Exercise Playgroup

It's physical. It's social. Exercise playgroup gives parents a chance to get out and exercise while other parents watch the children. Often, the kids simply play in someone's backyard or at the park. This week, however, one of the girls in our group suggested that all the kids go for a run. And so we did, once all the moms had a chance to get in their own jaunt.

I quickly took on the lead runner role dashing down the sidewalk with the five and six year olds. I let them know our stopping destination was the red fire hydrant at the end of the road so they had a sense of where we were going and it was in sight -- a good destination. 

My three year old wailed because I was so far ahead of her, so some carrying and consoling was needed for the return run and another mom quickly jumped in as the lead runner. We had a 2 year old, 3 year old, 4 and 5 year olds and even an infant in a front carrier along on our run/walk. 

We covered about a 1/2 mile and we didn't call it a race. The kids went out for a run just like their moms did. Active parents are great role models for kids and acting on a kid's interest in being active, too, is powerful stuff.

I just found a website about kids' running that is hosted by Runner's World at http://www.kidsrunning.com/. I'm going to check it out for ideas.