Family and Fitness

Why I Love Exercising As A Family

Shathiso @thegaboronerunner.com

On the 10th November 2019, I participated in the Airport Junction Race with my father, husband and kids! We started this tradition in 2017 and it’s something we really look forward to every year especially as it comes after the tough Soweto Race held the weekend before. This time round, Ditiro did the 5K race with our kids, Kaia (age 7) and Thiwa (age 5), and I did the 10K Race with my dad. My dad was particularly excited that I was going to be his pace maker!

The route was slightly different this year as we didn’t head towards the Airport but instead made our way onto the A1, heading in the Phakalane Direction. We turned off the A1 by the Design Quarter then weaved through the Block 10 residential area before eventually making our way back home. Ditiro and the kids set off shortly after us. About a kilometre into the race, Kaia left Ditiro and Thiwa and bravely made her way round the 5K route by herself. She was extremely proud of herself and waited patiently at the end for Thiwa to cross the Finish Line.

It was a beautiful day out for everyone and it got me thinking about how important and fun it is to incorporate the whole family as we chase our fitness goals.

Six Reasons To Exercise As A Family

1/ It Teaches Kids Life Skills: Aside from obvious health benefits, exercise teaches kids key life skills – they learn how to work as a team, to respect their opponents, to be patient and work hard to get results and to always give their best and persevere even when things are not going as planned. It also teaches kids social skills – how to make friends and interact with each other. If your kids are anything like mine, they are happy to spend most of their days watching television or playing on the iPad.  So we have had to find ways of ensuring that cycling, swimming, running as well as other sports like tennis and netball, are part of their weekly routine.

Of course, they moan and groan about it but ultimately they enjoy being outdoors, taking in the fresh air and beautiful sunshine. They especially love it when we are there with them, teaching them how to catch, feeding them tennis balls, riding with them in the park or going for short runs around the neighbourhood. They also get to see and pick up many of the behaviours we display in pursuing our fitness goals – discipline, determination, consistency and enjoyment.

2/ It’s Fun: When you perceive something as fun, it’s just so much easier to stick to. For kids, it’s important that sport is seen as fun and not laborious. Yes, it requires work, but there is a lot of fun involved too. And for adults, exercise also needs to be fun for us to keep coming back! And being able to participate in sport as a family adds to that fun factor. For example, signing up for a race together is really fun and for Kaia and I, choosing our outfits adds to the excitement!

As a parent, you can also assist the coaches with team sports like football or netball or be on the organising committees for tennis, football or softball tournaments. If your kids are into cycling, you can also volunteer as marshals on the course.

When kids see their parents involved it really makes them feel so proud and gets them excited about the sport in general. Going for a walk with your parents is also a great way to spend time with them and to nurture that relationship. The idea is just to find fun activities that you can do together – something you look forward to doing as a family and keeps you fit in the process.

3/ It’s A Motivational Tool: When the people around you understand how important running (or other fitness activities) are to you, they also help to keep you motivated. Sometimes when I don’t feel like a pilates class, Kaia will say to me, “But you say it makes you strong mummy”. Or if I don’t feel like a run, Ditiro will remind me about an upcoming race or offer to join me on the run. When my dad hasn’t walked for a few days, I ask him whether he would like some company for his next walk. Or sometimes when you just want to sit on the couch, the kids may ask to go for a bike ride or a hike and even if you set off begrudgingly, you never regret that outing.

4/ You Get To Bond As A Family: As parents of school-going children, things can get really crazy. I sometimes get to the end of the week and wonder how I survived the school runs, activity drop offs, homework time, work and deadlines, frustrating clients and getting those miles done. In all the organised chaos, conversation usually consists of “Do you have swimming tomorrow?”, “How are we going to get the kids from tennis? and “Do we have enough milk?” So setting time aside to run together or participate in some kind of activity is a fantastic way to engage with each other. If you have or have had a 5 year old, you know that the best answer you are going to get for “How was school?” is “Fine”. But my Thiwa seems to open up a lot more when we are outside and can get quite deep about stuff, i.e. who wasn’t nice to him on the playground. Doing the race with my dad was such a bonding experience. We just chatted and it was really good to be out there with him. The universe will always throw us a few curveballs but having a strong family bond really helps to get you through the most challenging times. Of course, there are other ways you can bond as a family like going on holiday, having dinner together, or a family games night, but if you can get exercise while solidifying the family bond, how about that?

5/ It Improves Communication: This goes hand in hand with the above point. I’ve found that running with Ditiro allows us to really catch up on the day or talk about a sensitive or contentious issue without my fiery personality flaring up! I listen to his views or opinions without butting in (maybe because I’m out of breath!) and he listens to my views. We are not distracted by our phones, laptops or things that we need to get done. I don’t run with him all the time, but on the days that I do, I just feel we have such a strong connection.

6/ It Becomes A Lifestyle: As a kid, Ditiro ran and cycled, and played lots of ball sports. Sport was such a prominent feature in his life. I always appreciated sport, but never felt I was good at it and so I shied away. But when I compare the two of us, I realise how much easier sport is for him now because it was always a part of his life. For him, not exercising feels strange. As a late bloomer, it’s a lot harder for me to keep at it as I don’t have that strong base built in childhood. So I really feel introducing sports to kids early on in life, makes it easier for it to be a normal part of life. Even though they may move away from it at university or when they start working, it will always be easier for them to come back to. And that makes doing all this now, worthwhile.

Game Face! It’s on!

On that note, here is to FUN, FAMILY and FITNESS!

Do you exercise as a family? What are some of the benefits you have discovered? Have you tried to get family involved but they just don’t want to? Have you done a race with a family member? 

I’m joining two fabulous runners, Kim from Running on the Fly and Deborah from Confessions from a Mother Runner for their link up, the “Weekly Run Down”. Hop on over to their blogs and others, and be inspired to be better and do better this 2020!

50 thoughts on “Why I Love Exercising As A Family”

  1. What a beautiful family! We’ve run a few races, the kids (my stepsons) do the one mile fun run and my husband and I do the 5k but it’s nice b/c we can watch them finish their race first and then do ours. We took our first ever family photo at our first 5k. Because my husband has been injured we haven’t been able to do family races for a long time, but things are going well so hopefully this summer we’ll get at least one family race.

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  3. Your kids are just too cute! Yes, I try to get my husband to just think about how many steps he’s taking each day, but he’s making a bigger & bigger dent in the sofa every year. It’s very frustrating.

    Oddly enough, my parents were always into fitness and I wasn’t as a kid. 🙂 Except swimming. I’ve always loved to swim!

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  4. I wish my husband would workout with me (it doesn’t have to be running), but he’s like the anti-athlete. He does support my endeavors, so I’ll take what I can get! My youngest has always loved sports and is playing rugby in college. We’re looking forward to his 7s season!

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  5. Your kids are adorable! They will thank you when they grow up for introducing them to a healthy lifestyle at a young age. Good for them for completing a 5k! Loved the photo of you and your dad at the race.

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  6. This is beautiful (as is your family). And look at that sweet little Hawkeye!!! Our kids were active in sports most of their childhood. The oldest daughter was a decent golfer, and her team went to State all four years of her HS career (she got to play in the tournament her senior year). The son really grew to love swimming in HS, and went on the swim at his 2-year college (he gave it up when he transferred to U of Iowa, though). And, the youngest, did a little bit of everything and is now really into weight-training. She joined me at a 20K race two years ago, and just today registered to do the Fight for Air Climb with me! And the hubby does a lot of races with me, so that’s always been fun. Like you, I think it’s important and sets a great example to do all these sporting activities as a family 😉

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  7. I ran my first half marathon with my dad! My husband would rather play basketball than run, but I can sometimes convince him to run a short race with me, as long it starts later in the day.

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  8. What a gorgeous family and hooray for running with your dad! My parents were never active but all of us were as kids. I don’t run with my husband but we hit the gym together every weekend. My daughters followed in my footsteps with figure skating and track. They don’t run much anymore and I don’t want to force them to do something they no longer enjoy, but as long as stay active with any sport, I am happy.

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  9. Your kids are so cute! Our kids always did team sports, but we didn’t do as much as a family — although we did all do Tae Kwon Do until my husband broke his wrist, and he did BMX with the kids until he had a bad wreck. No one else ever was interesting in running, but now we do hikes together.

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  10. I love your photos! Such a happy family!
    I always wished my parents had been more into sports when we were younger. I am very happy that my husband joins me for most of my activities and participates in races, too. If we had kids we would definitely have raised them like you and Ditiro. You’re doing great!

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  12. My daughter and I do lots of runs together, but of late they have turned into drama! Tears, stitches, more crying. Panting, red faced moaning… This week I elected not to have the fight and we did parkrun together and did not run a step, we just walked it. Suffice to say I was frustrated as anything, but madam was happy and smiling, and reckoned she will come back next week! So maybe I will win this little battle.

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    1. Oh dear!! That’s NOT fun and I can almost hear the moaning as I’ve had a few episodes with my girl! I’m glad this week she enjoyed the walk with you and wants to come back next week! That’s definitely a win! Step by step xx

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  13. That’s a good point about it improving communication! I hadn’t thought of that before but that’s been true for me and Mike as well since he started running with me this year.

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  14. This is great! Right now we take my son running in the stroller but I hope we can exercise as a family when he is older. Its great for kids to see their parents being active and to grow up thinking that it is fun!

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  15. That is great. I could never interest my wife and kids in running. My oldest daughter has run a few 5ks with me or with her friends at the same race.
    I often pick up my youngest at the train station and that’s our quality time. Though it’s probably more quality for me than it is for her!
    Having a way to talk to your kids in a relaxed environment is very important.
    Andy

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    1. Thank you Andy!
      At this time, your pick-ups from the train station may be more quality for you than for your daughter BUT the best times I remember with my dad was the drive to school. I didn’t appreciate it as a kid but years later as an adult I realised how much bonding we did, and what quality time we had!!

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  16. Yes, yes, and yes! Growing up, family exercise and activity just wasn’t a thing, so now it’s really important to me. We all have different things we enjoy, which is ok, too, but the boys will still run races with me if I ask, and I would do 9Round with my husband, and that sort of thing. It’s definitely rewarding and sets some great habits.

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  18. First off, your children are adorable, and how wonderful that you had three generations running in the race! We always kept out sons involved in sports and today as young men, they both run, play tennis, ski, do yoga, etc. It’s wonderful to see that our healthy lifestyle rugged off on them!

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    1. Thank you Debbie! It was fantastic – 5 year old to a 75 year old! 🙂 I’m so glad to hear that being active early on translated to your sons being active now too! That’s what I’m really hoping this does. Well done to you parents! 🙂

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  19. Great post!! And lovely family (what cutie kids!). I enjoyed the runs I would go on with my son when he was younger. He’d talk my ear off about some sort of video game or something else he was excited about. He talked so much it kept his mind off of the hard running part!

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    1. Thanks Liz! Can’t wait to run with them all again. My dad has signed up for the 10k route when I’m doing my first marathon. And my husband is doing the Half of the same race. So different distances but we will all be together. I’ll have to get my sister to be out on the course somewhere with my kids!

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  21. LOVE that you all do so many sporty activities with each other!! We tried to get the kids interested when they were little and, while my stepdaughter tried running for a while (and even did a couple of races) it just didn’t stick. Maybe it will come back to them later.

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