforming the routine into fresh
Even routine ride/run/ski turn into an adventure with fresh eyes. From counting free-range chickens or admiring barn quilts on a low traffic gravel road that I’d otherwise not drive on, encountering wildlife with extra enthusiasm, or the simple thrill of a first for my child all brought an extra element of excitement on previously mundane outings. I wish I could bottle up this excitement! I never could have imagined heading down the same alleys that I had run down nearly every week for years on my commute home from church would be so thrilling the first time my daughter joined me.
To keep them engaged, I’d point out friend’s houses (since my son usually spotted all the construction equipment before me), flora and fauna, and other points of interest along the route. Sharing the experience with someone brought a new element to the runs and rides. These workouts sometimes added a stop by the playground or ice cream shop, whether planned or not. In the case of a playground stop, I didn’t always stop my watch. I could keep up my heart rate by playing a game of chase or incorporating form runs/strides, plyometrics, or strength workout on the playground equipment with lunges, step-ups, dips, pullups, pushups, box jumps, and more as the kids played away.
Seize the moment
Incorporating children into workouts usually required more planning and sometimes some creativity; however, there’s times when the weather, my timeframe, and my child’s interest would make a spontaneous outing the perfect adventure (without the need to coordinate schedules with this workout buddy!). We frequently stop to smell flowers and snack on wild berries. These outings have offered great one-on-one time when some of my children would rather stay home.
What could go wrong with three excited kids in a canoe with parents paddling for the first time in years together? We opted to do paddle day trips and camp in our pop-up rather than an overnight paddle campout.
Baby steps
My expectations needed to be recalibrated for our children’s age and experience. On our first multi-night backpacking trip, we reduced our gear by hiking to cabins where I ran back to the car to grab food for final meals (also a great reason to get in my daily run!). Then on our next backpacking trip, we did a single night near a trailhead. These smaller outings also provided the opportunity to take on some of these family adventures without making financial investment in specialized backpacking gear. Kudos to our youngest who was clever to thread his small arms through the hand straps as a makeshift backpack when he was tasked with carrying the family tent! By the time I put an ambitious backpacking itinerary, the kids embraced the opportunity to tackle an extra two miles to see an iconic natural bridge, passing dozens of day hikers, ending in a 15 mile trail day.
We used old school backpacks for our kids and let them carry the snacks on our first overnight backpacking trips.
My kids worked up their distance by biking alongside me on runs and rollerskis and eventually got dropped off with me to run home from church on Sundays closer to home.
Now they innocently hold me accountable to bike commuting when it’s more convenient to drive, eating healthy, and practicing new skills. The carefree spirit becomes contagious and even the mundane miles offer opportunities to create lasting memories with the people I love the most, doing what I love.
I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Banner photo: Luckily my husband, an engineer, rigged up the bike carts so we could continue commuting the kids to daycare when we had three kids under age 4.
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